Goblin Rebirth - Goblin Rebirth (2015)

Nos adentramos a un mundo de deliciosa oscuridad que disfrutarán a lo grande. Prog rock inquietante y atmosférico para películas de terror. La mítica banda italiana Goblin no habrá sido el grupo más exitoso de la historia del rock, pero su halo de oscuridad (en muchos sentidos y no solamente en el musical) no solo perdura a través del tiempo sino que además, hoy en día, son homenajeados abiertamente por bandas como Opeth, entre otros. Aquí, la resurrección de todo un santuario y una fuente de inspiración que sobrepasa las épocas, en una de las reencarnaciones del mitico grupo italiano, en un disco muy recomendable!.

Artista: Goblin Rebirth

Álbum: Goblin Rebirth
Año: 2015
Género: Rock Progressivo Italiano
Duración: 44:34
Nacionalidad: Italia

Lista de Temas:
1. Requiem For X
2. Back in 74
3. Book of Skulls
4. Mysterium
5. Evil In The Machine
6. Forest
7. Bolero
8. Rebirth

Alineación:
- Aidan Zammit / keyboards
- Giacomo Anselmi / guitars
- Danilo Cherni / keyboards
- Fabio Pignatelli / bass
- Agostino Marangolo / drums

No, no es la tapa de "Reborn" de Black Sabbath, ni estamos ante el renacimiento formal de los míticos italianos (entre Goblin Rebirth, New Goblin y simplemente Goblin), Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin o simplemente Goblin nos podemos armar una ensalada interesante) es una de las reencarnaciones del mitico grupo italiano de rock progresivo de los setenta, Goblin, que no solamente son míticos sino también están en el blog cabezón traídos por Lino, pero si aún no los han escuchado se los presento...
Si quieren saber más o menos cómo suenan estos grupos, podemos traer la nueva versión de la mítica "Rojo oscuro", la banda sonora de la película "Profondo Rosso" quizás el trabajo más popular de la banda, una banda sonora que ha sido regrabada pero manteniendo muchos de los elementos que caracterizaban a la obra original: el sonido obsesivo de la batería, el empastado de matices típico de la época, los climas opresivos, suena así de bien...

A los italianos Goblin, que vivieron su gran momento entre 1972 y 1982, se les conoció principalmente por haber puesto banda sonora a clásicos del giallo como “Rojo oscuro” (1975), “Suspiria” (1976) o “Zombi” (1977). Después de haber sufrido incontables cambios que les han llevado a renacer bajo el nombre de Goblin Rebirth, su sección rítmica original vuelve a lo grande. Fabio Pignatelli (bajo) y Agostino Marangolo (batería), junto al guitarra Giacomo Anselmi y los teclistas Aidan Zammit y Danilo Cherni, siguen demostrando su alta capacidad para crear música deliciosamente inquietante: prog-rock de pedigrí, a momentos más ambiental (“Forest”) y, en otros, más netamente progresivo (“Back In 74”), pero con una frescura malsana que convierte a piezas como “Requiem For X” o “Dark Bolero” en clásicos instantáneos. Pese a los años transcurridos, su elegancia compositiva sigue resultando perturbadora.

MondoSonoro

Básicamente, todas las bandas Goblin cuentan con Claudio Simonetti al frente, salvo la propia Goblin en la que ya no toca Simonetti; y antiguos miebros de la banda en distintos roles, salvo Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin, que es una reestructuración de su otra banda, Daemonia, para interpretar en directo temas de Goblin.

Rock progresivo oscuro, épico y fastuoso, pero sobretodo es bello, de hermosura densa, sugestiva e inquietante, con melodías cinematográficas (obviamente) que envuelven todo a su paso e hipnotizan al ayente, llevándolo lejos de los dominios de la mente cosciente, racional y analítica... nos adentramos a un mundo de deliciosa oscuridad que disfrutaremos a lo grande.

