BACK TO THE GOBLIN & MIASMA AND THE CAROUSEL OF HEADLESS HORSES
LONDON SCALA 27/07/09
There are not many bands that I really have on my list as “must see before I die” but two of them are unexpectedly playing this year, the other one is Ulver but tonight was all about my favourite instrumental band Goblin (or Back To The Goblin to be precise). The reason for the name change is that Goblin will never truly be Goblin without keyboardist Claudio Simonetti but he departed and formed his own offshoot Daemonia and we now have two bands playing the classic Italian horror film soundtracks of yesteryear. This and their show at Birmingham Supersonic festival were the first in the UK for over 20 years and to be honest I expected this venue to be rammed to the hilt. I think the reason perhaps that it wasn’t was due to the fact that many were not even aware it was happening, so bad news for the lingering touts but great for those of us inside, not packed in like sardines.
Any support would really have been superfluous but Miasma or as I just discovered on a MySpace search Miasma and the Carousel Of Headless Horses were every bit as interesting as their name. Apparently they comprise of members from Guapo, Aethenor, Chrome Hoof and Cathedral and they looked very odd. The make up was not exactly corpse paint but reminded me of the old punk band The Adicts, that could have also had a lot to do with their hats too and they also struck me as a ragtag band of Amish minstrels! They were also instrumental and list Goblin as an influence, which showed but there was plenty going for them that made them unique. The first number started with creepy keyboards and a female violinist more than making her presence felt, drumming at first was reminiscent of Holst with its militaristic ‘bringer of war’ stance before more progressive and carnivalesque flourishes too over. A kooky monster mash intruded as we went into the second unnamed number with the hayseed bumpkin appearance of the band adding to the deranged lunacy of it all.
The gathered audience were a really odd mixture as was expected, some metal heads and lots of older horror film fanatics as well as progsters and casual observers no doubt simply wanting to see a band who rarely play. They seemed to appreciate the weirdness going on here and applauded with gusto, it was very easy to join in too. The next number I believe (Peacock The Heretic) started off sounding like a big dipper spinning off its axis and ploughing through the fun-seekers, squishing them like jam, like something from an HG Lewis movie. There was an underlining sorrowful Jewish sounding lament to this too, it would have no doubt had Krusty weeping, but possibly tears of blood from this sinister circus. Towards the end there were definite hints of Zappa and I was also slightly reminded of Stolen Babies. Listening now it strikes that they pretty much played the songs in order as they are on their Myspace, so get your head around them here
An air of expectation seeped through the crowd as we patiently waited for Goblin, speaking of which it was no surprise to bump into Ben from that Orange Goblin at the bar (well not really, I guess bars and Ben go hand in hand) On the stage I had to laugh a bit seeing guitarist Massimo Morante, honestly his hair was straight out the 70s. There was a massive round of applause from everyone as the whole band joined him and this was before a note had been played. I failed to recognise some of the first numbers played, the band did announce where things were from after every few numbers and I noticed that one of these was from the very early years when the group had been known as Cherry Five. It was great watching them and the sound was perfect although at times it struck as a bit of a case of going around the houses as keyboardist Maurizio Guarini played what sounded like a pompous Carmina Burana meeting Halloween in a dark alleyway. Keyboards were very much at the front driving the music and there was no denying the newer guys talents especially as for the live show he was joined by second synth player Aidan Zammit, bass was lovely and thick too and it was an honour watching the excellent Fabio Pignatelli in action. As one passage went into prog overload you could easily picture a roving camera stalking its way through crumbling deserted labyrinthine tunnels waiting for something to come hurtling out the doom at it.
Newer tracks when aired such as ‘Magic Thriller’ just didn’t do it for me, it felt like the work of a band covering Goblin, mish-mashing all their ideas together. This was the one real complaint which was also very annoyingly also the case with the merchandise as the Back To The Goblin 2005 album was the only thing available to buy, no shirts and no older cd’s and a lot of very unhappy prospective purchasers.
Still there were the classics and when they came they were well worth waiting for, The main theme from ‘Profondo Rosso’ was the first to send a real shiver down my spine and later they also delighted with the nursery rhyme delights of ‘School At Night’ from the same movie. Want Zombies? No problem with slow stalking shuffles from the undead complete from Dario Argento’s directors cut of Dawn Of The Dead. Witches, yep them too, Suspiria was of course up for a couple of creepy cuts, the main theme of that being particularly fantastical. Nestled amongst these was another new one ‘Hitches’ with a creepy nursery rhyme childishly pervading. It did actually prove very effective but unfortunately my bad temper at lack of older merchandise meant that I had stubbornly refused to buy the album, which I admit regretting now.
So during the course of the evening we ended pitched up in shopping centres of the dead, strange brooding Giallo territory, (Tenebrae Main Title was another great highlight), spooky ballet schools and anywhere else our dark imaginations decided to transport us. They did play pretty much everything I could have wished for with the exception of ‘Contamination’ which I had attempted shouting for. They got huge applause at every twist and turn and said we were the best audience they had ever played in front of. With hindsight I wish I had enjoyed it a bit more, but then again I wish that the band were still playing with Simonetti but you can’t have everything in life. Hopefully Back To The Goblin will be Back and with proper merch in the near future, they certainly still have an audience.
www.myspace.com/headlesshorses
www.myspace.com/backtothegoblin
Pete Woods
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