ANTONIUS REX

"Welcome to our long night..."

What a fascinating work `Praeternatural' is in the discography of the cult that is Antonius Rex. Antonio Bartoccetti and Doris Norton offer an album that takes in all the different sides of the Jacula/Antonius Rex projects, as it moves through the hypnotic, sinister moods of the early days, the experimentation of `Zora', the lush progressive rock/Italian RPI stylings of `Ralefun' and finally heading into the synthesized spooky soundscapes that would soundtrack their modern works...it would just take them about 20 years to get there for that era to be fully realized.

`Praeternatural' essentially makes for a continuous piece of music, like you're moving through a haunted house, each room offering a different kind of psychological, emotional or supernatural assault - take your pick. That mood maintains the whole time, and it provides a darkly ambient soundtrack. This particular album might be a good starting place for newcomers to the band who want to tread carefully. Here the band is more melodic, atmospheric and incorporate a wider range of genres that may make it more accessible and approachable to listeners. It definitely lacks the outright violent and uncomfortable menace of the earlier works, but is never lightweight or totally easy-going.

Howling winds open `Halloween', which instantly tells you what to expect from the album. A dramatic mix of ghostly taunting piano, churning thick orchestral synths and Bartoccetti's macabre guitar riffing. Make sure to listen out for some gloriously murky and slinky bass that murmurs and snakes it's way around the backdrop of the synths and spectral piano about half way through. It's surprising then that, considering the track name of the opening piece, it's the second track `Fatsum et Violentia' instead that more or less rips off the piano melody from the 70's horror movie classic `Halloween'! It's a short brooding interlude with mucky synthesized orchestration and creepy mood effects.

The title track opens with slightly off acoustic guitar over some razor sharp, cutting and disorientating electronic effects and brief repeated narration before immense and booming glorious church organ over a stop-start drum pattern and searing electric guitar soloing from Bartoccetti. But most surprising of all - wait until 6 minutes in, when the drumming suddenly becomes more uptempo, almost dance beats, and Doris Norton doubles on jazzy piano soloing and fiery Mini- Moog noodling that would be more at home on an album from Canterbury Scene legends Caravan or romantic proggers Camel! It sounds like nothing else the band has done before or since, and it's really infectious and quite upbeat. Both Bartoccetti and Norton sound really full of joy and life on this piece! Then Antonio joins in with some driving guitar, before a truly baffling end - the track just stops, no fadeout, no big finale, just grinds to a halt. One minute he's wailing away, and then it's gone. A serious letdown to a very memorable and unique Rex piece.

Side B's `Monsegur Legend' is another shorter interlude/bridging piano/acoustic guitar distraction with unpleasant dark ambient backing. `Capturing Universe' builds a repetitive or trance-like effect around dark and ominous deep groaning male choir vocals looped over and over amongst snarling lead guitar chugging hellfire from Bartoccetti. `Invisible Force' ends our journey with another Rex/Jacula trademark - the stalking and hallucinatory sound collage/experimental piece. This one is full of wicked devilish children's voices, creaking doors, scratching and footsteps interspersed with a maddening tiptoeing piano melody and unnerving groaning synth orchestration. It ends with an oddly triumphant and grand organ finale, which means we've either made it to safety, or perished and crossed over to the other side...

The LP reissue from Black Widow looks stunning, from the horror comic-book styled front cover, to the eerie photos of Antonio Bartoccetti and Doris Norton surprisingly dressed in psychedelic hippie colours on the inner sleeve! Especially intriguing are some additional photos of gothic ornaments and bedchambers.

While it's not a true classic in their catalogue, I do think `Praeternatural' may provide a perfect `sampling' of the many faces of Jacula/Rex for the new fan. They'll get an instant and fascinating overview of the different directions the band experimented with at various points in their career, and they can decide which album they might like to look at next. To my ears, it's also very successful at creating several uneasy and haunting mood pieces, an extended supernatural journey which is exactly what you want in an Antonius Rex album.

Four stars.

