ROLLER

I enjoy Goblin's soundtracks and often even watch some of the more obscure movie titles by relying entirely on the great soundtracks that will keep me entertained no matter how the movies turns out. So I was even more intrigued when I heard of a possible existence of a Goblin album that wasn't recorded as a soundtrack. To my great joy it didn't take long before I had the CD in my hands. Even upon my first experience the album managed to surpass any predetermined expectations that I had!

The first track entitled Roller reminded me of the great movie themes that the band have written over the years. Starting with the trademark-keyboard sounds but this time on a much more progressive side. I think the main reason for the progressive feel also comes from the great drum work from Agostino Marangolo. His performance alone is pretty much worth the price of admission!

The next three quirky compositions don't move me as much as the opener but instead manage to hold me over for the next gem of this album. I might even go as far as proclaim Goblin as the pinnacle of the band's entire carrier and it definitely deserves the name Goblin! The track starts slowly with a repeated keyboard passage that eventually takes off once the all the other instruments join in. What follows then are probably some of the most beautiful melodies that I've heard. The percussion work might at first seem quite subtle but just zoom in on that polyrhythm section and you'll be hooked! The composition is, just like everything here in life, not without its flaws and for me there are two specific moments that stand out more than the rest. I understand that this band-titled track was supposed to be a sort of an introduction of the band but the guitar solo towards the end of the forth minute was really unnecessary. The other flaw is the one minute drum solo that precedes the outro and might get weary on repeated listens. Still these two minor complaints can't take away the fact that Goblin is a magnificent composition and I only nitpick because I've heard it far too many times over these past few years.

The album concludes on a weird sounding improv of a composition titled Dr. Frankenstein. Although the last two minutes of it are magnificent and end the album on a wonderful highlight they just can't outweigh the four preceding minutes that honestly bore me to tears. Maybe the result is magnified even more due to wonderful performance on the previous track.

So far Roller is the only non-soundtrack related album that I've heard from Goblin and I'd love to hear more where that came from!

***** star songs: Roller (4:38) Goblin (11:10)

**** star songs: Aquaman (5:22) Snip Snap (3:37) The Snake Awakens (3:27)

*** star songs: Dr. Frankenstein (6:00)