Lamentablemente no estamos ante el renacimiento formal de los míticos italianos que en los setenta asociaron su rock sinfónico a la renovación cinematográfica del género del terror de la mano del no menos genio Dario Argento. Pero casi... y me explico. El sello discográfico Relapse Records anuncia la publicación del álbum homónimo de una nueva formación, llamada 'Goblin Rebirth', para el próximo 26 de junio (Alemania, Bélgica, Países Bajos y Luxemburgo), el 29 del mismo mes en el Reino Unido y resto del mundo, excepto Estados Unidos, que verá la edición para el 30 de junio.
Como explicaba al principio de este artículo, esta nueva agrupación, se inspira en los legendarios Goblin, icono de bandas sonoras gloriosas del gialloitaliano de los 1970, entre las que se encuentran las de Suspiria, Zombi o Tenebre, por ejemplo.
El caso es que tras la breve reunión de los miembros originales de Goblin en 2009, y su posterior y, definitiva, disolución, la sección rítmica fundadora (Agostino Marangolo a la batería y Fabio Pignatelli al bajo) decidió unir esfuerzos a Aidan Zammit y Danilo Cherni, ambos teclistas, y al guitarrista Giacomo Anselmo para dar forma a una nueva resurrección en 2010 del espíritu de aquellos Goblin originales y recrear su repertorio incluyendo incluso aquellos temas más oscuros dentro de su producción histórica.
Decididos a afrontar el futuro sin vivir del todo de su pasado, los integrantes pronto comenzaron a componer nuevos temas y nueva música que provinieron en unos casos de la escritura individual y en otros de las constantes jam sessions en el local de ensayo del grupo. De esta manera nació Goblin Rebirth, el álbum en este caso, que fue mezclado y producido por el propio Fabio Pignatelli y que se registró en los Greta’s Sound de Roma, así como en Zamusic Studios y Cherni Studio. La percusión se grabó, como es habitual, en la Scuola Sul Mare y el resultado final se masterizó a cargo de Bob Fix.

José Luis Martínez Arilla

Para ayudarnos en el comentario del disco, viene en nuestra ayuda nuestro involuntario comentarista de siempre a darnos una mano...

