E TU VIVRAI NEL TERRORE - L'ALDILÀ (THE BEYOND) O.S.T

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Italian symphonic meets haunted house

Fabio Frizzi is an Italian composer from Bologna. In the 1970s he became involved with creating the soundtracks of horror films, forging a successful alliance with director Lucio Fulci. He also became interested in the experimental music of the time and befriended musicians of the band Goblin among others. This led to a few of his soundtracks crossing into RPI territory, blending symphonic prog, dramatic choir vocals, keyboard experimentation, and dark-sounding rock. Some of this work could be described as a mix of Goblin with a more refined, subtler Jacula.

"The Beyond" is quite similar to the previous "Night of the Living Dead" I just reviewed, but perhaps more fully realized as a dark symphonic listening experience. Compared to the previous work there seems to be less of the pared down Jacula rock and much more of an orchestral experience. This album sounds more like a soundtrack because of the fuller orchestral background. On top of this you still have a fair amount of eerie piano melody and a big increase in the choir vocals. The dark vocal choirs are now more prevalent and feature a more complex arrangement. Of course some of it comes off quite campy still which is to be expected given the films, yet there are tracks like "Voci dal Nulla" which are just plain beautiful on any level. Beguiling flute, lovely yet sad atmosphere, mystery. I'm not quite enthused enough about this scene to go with high ratings, yet this is undeniably good stuff and I'd suggest any fan of dramatic, darker Italian symphonic, do give it a spin. You may well love it!

An interesting release which sits halfway between the sort of symphonic progressive material Goblin would produce for Dario Argento on the one hand and more traditional horror movie soundtracks on the other, Fabio Frizzi's soundtrack for The Beyond was truly one of the highlights of the film, adding a sombre power to the devastating final twist. The gentle flute passages on here are a real treat - of course, those who've seen the film and taken in the last scene will know that in its original context the flute added a bitterly ironic touch of sweetness to a panorama of utter devastation, but outside this context it's actually rather uplifting and romantic, a little island of calm in the middle of symphonic terrorism.

It's little surprise that symphonic horror maestros Morte Macabre chose to cover an extract from the album on Symphonic Holocaust, though I'd have preferred to hear their take on the masterful Voci di Nulla theme than the disco-esque Sequenza Ritmica E Tema. But then again, why tamper with a work which is so fine in its original context?