Although looked down by some Jacula/Antonius Rex followers for being something of a compilation of unreleased pieces, different takes and reinterpretations of earlier works, taken on it's own merits, I think `Anno Demoni' is a perfectly adequate horror soundtrack-styled work, full of convincing dark arrangements and drizzly atmosphere. It was the first Antonio Bartoccetti and Doris Norton album I bought, so I might go a little easier on it than others because I'm somewhat nostalgic about it, for it led me to search out and immerse myself in their other work.

After a brief typical Rex organ introduction, `Gloriae Manus' instantly falls away into a slow distant rumble that borders on dark ambience, before hypnotic piano and that vile hammering drum similar to the first two Jacula albums looms heavy over the listener. Doris Norton then doubles on imposing gothic organ alongside maddening harpsichord that gives it that B-grade schlock horror movie comic book sound.

`Jacula The Witch' is a very moving and sad lullaby with a haunting wordless female vocal along the lines of some of the 70's Goblin albums. Gentle yet ghostly chimes float along in the background before being joined by a very reflective and somber piano melody soft Mellotron wisps. Easily the best piece on the album, and a shame that it's so short.

The 12 minute title track has eerie synths, macabre organ and plodding acoustic guitar playing over Mellotron, electric violin and tribal percussion. The middle section has a very jarring electronic looped pattern with oppressive cold synths that invade the mood - I'm reminded slightly of some of the darker keyboard sections of Pink Floyd's `Animals' album here. The finale diverts into an oddly Tangerine Dream-styled floating electronic piece. Vile taunting voices call from the distance throughout the piece, with a spitting and biting quality that gives them a highly sinister and threatening tone. This slow and gradually unwinding piece compliments the long ambient piece `Enchanted Wood' that concluded the `Ralefun' album.

`Soul Satan's is a slightly rubbish Italian prog/pop song with slight disco beats (which started creeping into Rex albums from 1977's `Zora' onwards) and awful ragged strained male vocals. It's not unusual for Italian prog albums to have boisterous and passionate vocals, but Antonio (if it's him who is singing, because he's the only one credited to vocals on the album) sounds like a drunk pirate on this one! But it's worth hearing for the endless murky soloing dirty bass mixed so loud playing all throughout the song.

`Missanigra' is full of spooky keyboard effects, chanted Latin voices, bat noises and creepy synth patterns but no real melodies to speak off. Just more of the same - somewhat undeveloped and uninspired horror ideas without actually being unlistenable.

The main album concludes with the perfect soundtrack for a haunted house movie, `Ego Sum Qui Sum'. Frightening harsh white-noise electronic orchestration constantly swirls around creeping violin dueling with more of that dirty melodic upfront bass from `Soul Satan' and dancing harpsichord . It's nice to hear the band step away from all the booming organ and find other ways to build their malevolent soundscapes, and it's quite an experimental piece for them.

The wonderful vinyl reissue includes a bonus 7" single with two shorter alternate pieces, `Morti Vindent' and `1999 Mundi Finis' from (I think) the `Zora' album. Probably more interesting to new listeners who haven't heard them on previous albums, although there are slight differences that Rex fans will pick up on.

`Anno Demoni' is only really disappointing from the perspective of comparing it to the other Bartoccetti/Norton albums. On it's own it's a perfectly successful horror themed prog album with decent playing, gloomy atmospheres and haunting dark melodies. Many of the other albums from their vintage period offer a lot more depth and emotion than this one, but it's still works well on a surface level. There is a somewhat nagging feeling of `same old', but even added elements like the violin give it a unique sound in the Rex discography.

Three stars.

— First review of this album —

Described by Antonio Bartoccetti himself as a "techno experiment", the 1992 release of a short 8 minute 12' single under the Antonius Rex name is a truly baffling and horrible lapse of judgment by the duo of Bartoccetti and Doris Norton, with help from their son Rexanthony. Although the previous album twelve years earlier from 1980 `Praeturnatural' contained slight dancier elements worked into the usual gloomy atmospheres and nightmarish horror soundscapes, `Pig In The Witch' is a repulsive commercial dance/club track with virtually nothing to associate it with any of their other works, not the vintage 70's albums nor the comeback releases much later in 2005. I'm all for an artist trying something different, but to put out a dance track with all the moronic and inane top 40 dance pop stylings and cliches that makes that sort of music such garbage is too much to defend.

