HORRIBLE MONDAYS - Anima Morte

You may have read about my adventures on reddit in the Gypsy Wizard [et al] feature. Well that little hour or so of spelunking continues to net results. The previously uncharted territory unearthed there is seemingly endless, as is usually the case in musical explorations. One of the names on Thatool's seminal occult rock list is Anima Morte. They've been around for a while but I'd never had the occasion to hear them until now. There aren't many bands that sounds like them. They takes the Goblin-worship one step further than most: rather than recording tunes that sounds like lost gems of the film score superstars, Anima Morte take the Goblin blueprint and blaze their own trail. That is, progressive rock with a horror-inspired cinematic scope.

There are similar bands out there, metal and prog bands at least partially indebted to Goblin, Blizaro is always number one in my mind in that category as they are arguably my favorite current 'band' (in quotations because it's mostly the work of one man, John Gallow), then there's BlackQueen and Midnight Zombie Alligator among the most memorable. But Anima Morte isn't really a metal band at all, although they maintain a hard and dark edge. It would be fair to label this "dark prog".

I like the moods here. Anima Morte are more interested in atmosphere than melody so the results are more 'Dawn of the Dead' than 'Suspiria' (I don't mean to pigeonhole Anima Morte here, but I can't resist the Goblin comparisons). This emphasis creates a truly cinematic experience for the listener. That's not to say they've done away with melody completely, just that their interest lies in the "story" they're trying to evoke.

Take a taste:


If you like the flavor, you might want to order yourself a CD or vinyl by ordering at the Transubstans Records online store. And you can always grab up a digital copy from iTunes.