Volvemos al universo musical de los legendarios maestros italianos de la música de terror progresiva GOBLIN para remitirnos a esta entidad denominada GOBLIN REBIRTH, la cual está dirigida por la dupla rítmica tradicional de la fuente madre: el bajista Fabio Pignateli y el baterista-percusionista Agostino Marangolo. El quinteto se completa con los dos teclistas Aidan Zammit​ y Danilo Cherni, y el guitarrista Giacomo Anselmi. De hecho, este grupo ya tiene 5 años de formado, y desde el punto de partida se dio a conocer el circuito underground de su país con un repertorio de temas clásicos de GOBLIN y alguna que otra pieza menos llamativa de sus tradicionales bandas sonoras para películas de terror. Con su continua labor de nuevos arreglos para todos estos viejos temas, la banda se dio pronto maña para crear un nuevo material a partir de jams y composiciones individuales, mirando hacia el futuro como una entidad musical de carácter autónomo. Hace poco, a fines del pasado mes de junio más exactamente, GOBLIN REBIRTH ha convertido en una realidad física el registro de su material nuevo: el sello Relapse Records publicó, tanto en formato de vinilo como de CD, este disco titulado también “Goblin Rebirth”. Hace poco reseñamos en este mismo blog el disco de GOBLIN “Four Of A Kind” – conformado por el quinteto clásico menos Claudio Simonetti – y, teniendo ahora en nuestras manos a “Goblin Rebirth”, nos atrevemos a expresar nuestra preferencia por este último, pues nos impacta de una manera especial esa mezcla de magia y vigor que expresa el ensamble de Pignatelli, Marangolo, Zammit, Cherni y Anselmi a través de este repertorio de ocho piezas.
Abre el álbum la pieza ‘Requiem For X’, un tema signado por un aura ceremoniosa desde la cual sus atmósferas esencialmente tenebrosas se manejan con una mezcla de vibración fastuosa y espiritualidad etérea. Aires de RICK WAKEMAN y CAMEL entran a tallar eficazmente en el moldeamiento de una idea típica de GOBLIN. ‘Back In 74’ sigue a continuación para explayarse en un dinamismo más extrovertido: la vivacidad imperante sirve como contexto idóneo para el grupo explore más a fondo su filo rockero, el cual de por sí es inocultable. Algunas de las intervenciones del teclado nos recuerdan un poco al TANGERINE DREAM de fines de los 70’s, pero como decíamos, esta pieza tiene como signo principal el punche rockero, especialmente en aquellos pasajes donde se hermanan la guitarra y el órgano Hammond. Con la dupla de ‘Book Of Skulls’ y ‘Mysterium’ disponemos de nuevos recursos de deleite melómano con los que la banda explora matices renovados de su rectamente definida propuesta. En efecto, ‘Book Of Skulls’ engarza pasajes marcados sobre un groove de inspiración jazz-rockera con otros donde prevalece un tenor de rock duro melódico, para posteriormente virar hacia una atmósfera plácida bastante típica del paradigma sinfónico en su faceta reflexiva. Este repaso sucesivo de estándares de CAMEL, DEEP PURPLE y THE ENID culmina con una ágil retoma del pasaje intermedio para la coda. Por su parte, ‘Mysterium’ nos devuelve en parte a los aires de ‘Requiem For X’ pero con una sobriedad refrescada por vía de una ingeniería roquera excelsa: la densidad propia de la idea musical en curso es manejada con una elegancia envolvente merced a la estrategia de auto-contención que emplea el ensamble en su expresividad. ‘Evil In The Machine’ nos lleva por otro lado, uno más notoriamente extrovertido, apelando a un groove marchoso en clave de jazz-funky sobre el que se exhiben atractivas capas de teclado, llamativos riffs de guitarra e intervenciones del canto con vocoder. Así sonaría una pieza perdida de GOBLIN en manos de THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT (en una suerte de híbrido de las épocas del “Eye In The Sky” y del “Stereotomy”)… y también hay un curioso detalle en el empleo de una secuencia armónica cuasi-Crimsoniana en 9/8.
La secuencia de las tres últimas piezas del álbum se inicia con ‘Forest’, una pieza lenta que explora paisajes sonoros melancólicos con una buena dosis de nervio. En el momento en que el solo de guitarra ocupa el rol central de la instrumentación, la tensión emocional contenida parece desatarse en un arrebato de pasión abrumadora antes de volver a esconderse en las cuevas de su yo interior. Algo de STEVE HACKETT vemos como influencia en el armado del esquema global de ‘Forest’. Luego sigue ‘Dark Bolero’, un tema que remite parcialmente a los estándares de MIKE OLDFIELD. A pesar de su título, no se trata aquí de instalar un desarrollo melódico oscurantista sobre un esquema rítmico marcial, sino de un ejercicio de fusión contemporánea con base en aires mediterráneos dentro de un contexto puramente fiel al paradigma sinfónico. Los últimos 7 ½ minutos del álbum están ocupados por ‘Rebirth’, una pieza simplemente fantástica que instaura un adecuado broche de oro para el álbum. Efectivamente, aquí se explora a fondo esa faceta estilizada esencial al sinfonismo, añadiendo recursos de grooves fusionecos en algunos pasajes estratégicos: es casi como un homenaje a la escuela originaria progresiva británica que se remodela oportunamente con esa vibración melódica tan propia del sinfonismo italiano, amén de algunos ornamentos densos que siempre cabe esperar del universo Gobliano. Ésta fue nuestra experiencia con “Goblin Rebirth”, un catálogo de poco menos de 45 minutos que nos encara con una modernización vigorosa de la esencia más pura del GOBLIN de siempre, el GOBLIN inmortal. GOBLIN REBIRTH no es realmente el producto de un renacimiento en el sentido más estricto de la expresión, sino más bien el de una remodelación que conserva una oportuna fidelidad a las raíces originarias mientras proyecta una nueva luz desde dentro de sí.

