Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Goblin Rebirth
Label: Relapse Records
Release: 2015
Length: 44:34
Rating: 4.5/5
Goblin Rebirth are the latest ‘offshoot’ of the cult Italian symphonic prog rock band Goblin, who made their international name in the mid-seventies with soundtracks for Dario Argento horror films like »Profondo Rosso (1975) and »Suspiria« (1977), while prog fans revere them above all for the masterpiece »Roller« (1976), one of the finest gems of the Italian prog rock scene. Goblin Rebirth put out their self-titled debut two years late. »Goblin Rebirth« was supposed to drop two years earlier, but assorted other commitments kept both bosses of the band, bassist Fabio Pignatelli and drummer Agostino Marangolo (both also members of the ‘main’ Goblin), from getting their ambitious new project out into the world on schedule.
Alongside the seasoned Pignatelli and Marangolo, the classic Goblin rhythm section, the band also features keyboardists Aidan Zammit and Danilo Cherni and guitar virtuoso Giacomo Anselmi. »Goblin Rebirth« will surely appeal to all fans of classic Goblin, since individual instrumental ideas on it could easily serve as the musical backdrop for some horror flick. According to the band members, it’s a concept album telling the story of an imaginary horror movie. That movie revolves around the birth of a monstrous goblin-like creature that suspiciously resembles one of the characters from Goblin’s past horror soundtracks.
Still, compared side by side with the classic Goblin, who put out the excellent album »Four of a Kind« (2015) this year, Goblin Rebirth blend the traditional sound with occasional bursts of modern synth textures, proving they aren’t looking back too much and lean a bit more ‘contemporary’, though of course there’s still plenty of room for traditional keyboards. It’s all seasoned with excellent production, and the result is one of the most exciting albums to come out of the Italian prog rock scene in recent years.
»Goblin Rebirth« is, which is hardly a surprise, a seriously dark and uneasy album, where you can often picture some small, nasty beast with sharpened claws about to leap out of a shadowy corner at any moment. The opening track »Requiem for X«, with its piano-driven build-up of tense drama, really does sound like a funeral dirge or the theme for The Undertaker’s pompous entrance into the ring, packing massive layers of sacral-tinged organ, dramatic tempo shifts and haunting guitar passages with the occasional mini moog infusion, resulting in an exceptionally rich sonic collage.
»Back In 74« has a very well-chosen title, since stylistically it strongly recalls the classic Goblin of the seventies, while the haunting harmonies between guitar and mellotron waves will surely appeal to all King Crimson fans too. Anselmi is a seriously sophisticated guitarist who cleverly combines different playing techniques and has clearly learned a lot from the guitar masters of the golden age of progressive rock, while both keyboardists balance traditional and modern keyboard textures very well. »Book Of Skulls« opens with agitated bass guitar variations and the haunting sound of a mini moog, while the ominous mood, helped along by clever interludes of improvisation and masterful tempo changes, swells by the second.
»Mysterium«, which also reigns with a chilling atmosphere that makes your hair stand on end, brings a string of wild moog variations and hellish guitar passages, making it one of the most dynamic and fiery pieces on the album. »Evil In The Machine« is by far the most modern-leaning »Goblin Rebirth« composition, with electronic synth textures and sound effects with computer-generated vocalizations, while brutal guitar passages, merciless drum stampedes and mellotron waves now and then recall the ‘good old’ King Crimson again, who were always among Goblin’s main role models.
On »Forest«, where dramatic keyboard curtains and interesting sound samples rule, full-on gothic drama takes over, so it sounds like the backdrop to some horror flick about a lost woman in a dark forest. This time Anselmi conjures up a haunting blues-based guitar solo in the midst of thick keyboard waves. »Dark Bolero«, yet another gothic adventure where a mysterious, gloomy atmosphere builds effectively, is, with its haunting symphonic arrangements and complex guitar passages under the noticeable influence of Robert Fripp (King Crimson), one of the highlights of the whole album. The dark Goblin Rebirth requiem mass wraps up with »Rebirth«, a proper symphonic prog treat and a total ambient triumph of incarnate evil, where clever tempo changes, intelligent improvisations and melodramatic guitar-and-keyboard harmonies trade off with great effect and taste.
Goblin Rebirth have made a brilliant debut that easily brings to life the concept of a little demonic creature born to punish a crumbling humanity, while successfully blending the classic Goblin sound with some fresh and welcome modern ideas. Along with the excellent »Four of a Kind«, it’s another Goblin treat this year that will delight all fans of dark symphonic prog rock, this time courtesy of the old Italian school. »Goblin Rebirth« is almost on a par in quality with »Four of a Kind« by the ‘main’ Goblin, which is admittedly a bit more ‘traditional’, built to the tastes of longtime followers, if you really want to compare the two, so Pignatelli and Marangolo have a double reason to be happy in 2015.
Lineup
Fabio Pignatelli – bass guitar
Agostino Marangolo – drums
Giacomo Anselmi – guitar
Aidan Zammit – keyboards
Danilo Cherni – keyboards
Production
Goblin Rebirth
Tracklist
1. Requiem for X (4:16)
2. Back in ’74 (4:23)
3. Book of Skulls (6:07)
4. Mysterium (4:24)
5. Evil in the Machine (6:17)
6. Forest (6:26)
7. Dark Bolero (4:48)
8. Rebirth (7:36)