Beginning with Bartoccetti's growled call of `Pig in the witch!' (which doesn't even make any sense), pounding commercial dance beats pound the listener over the top of a promising programmed electronic loop of a snorting pig, over and over. This short burst of potential is soon eradicated with a wailing sultry female dance chick urging the "Party people" to "Get this party started" - I KID YOU NOT. We then get a four minute `dance floor anthem' full of pumping techno bass and eventually moronic blasting tedious keyboard melodies, along the lines of the `Mortal Kombat' movie theme tune. There's very brief traces of Doris Norton's piano, but it's so incidental and unimportant that it makes no impression. The second side remix is virtually identical, with less female wailing but still plenty of calls for the "party people". God help us...hmmm, considering it's Rex, maybe not.

If the band had tried for a more industrial hard dance sound, perhaps like the early Nine Inch Nails releases, this would have allowed them to retain their dark horror with a more contemporary and modern sound. At least they would have kept even the barest shred of dignity and credibility.

At least the LP cover is decent - big blood red lettering and a photo/illustration of Bartoccetti in the centre that compliments the rest of their albums perfectly. At least it creates that illusion, until you play the damn record.

I read a comment elsewhere on the 'Net that called this random release `A short joy'. Nothing could be further from the truth, and we should be grateful that the Rex clan never attempted anything like this ever again. The later Rex albums `Switch On Dark' and `Per Viam' saw the band morph into a dark synth-goth group that successfully merged programmed electronic beats with their usual darkly classical moody soundscapes, so perhaps this failed experiment was necessary for Bartoccetti to figure out how to include these elements appropriately in their later comeback work.

The music of Antonius Rex is often meant to be frightening and depressing, but this single travesty completely changes the meaning of those words.

One star.

Probably one of the more controversial albums in the Antonius Rex catalogue, `Zora' is a messy, incoherent and unfocused album that still manages to provide several exciting pieces of horror tinged music. It's easily the band's most varied and colourful release, jumping back and forth between uneasy comic-book style horror schlock, dark gothic moody passages and more traditional Italian prog. It's got a bad reputation for being a bit of a dud, but I've always found every Antonio Bartoccetti and Doris Norton Jacula/Antonius Rex work stands on it's own unique personality, and this one is no exception.

With it's pounding beat, tinkling hallucinatory piano, eerie synth solos and sound effects, opening track `The Gnome' sounds like almost no other Jacula/Rex piece the band ever worked on. Worryingly the beats are quite disco-oriented! The piece is highly kitsch and has a very B-grade horror/sci-fi sound, probably complimenting the album cover perfectly. Melodic but mumbled male vocals throughout make the track sound like a poorer version of `In Einsteinesse's Memory' from the later album `Ralefun', but that was a lot more pleasant and sophisticated than this one. Lively acoustic guitar and grooving bass amongst howling winds in the middle is the highlight.

While Antonio's typical Jacula/Rex narration and deep chanting opens `Necromancer', it's full of thick spacey synths from Dorin Norton that gives the track a very floating quality. After some passionate Italian sung vocals from Bartoccetti, we're back to more strange disco percussion with some quirky and very insane guitar melodies. The track then diverts into truly bent jazz directions, with some loose and upbeat piano soloing from Norton and both wild ragged electric guitar playing alongside clean crisp melodic runs from Bartoccetti. Like `Pactus' from the previous album, once it gets going it sounds almost nothing like the sort of gloomy music the band are usually associated with.

The beginning of the unnerving `Spiritualist Séance' is similar to the previous album's `Devil Letter' - full of theatrical horror movie sound effects over low-key musical accompaniment. In this case, Norton's lonely and moving church organ, which even has a slight Rick Wright/early 70's Pink Floyd-like quality to it. This track even seems to have a very murky sound quality that gives the piece an even more unpleasant touch. The organ gets more wild, messy and downright violent as the piece progresses. The final few minutes are a vile storm of crashing percussion, glistening psychedelic keyboard effects, echoing flute, dirty wailing electric guitar and tormented possessed female cries before a very abrupt and uninspired fade out. Truly a dark piece that makes you feel like you're losing your mind.

