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Welcome To Unbound Zine |
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| Album Review |
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Anima Morte-Face the Sea of Darkness
(Dead Beat Media, 2007)
While I'm sure there are some who may not agree, but to my ears the rock based scores from the golden age of Italian splatter are among some of the most hauntingly beautiful moments in music history. Goblin, Fabio Frizzi and a few more artists help create a sound that was rooted in 70s rock but still ominous and foreboding. Anima Morte is a band that pays homage to this style and does a fantastic job at that.
On one hand the band does an incredibly job of being a continuation of the classic Italian rock sound, yet at the same time the band experiments and isnt without flashes of more 70s based rock. It's almost like Goblin meets Rush at times and truth be told it is remarkably written and performed. This is the type of record that will undoubtedly appeal to fans of Italian horror films yet at the same time it isn't exclusive to those fans. Fans of 70's rock that have absolutely no idea of Lucio Fulci was can enjoy this as well. It has the technical proficiency and flash of some of the more experimental 70's rock bands and it gives the album a bit more of a universal appeal.
Certain songs definitely can be linked to certain directors I would say. Rise Again is a fairly obvious nod to Zombie and has a similar yet different feel to the original Zombie score. A Decay of Mind and Flesh wouldn't have sounded out of place in a classic Dario Argento film. It has the throbbing bass lines, massive synth lines and distorted guitars that made the Goblin sound so distinct. A few of the songs even have a creepy almost lullaby like quality to them, almost having the type of melody that would come out a slightly broken music box.
This is the first release by Dead Beat Media, a new label started by the folks at Razorback Records to showcase horror themed music. They couldn't have picked a better band for their first release either if you ask me. This is a layered and nuanced album that manages to do everything you would expect and so much more. If you are a fan of the band Zombi, or have watched far too many Italian splatter and giallo films, this will be right up your alley.
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 UN: Can you give us a bit of background information of how the band first came together? Was it decided right from the start that the band would be something of an homage to the Italian horror movie scores of the 70s and 80s?
Stefan: Well, I remember meeting Fredrik at a party... He talked about his plans of getting a band together playing vintage Italian horror music and asked if I was interested. This was something that I had always wanted to do, so I accepted right on the spot! I knew right away that it could turn into something really unique because, even though we all love metal music more or less, we didnt want that approach on Anima Morte. Instead we wanted to try and capture the old tone and sound from the old movies that we all love so much.
UN: How did the band first come into contact with Dead Beat Media? Are you guys proud to be the first band released on the label?
Stefan: We're the first band on a label dedicated to horror/cult-film/ music, of course were proud!!!
Fredrik: One day we got a mail from Billy of Dead Beat Media asking if we wanted to work with them, The concept of the label is just awesome and them doing this for the love of cult cinema is indeed rare. With this in mind we really did not need to think much about it! It has for sure been a great experience with Billy and Jill, no doubt about it! Proud? Hell yeah!
UN: How long did it take to record Face the Sea of Darkness? It seems like there is a lot of layering and it also seems like the band may be perfectionists as each note sounds perfect. Are you guys pleased with the sound of the record?
Stefan: A lot of the ideas for the songs had existed for years, just waiting to get a proper recording. I remember taking a week or two off to shape things up, then Fredrik and Daniel came over to my place (we live in different towns) and laid their touches on things. We recorded most of the guitar and bass parts at this point too. After this we went to Uppsala where Teddy laid the drums, which took maybe three days Im very pleased with the sound! And yes, I think were a bit of perfectionists. Thank god for that or otherwise the record might have sounded like crap!
UN: How has the response to Face the Sea of Darkness been so far? Are there a lot of people who understand what you are trying to accomplish with the music?
Stefan: I don't think many people understand what we're trying to do *laughs*. But it doesn't matter, because people seem to snap up the mood were trying to express anyways. I'm glad that it works for people who aren't horror freaks as well!
Fredrik: Yeah, and the horror fans seem to enjoy this a lot which really is awesome since we are horror freaks ourselves haha!