César Inca


¿Qué más le podría agregar a todo eso?... únicamente que el disco está buenísimo. Dejo algunos videos y el link a su espacio en Bandcamp para que escuchen y conozcan bien lo que hace esta gente. Discazo.
Y por último, algunos comentarios en inglés por si no creen lo que venimos diciendo hasta ahora.

What an interesting time it is to be a Goblin fan! 2015 currently has no less than four Goblin-related projects active - Claudio Simonetti's Goblin which utilizes his Daemonia team-mates, a reactivated Cherry Five (the pre-Goblin band), a reworked version of the original Goblin, and here we have Goblin Rebirth. Two players from various Goblin albums from the vintage Seventies period of the band, Fabio Pignatelli (bass) and Agostino Marangolo (drums), are joined by guitarist Giacomo Anselmi and keyboard players Aidan Zammit and Danilo Cherni, and this all new band carries on in the fine tradition of Goblin past and present...but wait, there's more! Despite not being a soundtrack work like so many previous Goblin works, `Goblin Rebirth' contains all the usual gothic atmospheres, cinematic sophistication and dark prog-rock flavours, but there's plenty of refreshingly interesting new ideas that gives this Goblin its own exciting identity.
The tip-toeing chimes, ghostly piano, whispered voices and booming symphonic organ of opener `Requiem for X' assure everything is in its right place for this Goblin, and like many of the pieces to come, the track dramatically jumps back and forth in tempo effortlessly. But even better is the up-tempo and groovy `Back in '74', powered by the Fabio's relentless chunky Chris Squire-like bass, little classy Mellotron veils, electronic glitch breakdowns and Agostino's snappy drumming, with a gorgeous classical piano break in the middle and tasty Moog runs popping in and out, all making it one of the coolest tracks to ever appear on a Goblin album! Giacomo's brooding guitar soloing burns through both `Book of Skulls' alongside slinking purring bass and spacey keyboards, and `Mysterum' with its eerie Mellotron choirs and sweeping grand symphonic synths.
More galloping Squire-esque bass brings a subtle funkiness to `Evil in the Machine', a wicked and sleek mix of cool electronics and aggressive heavy grinding guitars over slithering spoken whispers. `Forest' is a real standout, an initially ambient diversion of solemn church organ, ethereal female voices and dramatic synths orchestrations that even reminds of 70's Genesis in a few fleeting moments, and an epic soaring guitar solo over soulful sighing harmonies instantly calling to mind Pink Floyd. `Dark Bolero' is just that, an evocative gothic mix of dark acoustic guitar, groaning cello and sweeping violin that eventually picks up in tempo and bristles with danger thanks to slippery bass weaving like a hissing serpent, and the male/female chanting voices bring the band closer to fellow dark Italian prog group Il Segno del Comando. Instrumental closer `Rebirth' brings all the styles of the album together, its prickly acoustic guitars dancing around murmuring bass, looping electronics and orchestral synths that rise in rapture.
A complete rebirth of the Goblin sound may be a bit of an exaggeration, but `Goblin Rebirth' still sees this version of the band very inspired and determined to impress, and they've succeeded in creating a very confident and distinctive work. It ticks all the right boxes and will easily please faithful Goblin fans, but there's a lavish symphonic prog sound in general, with a gutsy modern edge that already shows Goblin Rebith forging their own unique dark identity. They not only compliment the other currently active Goblin bands, but they also stand apart on their own merits, and it's a triumph for lovers of the darker side of Italian prog and instrumental prog in general.
`Goblin Rebirth' deserves an easy four stars, and is a must-buy for Goblin fans worldwide, be they prog-rock or horror movie buffs!

Michael H.