The title track is a surprisingly tasteful, sprightly and almost upbeat Italian poppy prog rocker, with pleasant passionate Italian vocals and warm acoustic guitar more along the lines of P.F.M. The beginning and end sections have repetitive and maddening clean guitar riffs, ghostly washes of stylish synths and frantic piano solos. `Zora' would not have sounded out of place on the wonderful `Ralefun' album, which is the one in the Antonius Rex discography that comes closest to `traditional' 70's Italian prog.

Beginning and ending with a vile scream, `Morte At Potere' is a remake/new interpretation of the track `U.F.D.E.M' from the second Jacula album. This time the piece is more deeply psychedelic, with supremely thick and dirty electric guitar, wilting flute and foul organ, while Doris Norton records another take of her throaty tortured lead vocals from the first version. There's enough differences to make it interesting enough to stand on it's own.

The bonus track `Monastery' that comes with the CD version is a long floating synth/piano piece that almost sounds like electronic music in places. Programmed percussion pumps alongside swampy country acoustic guitar and bluesy electric solos. The beats make it fit with almost dancier synth pieces like `Angels and Demons' on the more recent Rex albums many years later. Although a welcome bonus, I don't think it's fair to consider this part of `Zora', as it not only sounds nothing like the rest of that album, but it clearly comes from a later recording session as well.

Special mention must go the astounding vintage 70's comic book erotic horror album sleeve! Sadly this album is the `black sheep' in my collection, it's the only album from this artist I have on CD, and it's the one I truly would have appreciated on vinyl due to that front cover! Sadly, even the vinyl reissue from a few years ago I stalled on getting is long since sold out and commands a lot of money.

Listeners unfamiliar with Bartoccetti and Norton's work should certainly not start with this album. I think even collectors of this artist should leave this until last - and even then approach with caution! It's an album that's severely underwhelming and confusing on first listen but eventually proves to be a worthy release in it's own right, and even compliments some of the later `Ralefun' album. As I always point out in my reviews, each of the Rex/Jacula releases has it's own identity and sound - `Zora' is psychedelic, colourful and schizophrenic, and a real one-off in their fascinating and worthwhile discography.

Three stars.

The first album of Antonio Bartoccetti and Doris Norton's music to appear under the Antonius Rex name, `Neque Semper Arcum Tendit Rex' is full of the same plodding gothic church organ and downbeat guitar work found on the Jacula albums, however some of the emotional hypnotic and trance like elements present on those albums have been replaced by a wild, unhinged and very deranged doomy sound. After the second piece, most of the tracks flow into each-other, creating one long nightmarish soundtrack. It's an immersive and haunting work, full of passionate playing and wild original experimentation.

As striking as Bartoccetti's guitar playing is on this album, the album truly belongs to Doris Norton's endless variety of darkly classical piano, trippy Moog workouts and spacey synth effects playing all over the top of her dominating organ playing. Special mention must also go to Albert Goodman's baffling drum-work, full of strange busy fills and over-powering random aggressive attacks. The combination of all these players creates a very dizzying, colourful and occasionally messy sound that perfectly fits the music.

Side A's title track has a creeping suspense dominated by Doris Norton's spectral organ and piano that floats amongst howling winds, Latin chanting and long drawn out heavy guitar riffs. It's a slow and unwinding piece that constantly builds in tension and uneasy fear, with a trademark wailing guitar solo from Bartocetti over unrestrained and oppressive organ in the finale. The organ has an occasionally flat and bent sound on `Pactus' that, while starting off as a typical Rex track, suddenly diverts into a lovely jazzy fusion styled 70's Santana-like piece with evocative lead guitar dancing around spacey keyboards and gentle percussion. The track is very tastefully played and surprisingly loose and restrained for this band - even subtle! It's actually one of my favourite overall pieces of music by this artist, even though it sounds very little like anything else they ever performed. Beginning as a creepy haunted house sounding piece, `In Hoc Singo Vinces' has lovely ghostly piano tip-toing around sinister organ, before Bartoccetti launches into some supremely sludgy guitar riffs over some of the dirtiest murmuring bass pushed way to the back trying to break through the mire. Stabbing organ notes and hard drumming smash down on the listener in the wild violent finale.

