Tag: Claudio Simonetti

Review: Claudio Simonetti – Demons soundtrack (2023 reissue)

I picked this up the night I saw Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin play this score live to a screening of Demons (properly known as Demoni) in Chicago last year. The film is nuts, to put it mildly, and the score is a wild synthwave ride into dark places and crazy action sequences.

“Demon” starts us off with throbbing synth-bass to set the tone for what’s going to be a weird experience, and “Cruel Demon” is like a discovering a snake has slithered into the room and leads us into “Killing.” There’s plenty of that in the film, so it’s only appropriate that there’s a song called this. Heck, Lamberto Bava and Dario Argento, the creators of the film, could’ve just called it Killing. The song has neat orchestral synths mixed with electro-drums and metal guitar solos.

“The Evil One” is, appropriately, the creepiest tune on the entire soundtrack, with heartbeat beats and sinister synths to give you chills. “Out of Time” begins with violins and then switches to almost vaporwave sounds straight out of an early 1980s shopping mall. It’s wonderfully weird.

The Rustblade edition of the score is full of bonus tracks. The CD version is two discs. Disc One has two demo versions of the title track and one of “Killing,” a 2002 live version of “Demon,” a Simonetti Horror Project version of it from 1990, and, best of all the previously unreleased “Demon’s Lounge,” which, yes, is a lounge version of the title track. It’s amazing. I’d love a whole album of stuff like this from Simonetti.

Disc Two is all remixes by various artists, with only one by the Simonetti Horror Project. OHGR first remixes “Demons,” then Cervello Elettronico provides a cool industrial version of “Cruel Demon.” Simulakrum Lab gets you to to the dance floor with their remix of “Killing.” The Devil and The Universe remix “Threat” into something you’d hear while Jason Vorhees is pursuing you through a late night dance club.

:Bahntier// turns “The Evil One” into a full-out rave classic. Needle Sharing sees that and raises a drum and bass remix of “Out of Time.” Leæther Strip‘s remix of “Demons” adds more industrial throbs and grit to Simonetti’s original track. Chris Alexander gets creepy on his remix of “Killing,” and Creature from the Black goes all-out dance club mix on “Demon.” Dope Star Inc. slows things down on their remix of “Killing,” turning it into a stalking machine. Finally, the Simonetti Horror Project version of “Demon” pumps up the jams with hip hop beats and cool synth flairs to round out the second disc with a remix that is, I dare say, fun.

It’s a classic score for a wild horror film, and a must for fans of such stuff.

Keep your mind open.

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Live: Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin – Copernicus Center – Chicago, IL – October 15, 2023

This was my fourth time seeing some iteration of Goblin, the third time I’d seen a version including founding member Claudio Simonetti, and the first time I’d seen the film Demons (properly known as Demoni in Italy, where it was made). Simonetti and his crew were performing a new prog-rock version of the film’s score to a live screening of the film – the first time they’d done this in the United States.

It was a fun show right out of the gate, with good sound quality the whole time. Simonetti announced that the original score was synth-based, but hoped we’d all enjoy this new take on it by him and his band.

In case you haven’t seen it, Demons, is flat-out nuts and is about a bunch of people trapped in a movie theatre while most of the patrons turn into blood-thirsty monsters. I can’t tell you more than that, not because I’d spoil it, but because there isn’t more than that. Simonetti said he loves the film, stating, “I think it’s very funny.” It is, actually. It’s a wild ride, and so was their new score.

After that came a brief intermission and then they returned for another full set of Goblin classics and even some rarities – including the theme to Ruggero Deodato‘s crazy action / horror film Cut and Run.

And, of course, there was plenty of music from Dario Argento‘s films, including the themes to Opera, Tenebrae, Deep Red, and Suspiria.

Simonetti’s current band includes Daniele Amador on guitar (who played a great solo during the Opera theme), Federico Maragoni on drums (who delivered double-kick drum beats so fast that I thought they were programmed tracks), and Cecilia Nappo again on bass.

It was a fun night all-around, and a fun way to kick off the Halloween season. The crowd was made up of prog-rock fans, horror fans, and movie buffs. It felt like a bunch of friends (including the band) just hanging out to watch movies and listen to good music.

In other words, it was a fun party.

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Top 30 Concerts of 2018: #’s 25 – 21

So many good shows this year…

#25: Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin at Grand Rapids’ Wealthy Theatre – Seeing one of the composers of the Suspiria score and his band play the score to the film while film was shown was great, and the extra material they played from other horror and thriller scores was even better.

#24: Diana Krall at New Orleans’ Saenger Theatre – Cameras were allowed at this show, so I don’t have any photos of the performance, but it was a splendid night of jazz, humor, and love songs.

#23: Alison Krauss at South Bend’s Century Center – Speaking of Grammy winners, this country / folk / Americana set by Ms. Krauss and her band was lovely, despite the seating chaos. No photos of that show either, by the way.

#22: The Eagles at New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center – This show was “a religious experience” for my wife, who has been a big Eagles fan all her life. It was a good time for me to see these legends who had complete mastery over a stage. One of the most impressive things was hearing Vince Gill sing “New Kid in Town.” He nailed it.

#21: Los Superfonicos at Levitation Austin – These Austin cats played a great set of Columbian jazz and funk that was perfect for a warm early evening in Austin. A lot of people were standing outside the venue by the time they finished their set to catch part of it.

We’re into the top 20 next! Come back tomorrow to see who made the cut.

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