Goblin Rebirth is a new germination of Goblin, the historic Roman prog band best known for the soundtracks of horror films such as Deep Red or Dawn of the Dead. The project was born in 2011 on the initiative of two veteran Goblin's members, Fabio Pignatelli (bass) and Agostino Marangolo (drums) and the line up was completed by Aidan Zammit (keyboards, vocoder), Danilo Cherni (keyboards) and Giacomo Anselmi (guitars). The band started performing live some pieces from Goblin's old repertoire but also managed to work on original compositions. In 2015 they finally released a brand new album on the independent label Relapse Records: it's simply entitled Goblin Rebirth and it was conceived as the soundtrack of an imaginary film whose plot is described in the liner notes. During the recording sessions the overall sound was enriched by some guests musicians such as Arnaldo Vacca (percussion), Francesco Marini (cello), Roberta Lombardini (vocals) and Dorraine Zammit Lupi (vocals) and I'm sure that Goblin's fans won't be disappointed by this work...
The excellent opener "Requiem For X" conjures up an atmosphere of mystery. According to the liner notes, it describes a scene where a strange character is observing a funeral ceremony from a hidden spot... Well, the strange character is a goblin who looks at his own final journey towards the pyre. How could it happen? He remembers...
The following "Back In 74" takes you back in time and features vintage sounds that recall Italian seventies scores full of car chases and action... According to the story-line here the protagonist begins a strange experience that drives him across space and time. He relives his childhood and early adult life, he can see all his many errors and feels that he has to follow a new way...
The dark "Book Of Skulls" describes the climbing of a mountain and the discovery, in a palace carved into the rock, of a mysterious book. The protagonist can't understand the symbols written on the pages of the book and their secret message but he puts the book in his pocket and leaves the palace...
The following "Mysterium" takes you through the labyrinth where the protagonist gets lost after leaving the palace. The atmosphere is tense and disquieting, you can feel fear and a sense of loss looming large. The protagonist feels he's being manipulated like a guinea pig in an experiment by an unknown entity...
On "Evil In The Machine" the rhythm rises and the atmosphere becomes almost unreal. The music veers to frenzied electronic soundscapes and here every now and again it reminds me of bands such as the Rockets, Kraftwerk or Alan Parsons Project. What did it happen? Well, you'll never know how, but the protagonist is now trapped into a video game and in this surreal world created by humans he meets a beautiful female goblin: short circuit! The game is over...
On the following "Forest" the rhythm calms down and we find the new formed couple in a kind of garden of Eden, surrounded by the beauty of nature. Now the atmosphere is relaxed, you can hear a church like organ and the suggestive, ethereal female vocals of the guest Roberta Lombardini while an electric guitar solo evokes a love dream on the dark side of the moon... Is this love?
The Gothic "Dark Bolero" conjures up obscure suspects, sins and betrayals. The music for a while takes you back to the time of Inquisition trying to describe a love that is falling apart, poisoned by jealousy and infidelity. Eventually the protagonist realizes that a goblin can never love and gives up: he just closes his eyes waiting for the end of his painful days on earth...
The closer "Rebirth" marks a new beginning. The protagonist awakes in a new mood, you can here exotic percussion and acoustic guitar passages while the keyboards weave the fabric of a new spiritual dimension. Mr. X is back home now and his family welcome him. He can start a new circle with a new awareness, while his nightmare slowly melts in the light of a new day...
Well, I doubt that this album will ever become the soundtrack of a real film, so all the images are up to your own fantasy that the power of music can stir, you can even elaborate a different screenplay if you like... Have a try! You can listen to the complete album on bandcamp...

