TARDO PEDE IN MAGIAM VERSUS

Many don't know who Jacula is. Knowing it you would also understand why the debut of Antonius Rex, the band emerged after the end of Jacula was entitled Zora. In the early 70s in Italy there was a huge production of porn comics, some based on horror. Jacula was of course a vampire girl. The name is similar to Dracula, but "Ejacula" means you can guess what...

So there's at least a bit of humor in the choice of the band name. Zora is the vampire girl of another comic, probably by the same author.

Said so, it's not strange that the music in this album is trying to setup a dark, satanic atmosphere mainly based on the church organ. The album and some songs have a latin title, which should recall the ambient of catholic churches.

The result is a fusion of classical elements. I don't know what U.F.D.E.M. means, but the lyrics are about the modern man in search of money, making the world dark. It ends saying "may this modern man, who denies Mistery and Eternity, die". "Presentia Domini" (Presence of the Lord) is entirely spoken in Latin. It's a sort of maledition to the modern man. It repeates "God sees you, God hears you, Deads see you, Deads hear you". Interesting the last chord is a major chord. The only major chord in all the song.

The following track, "Jacula Valzer" is instrumental. It sounds differently from what has been going on up to that. Flute, some mute vocals, similar to an Ennio Moricone soundtrack even if background dissonances are placed to remind us that this album is about sins and evil. So after 3 of the 6 minutes of the track the background and the foreground are swapped. I think to the distopic world of HP Lovecraft. This track has the atmosphere of Azrael's "Azatoth".

Absolution is a mass with a standard catholic formula in Latin, then "Long Black Magic Night", starting with harpsichord and flute playing a sad melody before coming back with the church organ on the closing track "In Old Castle".

It's quite obvious that GOBLIN have been influenced by this album, and possibly some echoes of it can be heard also in some works of Keith EMERSON (through his collaboration with Dario Argento) and later by others. The sometimes operatic vocals remind to today's masterpieces of UNIVERSAL TOTEM ORCHESTRA.

An excellent album, very original in its era. The organ is a bit too much present. Leaving some space tothe other instruments wouldn't have been bad, but the band wanted to create a dark ambience and succeeded. The refereneces to Satan, and Evil in general are closer to the christian medieval views, so I wouldn't think of Jacula as a band of satanists. They have just paisd a visit to the "obscure centuries".

No references to comics or vampires utside the band name and the album cover which is surely drawn by the comics author.