Dizzying synth solos throughout create a disorientating sense of feeling throughout Side B's `Non Fiat Voluntas Tua' with very addictive descending downbeat guitar riffs and booming percussion. Doris Norton sounds literally possessed on this one, with her endless swirling piano, stalking church organ and psychedelic moog solos. The centerpiece of the album might be the highly disturbing `Devil Letter', an experimental piece that alternates between dark music and evil story- telling. Chasing footsteps, creaking doors, pounding walls, tormented wailing and most frightening of all, a gnashing snarling devilish beast are interspersed with a lovely gothic choir and grand organ themes at the start and end. This exceedingly unpleasant piece is fascinating and quite original, very surreal, and gives this section of the album a breathless and predatory tone. Finale `Aquilla' is merely more of the same Black Sabbath/Iommi riffs with some slightly more dramatic piano and busy drumming before a shredding Bartocetti guitar solo. It does have quite a successful tension, but doesn't really offer much different to earlier parts of the album, and it ends very abruptly.

Fans of the earlier Jacula albums and doomy atmospheric gothic music will be right at home with this one.Others who don't like those albums will know to stay right away. I personally find all the Bartochetti/Norton releases endlessly intoxicating and daring, full of grand musical themes. Each of their albums stand as an original and unique statement, and I'm constantly drawn to the moody soundscapes and gloomy ambience of their work. Even though I don't have as strong an emotional response to this one as I do the first Jacula album, `Neque Semper Arcum Tendit Rex' is still another highly satisfying and moving work all the same.

Four stars.

Having been a big fan of both the Antonius Rex and Jacula projects (the first Jacula album is easily one of my absolute favourites) for many years now, I was very excited to grab the reissue of this album when it released a little while back. I'd only ever read mostly negative reviews about it, but for some reason I was always deeply fascinated to discover it for myself. Up until the re-release, I doubted that I would ever come across the album, due to it being so rare.

To begin with, the album sounds almost nothing like any other Jacula/Rex album before or since, having more in common perhaps with traditional Italian prog albums. It's not quite as heavy and oppressive, and the occult elements are very much toned down to be almost non existent for much of the album. Instead it has beautiful melodic electric guitar solos, spacey keyboards, very pleasant vocals and ferocious flute playing! The album is actually full of an uplifting romanticism, with only occasional dark touches.

The first track `Magic Sadness' reminds me for some reason of the Solaris `Martian Chronicles' album, although that was years later. Wonderful keyboard sections on this track that repeat a few times. Fully instrumental, it's a very striking opening and it grabs your attention straight away. The simple drumming reminds me a lot of Nick Mason, not the only moment on this album that reminds of Pink Floyd.

After a spoken word intro, `Agonia per un Amore' makes me think so much of P.F.M, with very warm vocals and acoustic guitar playing. Doris Norton's sparse piano is very engaging, and the beautiful flute playing are two wonderful highlights on this track. Anyone who likes Italian prog albums would enjoy this simple but effective piece very much.

`Witch Dance' has some guitar riffs that remind a little of Black Sabbath, and it's one of the heavier tracks on the album, which some terrific wailing solos and even more of that busy flute, it really takes off on this one! Despite the title, and Bartoccetti proclaiming `You are my black witch!' many times throughout the track, it's not very dark or sinister at all, actually almost comical, though I doubt that was the desired effect they wanted!

Perhaps my favourite track on the album, `Incubus' has many great simple guitar moments repeated over and over, and some gorgeous piano and organ in the middle from Doris. There also a slightly annoying overuse of a bat sound effect throughout parts of this one, but it helps add to the slight uneasy tension and drama of the track.

`In Einsteinesse's Memory' is a more upbeat track, with an almost dancey/disco beat and endless flute soloing, the electric guitar playing off it a lot of the time. Once again Bartoccetti's simple vocal is very warm and melodic, nice to hear him actually singing like this. Not many other moments like this on their other albums.

