ALIVE

The band bio informs that there are many GOBLIN-related acts around. GOBLIN REBIRTH released a studio album of the same name in 2015, but the double live CD is recorded before that (in Rome, April 22nd, 2011), so it concentrates on the original Goblin output from the mid-seventies onward, a large part of which is film music to horror flicks mostly directed by Dario Argento (the best known of those films are Argento's "Profondo Rosso" and "Suspiria", and George Romero's "Zombi - Dawn of the Dead"). I'm not a connoisseur of that field at all, so I have to take this set as simply 107 minutes of instrumental prog -- with occasional voice samples, to be exact. As I listen to it, I'm not so interested to keep track which particular piece is going on.

That said, I want to clarify right away that this is excellent stuff. The quintet featuring two keyboard players can build very strong atmospheres. The music is not indulgent "skill-masturbation", but the musical competence is evident nevertheless. The musicians' co-operation is extremely precise and organic, slightly in a jazzy way. The compositions are pretty full of melodies too.

Sorry for not describing the music in a more detailed way and pointing out to possible highlights. Also the non-soundtrack classic album Roller (1976) is heavily covered. The band doesn't introduce any pieces as far as I remember, or talk anything else either, and the audience has quite a little time to applause before the next piece starts. This is a good thing, making the concert a continuous musical journey. The leaflet features gig photos; of course it could have given some information on the original recordings, for example. If you don't already have numerous GOBLIN albums, this set is an excellent summation. A connoisseur naturally rather buys the DVD version.