IN THE HOUSE OF DARK SHINING DREAMS

GOAD is a project by musical brainchild/multi-instrumentalist Maurilio Rossi and his brother Gianni, rooted in the late Seventies. Not until 1994 GOAD released their debut CD entitled Tribute To E.A. Poe. More than 10 years later, after six studio-albums, GOAD recorded the live-CD In The House Of The Dark Shining Dreams. Well, listening to this album I have to conclude that's a quite extraordinary musical experience, to say the least! Most of the songs sound ominous and hypnotizing with slow rhythms, raw and fiery guitar work, propulsive drums and vocals that come mighty close to the sound of somebody who is on the brink of a nervous breakdown, what a spooky voice. In some songs we can enjoy the majestic sound of the church organ, at those moments GOAD reminds me of the infamous 'prog from hell' by Jacula. It's no coincidence that GOAD decided to play a cover of King Crimson their ominous sounding composition 21st Century Schizoid Man, the use of organ and synthesizers adds a special flavor to the unique rendition. And it's no coincidence that GOAD also decided to play some work of Wagner (the intro of the final track) with the sound of a classical orchestra, very dark and ominous, again. To me this album by GOAD sounds fascinating but it's not my cup of tea, too dark.

Goad is an Italian band from Florence that has been active for more than 20 years. Among their main influences and "sources of inspiration" you can find bands like Van Der Graaf Generator, King Crimson, Black Widow, Led Zeppelin, Rush, Triumph, Genesis, Catapilla, Atomic Rooster and Black Sabbath, along with writers and poets like H.P. Lovercraft, Edgar Allan Poe and Edgar Lee Masters. "In the House of the Dark Shining Dreams" is the first Goad's album released for Black Widow Records, an interesting and dynamic Italian independent label from Genoa with a special taste for gothic and dark prog, and features some re-arranged pieces from their album "Dark Virgin" along with some new songs and two covers (King Crimson's "21st Schizoid Man" and Van Der Graaf Generator's "Killer").

The album is introduced by the unquiet notes of a violin emerging from a raging storm that lead to straight the subject matter of this work... Nightmares! On the second track "Yet Another Battlefield", music seems to bellow from underground with the sound of the organ marching ghostly in the forefront, while muddy and suffering vocals draw imagines of dead grey soldiers... You can find the same gothic atmosphere in the following "The Clapper Beatin' Fast", where leaden words are sung in anguish and fear by vocals soaring upon distorted guitars and organ... "In the house of the dark shining dreams / Lived the dumb Phantom / White was her face, vermilion the halo..."... Well, in my opinion lyrics are not the strength of this album but the music is intriguing and flows away like the soundtrack of a long nightmare where "a dark night devours and swallows the reality"... "Dark Virgin", "Olympia", "Killer", "Steep Path", "Springy": the sound is compact but not boring, there are some bluesy moments (like in "As Nothing Had Changed") and sometimes you can really feel a "wind of madness whistling in your ears". The final "Genius Of Europe" (evoking the ghost of a "World of eternal glory and beauty" corroded by hate and by the "wicked strokes of the new tele-barbarians") concludes, after more than 77 minutes, an interesting musical journey in the "gothic side of prog".

Although perhaps not essential in a prog collection, in the whole this is a good album and I think it's worth listen to...