SUSPIRIA (OST)

As much praise that Goblin's first soundtrack "Profondo Rosso" preferentially gets from prog collectors everywhere (and quite rightly so), I must admit that my favorite Goblin OST is the one they wrote and recorded for the "Suspiria" movie. There has always been a special magic that connected Goblin's musical creativity and Dario Argento's twisted refurbishment of cinematographic horror, it was so intense that it made Goblin a big name in the Italian progressive rock scene even if the framework of a movie's soundtrack was restrictive enough as notto give room to symphonic epics or systematic displays of refined virtuosity. Epic sounds and virtuosic playing are two things that one does not precisely miss in a god Goblin album, but the fact is that the room for sonicexpression was always constrained by the narrative demands of a particular movie. But as I said a few lines above, there was a magic in the marriage of Goblin's music and Argento's cinematic vision that allowed these soundtrack albums to become relevant prog rock items in themselves. In the case of "Suspiria", the namesake opener is an iconic sample of Goblin's masterful handling of cacophonic tension and powerful horrific textures. This piece is just irressistible (the Smashing Pumpkins used this piece as an intro theme for many concerts, so they will agree with me on this, for sure), with the delicate sounds of celesta and glockenspiel portraying an uneasy aura that gradually grows into restless darkness as the instrumentation augments (including bouzouki and exotic perucssive beats). The greyish rocking interlude states a moment of majesty among the overall horror. The final result sounds like a mixture of early Oldfield and 75-77 Tangerine Dream. The next 3 pieces elaborate a crucial enhancement of the horror, with the basis musical ideas leaning more on abstract colors - 'Witch' develops an orgy of demented screams and sadistic percussions, while the pairing of 'Opening To The Sighs' and 'Sighs' states an ethereal twist to the ongoing terror. The album's second half starts with 'Markos', whose main body is focused on a pulsating intensity rigorously engaged with a robus architecture of synths and percussions. This almost cacophonic (black) magic serves efficiently as a sonic image of urgency and despair. On the other side of things, 'Black Forest' first brings an air of nebulous mystery within a mostly calm framework. At a certain point, the piece shifts toward an agile exercise on jazz-rock with clever fusion-oriented undertones. Morante brings in some amazing guitar soloing, dynamically interacting with other leads brought in by Simonetti on synth and guest Antonio Marangolo on sax. 'Blind Concert' is the most vital track in the album, a jazz-funky composition that allows the band to move into Baricentro and Perigeo territories: to my ears, it doesn't sound out of place, but it works as a well- csontructed space for release from the dominant darkness (after all, this is a horror movie's OST, isn't it?). 'Death Valzer' is also a joyful piece, with a featured piano delivering a Cabaret-like waltz: most certainly, this is related to the irony and sick humor that play a big part in Argento's movies. The CD edition includes some bonus tracks, which are mostly curiosities. All in all, "Suspiria" is an excellent item in any prog rock collection.