IL REALE IMPERO BRITANNICO: PERCHÉ SI UCCIDONO (OST)

Perché Si Uccidono has so far been my latest Goblin-related purchase and I owe it mainly to the intriguing review posted by UMUR! After browsing the web I finally settled for the MP3 format version of the album off Amazon mainly because it would cost me at least $30 to get the real deal.

To tell you the truth I was originally disappointed by this album because I didn't feel that the music sounded like Goblin. I even compared the tracks with the samples available on other websites just to be sure that I've got the real album. I think that I was concerned by the fact that this album was originally released in the same year as Roller and I just couldn't believe that the style would change so drastically as it did here. Luckily the more I listened to Perché Si Uccidono the more I got into it and today I believe that my original comparison was indeed unjust.

The first two tracks may not sound like either Roller or Suspiria but they are great in their own special way. Both are very melodic instrumentals and I especially like Ammoniaca for its slow pace and nice keyboard work. The similar themes will be touched upon during Dodici E Un Quarto which roughly translates to "Twelve-fifteen" but before we get there we'll have to make acquaintance with the inferior middle section of the album.

Kalu at it's almost five minute running time is the longest composition here but it's also the one I enjoy the least because of its flirtation with the disco-styled sounds and rhythms. I would also probably have appreciated My Damned Shit a lot more without the vocals and although I have no problem with the performance the Italian accent of the singer just rubs me the wrong way every time I hear it.

The album's final 14 minutes (out of the 32 minutes) put the album once again on the right track with compositions like R.I.B. and Apotheke adding sort of a Jazz Rock/Fusion flavor in the overall mix. I like the versatile mix of compositions featured on this album which is something that Goblin will explore even more on their future releases, but strangely enough I feel like there are very few indications of the band that was featured on their previous album. Out of the 11 tracks here only compositions like Block and Distrazioni could have made sense on Roller.

Primarily I would recommend this album for fans of the later Goblin soundtracks while newcomers should probably start with albums like Roller, Suspiria and Profondo Rosso. Still this release is far from collectors/fans only material so I'll move it up a notch!

**** star songs: Epopea (2:55) Ammoniaca (2:25) Edda (3:02) Dodici E Un Quarto (1:58) Block (2:41) R.I.B. (4:16) Apotheke (2:32) Distrazioni (2:33)

*** star songs: Kalu (4:55) Epopea (Reprise) (1:27) My Damned Shit (3:09)