The last track ` Enchanted Wood' is the most experimental piece of the album, a 12-minute near ambient piece, filled with both natural, perhaps forest sounds, and also slightly ominous and unsettling unnatural effects, creating a very ghostly and hypnotic atmosphere. Very mysterious and fascinating. Very low-key guitar improvisations and spacey keyboard. All the players get some very subtle and effective moments on this track.

Overall the album is highlighted by the terrific flute and organ/piano playing throughout, and the presence of acoustic guitar on some parts of the album adds a very warm sound to this album, which is unusual in comparison to many other Rex albums. The music is not exactly complicated, but much of it is very melodic and tasteful, making it a good album to having playing in the background, to be able to enjoy on the surface without having to listen intently to complicated arrangements and time-changes.

Highly recommended album, fast becoming a bit of a favourite of mine. Track down the gorgeous Black Widow vinyl reissue like I did!

Italian outfit ANTONIUS REX, was formed in 1974, following the cancellation of Bartocetti and Norton's previous band Jacula. "Ralefun" from 1979 was their third full album production, and 32 years after it's initial release it is reissued for the second time courtesy of Italian label Black Widow.

The mystical musical journeys of the Italian band Antonius Rex tend to be of a nature that will ever so slightly intimidate on first encounter. "Ralefun" is the sole exception of the creations in their back catalogue, sporting lighter, mystical and even accessible escapades. A relatively gentle introduction to the dark universe explored by Bartoccetti and Norton, and perhaps an ever so slightly surprising experience for those who have discovered this act in the last decade or so and who haven't started to investigate its past.

Judging solely on the cover of this album I expected dark and intense instrumental keyboards dominated music. I was partly right, but wasn't too surprised with what this cd contains. Per Viam contains eerie and dark instrumental music (with various vocalizations and processed vocals spread throughout the album) from the prolific husband and wife group of Antonio Bartoccetti and Doris Norton who make up Antonius Rex. Having started out under the moniker of Jacula they began making haunting and fascinating music already in 1968. I have only heard their output as Jacula and despite being aware of their Antonius Rex project I've never had any exposure to their music. Thus, I wasn't sure whether I should expect something similar to the creepy (in a good way) atmospheres of Jacula or maybe something else. They released 5 albums from 1974 to 1980. They have remerged in 2005 with a new release and have since released two more albums, Per Viam being their 2009 album.

The album covers various sounds and atmospheric grounds. From creepy industrial settings (Micro Demons), to metal-ish and heavy segments with guitar and keyboards solos (Woman of the King, Per Viam, second part of Spectra) and then to more majestic sounding but still dark synth-dominated pieces (Per Viam). It can be a creepy listening experience with some tracks, such as Micro Demons, sounding like a sonic representation of a nightmare; a hellish industrial setting with processed vocalizations (screams and spoken). On the other hand, there are more refined pieces and sections of compositions that counteract the cruder sounding parts. However, the horror- movie like music atmosphere is prevalent throughout much of the album and can serve as a good setting for late-night listening if one is interested in achieving a scary and peculiar mood. The last two tracks on the album are remakes of older pieces. UFDEM is a remake of a Jacula track (a superb one at that, both the original and the remake), whereas Antonius Rex Prophecy is based on a piece by Charles Tiring.

I quite like the feel of this album, its eeriness and oddity. I find its cross-over between a more electronic and synth dominated side and a more rock and heavy inclined tendency is well balanced. I'm not as big a fan of the artificial sound it boasts however. I'd have liked them to use real drums instead of the digital ones, which are the prominent ones here (there are also acoustic drums). These just sound life-less and turn what could be a powerful piece to something much duller and devoid of striking punch. If you seek a dark-sounding album, odd, creepy and scary sounding music, this album should satisfy your needs.

This is the review of the re-release on Black Widow from last/this year. The seven minutes long Proxima Luna (second to last song) is the only change from the original album, to my knowledge. A song that does not make this album any better.

