ALIVE

I'm not really familiar with the GOBLIN history, which actually seems to have been closed down in 1978. However, since then there were, respectively still are, several band incarnations underway, who define a clear reference to the original. This due to some extensive recruiting and overlapping personnal-wise for sure. Fabio Pignatelli (bass) and Agostino Marangolo (drums) have been core members from the beginning and are part of this GOBLIN REBIRTH line up here as well.

Furthermore the keyboard/synth fraction is represented by Aidan Zammit and Danilo Cherni, where Giacomo Anselmi finally completes the quintet on diverse guitars. The band name refers to a daemon or monster. Thematically as well as musically there was always a cinematic, dramatic touch to state, just as a trademark, thus reflecting a soft spot towards making soundtracks for movies. You won't miss that here too, at the very beginning during the opening synth intro of Killer On The Train and of course due to the closing Profondo Rosso.

The recordings were taken at Rome, soon after having re-formed in December 2010. During more than 100 minutes they are playing a best-of crossover, including the entire 'Roller' album nearly, which is said to be their masterpiece. While stylistically mirroring a blend of jazz rock/canterbury and symphonic this meets my taste very much. Relaxed and propulsive moments are constantly alternating. Including diverse solos they are delivering a highly concentrated performance, reaching the gig's point of culmination with the self-named track Goblin.

While missing any vocals the instrumental outings are top-notch, especially Fabio Pignatelli makes my day with his extraordinary bass presence. Overall I clearly would favour this songs when checking against the band's original studio stuff I could listen to so far. Additionally the sound mix appears to be rather priceless. Black Widow Records have released this fine contribution on double CD and DVD. If you should not be aware of that genre defining band from Italy yet, this affair will be a recommended entree to make it good.

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.