UN: Do you have certain films in mind when you are writing the music? Rise Again to me seems like an homage to Zombi. Any films in particular inspire any of the other songs on the album?
Stefan: I don't have any certain films in mind when I compose, at least not consciously. But sometimes I feel like composing a certain kind of music from a horror sub-genre, e.g. zombie movie music, cannibal movie music, giallo music etc. There is a certain groove to them all that is characteristic for them.
Fredrik: No me neither, I try to think of elements and moods rather than specific films.
UN: What is it about the Italian music that draws you in? Are there certain elements that appeal to you? Ive always loved the fact that while the music was creepy it was always up-tempo and rock based.
Stefan: Oooh, there are so many things! For myself, I'm a big fan of sad melodies, which I think the Italians are masters at capturing. Then there's the mixing of styles, which I also love. The instrumentation is at times also very odd, which is cool. I also love the sound of old vintage keyboards like Moog, Hammond and the Mellotron, which are heavily used.
Fredrik: They just have a totally unique style of their own, melodic and dark, yet the weirdest sounds and totally unexpected twists in the music.
UN: Fabio Frizzi, big influence, yes or no? I think the music he created really helped to create the atmosphere that made Fulcis movies so unique. The excessive gore didnt hurt either though I would say!
Stefan: I'd definitely say Fabio Frizzi's soundtrack to The Beyond is a big influence for me. It's a masterpiece!
Fredrik: Yeah, The Beyond and City of the Living Dead, those soundtracks are totally timeless classics. Very big influence indeed!
UN: Goblin would be another obvious influence I would say. Do you remember what the first film you saw with a Goblin score was? Just like Frizzi and Fulci, Goblin gave Argento a unique feel as well and was even more rock based.
Stefan: Goblin is a huge influence for me. The first film I saw that had Goblin playing the soundtrack must have been Deep Red. Totally blew me away! I went out and got the soundtrack right away and it's still one of my favorites.
Fredrik: Hehe yep that's our second big influence, I don't remember exactly which was the first one but I think it would've been either Dawn of the Dead or Suspiria.
UN: A question for the ages. Whose films do you prefer, Fulci's or Argento's? Argento's early giallos are hard to beat but Fulci was on quite the streak with Zombie, The Beyond, City of the Living Dead, House by the Cemetery, and even The New York Ripper.
Stefan: Oh, tough one. They've both had their ups and downs. But I agree, Argentos early giallo's and Fulcis late 70's/early 80's gorefests are hard to beat.
Fredrik: Haha I could not possibly answer that question.
UN: Does it bother you that a lot of modern horror movies use metal music during the intense moments? To me that seems like taking the easy way out although I think even Argento used Iron Maiden for a few chase scenes over the years.
Stefan: No, because I don't watch them anyway *laughs*. Even though Maiden rocks, I prefer an Argento movie with music specifically written for it.
Fredrik: Yeah, Simonetti's original Phenomena theme works way better... I don't care much for modern horror movies, they are for the most part tasteless remakes of old classics. I actually did enjoy the new Asian wave until it was utterly exploited by Hollywood.
UN: Have you been approached about scoring a movie yet? Is that something this band would be interested in doing in the future if the opportunity came up?
Stefan: I would definitely be interested in scoring a movie!
Fredrik: If an offer would be made we would no doubt consider it!
UN: Are there any plans to bring out Face the Sea of Darkness on vinyl? A 2 record gatefold release would be amazing!
Fredrik: Yeah I agree, vinyl is awesome, but it is kinda hard to get going financially unfortunately, if there was enough of a demand for it, we sure would do it.
UN: Aside from the latest disc, what else has the band released? This is the only material I have heard from the band.
Fredrik: Actually we did release a vinyl single called 'Viva Morte!' before the album. It is limited to 500 pieces and we still have some left if someone is interested. (Order through our myspace or homepage). We did print an additional 300 vinyl replica promo cds for it, but those are all out! Anyhow we got some ideas for new songs so I guess there is more stuff coming!
Official Anima Morte Myspace
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