I am not familiar with neither Jacula or this artist so this is my first foray into Antonius world. A foray that starts with some really pleasant RPI. Or to be more precise; the first four songs are middle of the road RPI with the usual 1970s sound. This album was recorded in the 1970s so no wonder. There are some space rock too infused into the very comfortable RPI sound. Banco and PFM springs to mind. The vocals are pretty weak though. But the flute, guitars and tangents disguise the weak vocals. I am pleased.

The album takes a nosedive from there on and to the end. In my case; that's twenty minutes of dissonant noodling with some voices and chants inbetween. If this is satanic chants, I really feel sorry for the devil. The quality is really poor.

In other words; this album is a game of two halves. The end result is not that impressive, but this is still a good album which has not turned me into a fan of Antonius Rex.

3 stars

The Witch returns!

This was the last piece of the Antonius Rex discography to find me and it was not without some apprehension that I first played it. I had heard it was a spotty album and worried it might be in the same league as "Anno Demoni," which is my least favorite title from the band. After all, even the official Rex biography on their web site calls the early editions of the album "uninspiring" and "absurd" and claims the project was only completed "for the money." It does seem to be a project cobbled together in pieces between 1975-1978 when Norton and Bartoccetti were busy with a young child and admittedly disillusioned with the recording of music. Drummer Albert Goodman was likely the most enthusiastic member of the group at this point, and Bartoccetti also brought in two friends from the group Raminghi to beef up the tracks. To further cast a dark shadow on this project Goodman died in 1978 under what are reported to be "mysterious circumstances" made even more so due to his supposed dabblings in occultism. So given my low expectations, it was a very pleasant surprise indeed that I ended up being most enchanted by the Witch, the dangerous lady on the album cover. While not in the same league as Jacula, and a step down from the first Rex album, Zora still has plenty of nice moments which will please the fans of these eccentric artists.

We begin with "The Gnome" which was absent from the first vinyl release but added to the second. It's a strange one indeed, showcasing the disco-drumming technique of Mr. Goodman and the poor English vocals of one of the Raminghi guys. But it has some neat sound effects and a great dual acoustic lead section. "Necromancer" gives us a bit of Antonio's soothing narrative and some twisted, dark vocal to begin with. It opens into an odd jammy track with Doris laying down some jazzy piano against Antonio's guitar musings. Both "Spiritualist Séance" and "Morte al Potere" are reworkings of material from the Jacula days, which Antonio pretty much admits is a strike against Zora's credibility. Yet these were strong albums and thus I didn't mind at all, I rather enjoyed hearing the new twists even if I ultimately prefer the original, especially the masterpiece "Tardo Pede In Magiam Versus." These interpretations are much less formal, loose, occasionally sloppy and of lower fidelity, but still fun. Anytime I can hear Doris' defiant siren song over that gothic church organ I am on board. The title track is all over the map but very enjoyable, with sections featuring straightforward rock, more Raminghi vocals, lovely keyboard/piano washes, and more beautiful, dreamy acoustic work from Antonio. What makes this version especially nice for the Rex fan is the addition of a very good bonus track in "Monastery." This 10 minute track was produced in 1980---I'm not certain but I suspect it was a product of the "Praeternatural" sessions as the sound is very similar. It's a gorgeous flowing piece with Doris' piano on a sea of synths, Antonio's cutting guitar scraping along in the background, then a beautiful acoustic guitar solo and an electric one.

Rex fans will certainly want to own this Black Widow anniversary edition which is another quality tri-fold digipak. You'll get the cool bonus track and a generous booklet of typical Rex strangeness, the highlight of which are a few photos of the strikingly beautiful Doris Norton (yes, I have a little crush on her.) Jacula/Rex newbies should not start here however. First, get both Jacula albums, the first Rex album, and the latter period "Switch on Dark." Then if you find these "esoteric observations" of sound and black magic to be entertaining, you can move on to Zora and the rest. Remember, Jacula and Rex should never be judged in the context of rock and roll. This is an experimental sound troupe if you will, who combine both modern and gothic sounds to create dark "sounds paintings." You must enter the mist in the spirit which was intended, if you are to play for the Witch. All titles have been lovingly restored on CD by Black Widow Records of Genoa. Hopefully the rumoured third Jacula release is next!