RPI and classic european trash cinema

The history of non academic, undeground cinema in Italy started with police dramas, commedia all'italiana, spaghetti western but also with the so called horror, B grade films. Mario Bava is surely the strongest personality who successed to renew the european “cinema of terror” back in the 60’s, revealing extreme representations of violence and searching  a new visual aesthetic.  His great successors (Lucio Fulci, Dario Argento, Joe D’amato, Lamberto Bava...) will lead the italian gore cinema to an escalation of shocking scenes, treating with necrophilia (Buio Omega...), parapsychological themes and magic (Suspiria, Inferno...) with primitive sacrificial tendencies (Cannibal Holocaust, Cannibal Ferox...), sadistic perversions, contamination, live after death (Dawn of the dead, Contamination), psychic trauma (Patrick, Martin…). However the use of extreme imagery is always used in artistic end and most of the directors never rejected the intellectual thoughts, symbolical projections, rethorical references or social engagements. This specific genre reaches a state of maturity during the 70’s with the release of classic films such as "Solamente Nero" (Antonio Bido), "Nelle Pieghe Della Carne" (Sergio Bergonzelli), Profondo Rosso (Dario Argento), Gently before she dies (Sergio Martino). During the 80’s the same directors will consolidate the spectacular effects and will be more focused on visual obessions, “The Shock” (Mario Bava) will mark a turn to more explicit horror films, followed by ultra violent atrocities as Buio Omega (Joe D’amato), House by the cemetery (Lucio Fulci)...The success of these macabre, atmospheric, surreal B movies wouldn’t be the same without the release of gorgeously haunted soundtracks whose many have been composed by Italian progressive rock bands / artists. What would be the gothic-shoking horror films of Argento without the sulfurous, eccentric scores from the band Goblin? The first "nightmare" progressive soundtrack is probably "Gli Occhi Freddi Della Paura” (1971), a sensual and weird, haunted, free-abstract psych-jazz trip written by Ennio Morricone and  Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza. The score written by Goblin for the giallo masterpice "Profondo Rosso" (1974) will announce a prolific collaboration of progressive rock musicians with Italian directors.  In this first album, Goblin bring to the fore all the ingredients that will make the typical signature of a classic italian horror soundtrack: groovy / funky bass lines, deep buzzing synth sequences, minimal obsessional melodies and rockin’ guitars. The omnipresence of  free jazz inspiration, sometimes delivering kitschy sensual moments maybe takes its source in the music of Riz Ortolani who released several film scores in the 60’s, I’m notably thinking about "Une Sull’Altra" (1969). Speaking about Riz Ortolani, this composer and orchestral director released a classic soundtrack for the movie "Nella Stretta Morsa Del Ragno" (1972) that prefigures things from Goblin: dissonant guitars, synth weirdness and grandiose atmospheric strings. Goblin released their most successful release for Dario Argento’s Suspiria (1977); an efficient, jazzy-rockin’ hybrid with lot of lugubruous, mysteriously trippy atmospheres. The band contributes to the most prolific collaboration in the history of horror cinema, providing a large catalogue of monumental soundtracks notably for Dario Argento (Profondo Rosso, Suspiria, Tenebre, Phenomena…), Georges Romero (Dawn of the dead, Martin), Lucio Fulci (Buio Omega). We have to notice that Dario Argento also asked Keith Emerson to provide the material for the soundtrack of La Chisea (1988) and for the movie Inferno (1980). The result is annoying and out of place (thinking about the mediocre score for "Inferno". The music in itself is honest but it doesn’t fit with the film)  if you compare it with the personality and the unique flavour of Goblin’s music. The band Libra (founded by ex-Goblin members) released a solid progressive, groovy electronic rock soundtrack for the superb movie “The Shock” (1977). The classic progressive rock band Osanna also had their time with the genre, writting (in collaboration with Luis Bacalov) a courful, expressive and complex soundtrack for the film "Milano Calibro 9 OST" (1972). Wen Goblin disbanded, the keyboard player Claudio Simonetti specialised in the writting of Italian cinema scores. He particularly composes a 80’s lo-fi electronic score for the classic gore movie "Demoni" (Lamberto Bava). Not far from Claudio Simonetti and always turned to opressive, macabre electronic textures / e-guitar lines to create the tension,  Fabio Frizzi released the music for the unconventional zombi film called “The Beyond” (1981). In the same vein, there’s also Carlo Maria Cordio and his intoxicated macabre “new agey” electronic “Killing Birds” for a B grade movie released by the crazy Joe D’amato at the end of the 80’s. Stelvio Cipriani who composed a tone of scores for B movies during the 60’s / 70’s delivered his best work with Goblin in the terrific “Solamente Nero”. Stelvio Cipriani also released a Goblin-esque score for “Ring of Darkness” that is highly recommended. My favourite italian progressive rock sountrack remains the catchy “La Via Della Droga” (1977) by the band Goblin (that I consider to be among the best scores written by a progressive band for the cinema with the dreamy-like “le berceau de cristal” by Ashra Tempel, the transcendant “Aguirre” by Popol Vuh and the menacing but superb electro-atmospheric “body love” by Klaus Schulze). In this quantitative profusion of scores and movies, the quality is not always evident and the neophyts can easily be lost. To sum up things you can have a look on what I consider to be the best Italian progressive rock soundtracks for B grade movies:

Selected works (top 10)

Profondo Rosso – Goblin

Suspiria – Goblin

Buio Omega – Goblin

La Via Della Droga – Goblin

The Beyond – Fabio Frizzi

City of the living dead – Fabio Frizzi

Milano Calibro 9 OST – Osanna

The Shock – Libra

Solamento Nero – Goblin & Stelvio Cipriani

Ring of Darkness – Stelvio Cipriani

Lucantonio Gabrielle: Profondo Rock.