Andrea Parentin

GOBLIN were masters of 70s soundtrack magic creating the perfect spook-filled vibes that gracefully accompanied various film scores. The band started out as Cherry Five and wisely changed their name to the more catchy GOBLIN and by 1977 had several well selling albums to their credit. Fast forward several decades later when it seems every classic prog rock entity is giving it a go and trying to catch the new wave of 21st century progressive music and not only do we get one GOBLIN, we get SIX! That's right, since 2010 there have been several bands named New Goblin (2011-13), The Goblin Keys (2012), a new version of the original Goblin (2013 - present), Claudio Simonetti's Goblin (2014 - present), the new version of Cherry Five (2014 - present) and my favorite of all this stunning synth-laden spookfest by GOBLIN REBIRTH (2011 - present ) which contains original members Fabio Pignatelli (bass) and Agostino Marangolo (drums). Joining the team are Aidan Zammit (keyboards), Giacomo Anselmi (guitars) and Danilo Cherni (keyboards).
This team really churns out the horrific and satisfying "Exorcist" type vibes as well as some stellar symphonic heavy prog rock that playfully dishes out one churnin' groove after another with enough variation to keep my ears pricked up for the album's entirety. Pretty cool for a bunch of guys who have been around the block a few times. More often than not older prog bands only deliver a stale watered down version of yesterdecade, but none of that nonsense with GOBLIN REBIRTH. This album successfully integrates the past with the present and utilizes the most beautiful production values that current technology has to offer.
"Requiem For X" is exactly what the doctor ordered for me to get all excited about a new GOBLIN album. The cool embryonic fetus on the cover is the perfect visual representation for this newly tweaked sideshow in the greater GOBLIN universe and instantly makes me think of the movie "Rosemary's Baby" and lo and behold with the very first introductory chimes accompanied by a subdued whistle, indeed remind me of that very soundtrack that accompanies that movie. It's just similar enough to evoke the whole Devil's spawn concept but doesn't go as far as completely feeling like a ripoff and as soon as it plays itself out we get a full-on symphonic prog assault with classical piano runs dancing with moog synthesizers and hard rocking power chords on the guitar all the while rhythmically powered by a groovilicous bass line.
The soundtrack laden themes build upon one another cementing the fact that the GOBLIN sound is not only relevant to the current era but still quite electrifying as well and best of all we still get some surprises on the way. One of the biggest of these modern day developments comes with the track "Evil In The Machine" which not only delivers a seriously hard rocking groove and synth laden dark atmosphere but aspires to Kraftwerk with some dark and haunting processed robotic vocals. The track is absolutely brilliant in how it combines dungeon synth atmospheres melding with a pummeling bass and guitar attack all the while adding a detached and emotionally charged edge.
"Dark Bolero" is another treat with a pulsating cello line churning out the famous slow-tempo Spanish music form with a dark atmospheric touch and a healthy dose of a progressive rock infusion to create a stunning concoction of sonic bliss. A perfect display right here of the musicians on board each becoming a sum of the whole to make a beautiful melodic flow and once the female vocals join in reminds me a bit of something Cirque Du Soleil would incorporate into their evocative performance art.
There are really no bad tracks on here, just good and great. GOBLIN REBIRTH is a brilliant side project of one of the greatest spooky movie soundtracks artists the world has spawned and as the band themselves claim on their Bandcamp site that GOBLIN REBIRTH is very much a classic album that will thrill prog-heads and score-heads alike and sits comfortably next to the older classics "Suspira," "Profondo Rosso" and "Tenebre." And those are statements that i would totally agree with as GOBLIN REBIRTH has elements of all the previous incarnations of the band and plenty of surprises that pop out in the most unexpected ways. One of my favorites from 2015 actually.

