Folks are too… contemporary… these days. Not enough of us openly embrace the weird (despite the internet suggesting otherwise), and it was case in point when the world's greatest living prog band could only pull enough punters to fill half the Metro. Goblin scored arguably the greatest horror film of all time, Suspiria, and their commercial and critical success is indisputable. They've never even come to this town before, and yet… where the hell was everyone?
Miles Brown was in opening slot, and it's hard to conceive of a better match between support and headliner. He's a tall, gangly fellow dressed in a loose black hoodie, and he usually fronts The Night Terrors, a sensational sci-fi art-rock band from Melbourne. He also plays the Theremin, the coolest (and one of the oldest – 1928!) electronic instrument of all time. Dispensing with the inconveniences of actual instruments, Brown was free to explore some more personal material. He sped through a throbbing tech-noir set full of stylish menace and spooky electro stabs. His voice was a hollowed out incantation, and a bit shaky on pitch, but it was a solid set that set the tone beautifully.
Goblin's set was a musical masterclass in extravagance and style. They famously kicked off an established composer from Dario Argento's Profondo Rosso (Deep Red), and cemented their place at his side with their rich synth compositions and macho rock wizardry. They brought that to the stage, and the addition of a supercharged rhythm section (enormous double kicks and booming bass grooves) gave them a powerful presence. They moved through a surprisingly deep setlist that pulled from not only their well-known stuff (classic themes from Suspiria, Deep Red, their own debut Roller, and the horror-funk awesomeness from Dawn Of The Dead), but also some great classics from Tenebrea and Phenomena. Suspiria was a nice peak, with Claudio Simonetti conducting the audience who chanted the theme like black-clad disciples in a giant coven, and Massimo Morante bathed in light and fog – never has a mandolin sounded so sinister.
Despite being inseparable from such an intensely visual filmmaker, their visuals were… a bit shit. A DVD of a few loose bits of (B&W!) footage made up the majority, with only a few film highlights to raise any interest. Disappointing.
Even though they failed to deliver the trippy visual spectacle folks expected, they brought all the panache and the ornate, gothic and weird rock sophistication that has made them so famous and so important.
