ROLLER

"Roller" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Italian progressive rock act Goblin. The album was released through Cinevox Records in 1976. It´s the successor to "Profondo Rosso" from 1975 and it´s one of the few Goblin, which isn´t originally made as soundtrack music for a movie. Goblin are predominantly known for making music for movies by Giallo/slasher/horror movie director Dario Argento, but "Roller" is as mentioned an exception. Some of the tracks from "Roller" would however find their way unto movie soundtracks, but they weren´t specifically written with that purpose in mind.

While Goblin´s debut album "Profondo Rosso" (1975) is a soundtrack album (to the 1975 film with the same title), but still worked well without the pictures of the movie, "Roller" is a bit more classic instrumental progressive rock album as the suspenseful moments from "Profondo Rosso" are not featured here. "Roller" may not be a very long album featuring a total playing time of only 34:14 minutes but quantity doesn´t always equal quality and in this case there´s not a dull moment in sight during those 34:14 delicate minutes and to me that´s much more valuable than quantity.

The music is keyboard and synth driven instrumental progressive rock featuring an organic playing, very impressive, and at times funky rhythm section. Minimoog, organ, piano, and Fender Rhodes are some of the dominant keyboards/synths on the album. There are some great guitars on the album too, so this is not a strictly keyboard driven album. Four out of the six tracks on the album ("Roller", "Snip Snap", "Goblin", and "Dr. Frankenstein"), are energetic and at times symphonic compositions (but some also funky and even jazzy like "Snip Snap", which features a Weather Report influence) while "Aquaman" and "The Snake Awakens" also feature more mellow atmospheres and laid back moods. Most tracks are varied though and a song like the 11:10 minutes long "Goblin" is to my ears particularly impressive.

Goblin are an incredibly well playing unit, delivering their parts with precision but also the right organic touch. The interplay between the musicians are a great asset to the album. Both the material and the high level performances are further enhanced by the warm, powerful, and well sounding production, and upon conclusion "Roller" is through and through a high quality release, perfectly showcasing that Goblin were both skilled performers and clever composers, able to master different musical styles and still create music which sounds distinctly like them. "Roller" is of course the Goblin album fans of progressive rock should seek out first, before venturing into the world of their horror movie soundtrack albums (which are great too, but different from this one). A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.