siLLy puPPy

Goblin is arguably the most recognized name behind horror scores. The Italian progressive rock band’s work on such films as Suspiria and Dawn of the Dead has been deservedly lauded for decades, each soundtrack attaining a cult following with fans rabidly defending their choice over others. Regardless of which album you enjoy the most, it’s easy to admit that they’re all fantastic, exuding atmosphere and dread with each note.
While the band has split long ago, several of the members remained in contact with certain others so as to continue their musical journeys together. Enter Goblin Rebirth, which features Agostino Marangolo and Fabio Pignatelli, the original drummer and bassist of the group respectively, who just this week released their self-titled debut album.
When you have the original rhythm section from the original group, the question of whether or not it’s still going to sound like a horror score arises. Does Goblin Rebirth continue the band’s tradition and legacy that us horror fans so lovingly revere?
To answer that question, you have to understand that while the horror crowd may love the band for their contributions to our genre, that’s not where they started. Remember that Goblin and all the members were all originally associated with the progressive rock genre, influenced by bands such as Genesis, King Crimson, and similar. Yes, the vast majority of their work is comprised of soundtracks but all of those scores were built upon the foundation of prog rock.
So when I listened to Goblin Rebirth, I put aside my hope for horror and instead opened my mind and ears to whatever was going to be presented. However, while I decided that I wasn’t going to look for horror with this album, horror definitely came looking for me.
The album opens with “Requiem For X”, which opens up sounding like a missing track from The Exorcist soundtrack. Bells and xylophones hauntingly ring out while sinister synths swell in and out, dissonant notes flitting about like little ghosts. The song builds, adding textures and instruments to create something foreboding and dark but ultimately still very groovy, even rising into a full blown guitar solo. It sets the tone for the album, which is that we will hear a gorgeous and delightful variety of instruments and tones, all used deftly, weaving in and out of off-kilter time signatures.
The next track, “Back In 74” is an absolute delight of a song. The fast-paced groovy bassline is topped with a shimmering King Crimson-esque guitar melody that transforms into a super funky riff with elements of jazz fusion. No matter how many times I listened to the song, I couldn’t help but tap my toes and nod my head.
There is no shortage of horror influences throughout the album, such as tracks like “Mysterium”, which features a malevolent choir chanting evilly, or “Evil In The Machine” and its robotic vocals. But there are also moments of stunning beauty, such as the David Gilmour-esque guitar solo in “Forest” or the exotic “Dark Bolero” and the majestic ways that the instruments “speak” to each other.
The album has this delightful warm sounding production, as though it came straight from the 70’s or 80’s. And yet it embraces the modern, each sound crisply present.
Almost entirely instrumental, Goblin Rebirth is one of those albums that you put on and allow it to take you on a journey. Each time you listen to it, I guarantee you that you’ll hear something new, some neat little sound or melody that previously passed by because there’s just so much musical cleverness going on.
The Final Word: Goblin Rebirth is an album that is meant for horror fans while also never sacrificing the love and origins of progressive rock. In the world of horror the sight of the dead coming back to life is so mainstream that it’s become mundane and expected. Goblin Rebirth‘s return from the grave is that breath of fresh decaying, rotten air that we so richly deserve.

Jonathan Barkan

Lovingly pinched from Ravenous Monster Horror Webzine: It’s pretty much impossible to imagine Italian horror cinema without also thinking of Goblin. Their eerie cinematic soundscapes provided the soundtrack to sudden bloody death and the arrival of demonic evil. I would argue that their soundtrack to Suspiria is not only the best modern horror score but also the LOUDEST. If you remove the Goblin soundtrack from any movie they worked on, that movie’s effectiveness is essentially cut in half…at least!
Goblin in its original form no longer really exists. Claudio Simonetti, the man many consider the mastermind of the band, has struck out on his own. Now we also have Goblin Rebirth, essentially a continuation of the original band, featuring original Goblin bassist Fabio Pignatelli and original drummer Agostino Marangolo. There’s a swampy stew of bands claiming the Goblin name these days, but Goblin Rebirth has the advantage of a major independent label, Relapse Records, championing their cause.
A few things are immediately evident upon hearing the self-titled debut. One, the necessary eeriness of Goblin is still there. Two, this is a much more driving and rock-oriented version of the band. Whereas a lot of the classic Goblin soundtracks tended to be ambient and very “cinematic” in feel, the songs here are punchier and feature more driving rhythm. That makes perfect sense considering that it’s the original rhythm section that’s the bedrock of Goblin Rebirth. The guitar plays a more prominent role as well. It’s also noticeable that these are all pretty concise songs…not just cinematic movements.
The absolute Goblin purist may very well quibble with the Goblin Rebirth material, but I think most of their old fans will be along for this ride. It’s not like these guys suddenly decided to do hard techno and hip-hop. The nods to Tangerine Dream, Pink Floyd, King Crimson and earlier soundtrack masters like Bernard Herrman and Miklos Rosza are still there, and the music still has the ability to create stories in your head. Those are by far the most important aspects of Goblin.

roadburn