With Goblin and his new band, Daemonia, and as a solo composer, Claudio Simonetti has been paving the way for rock horror soundtracks for nearly three decades, even outscoring the great Fabio Frizzi's music in terms of pure energy. On the heels of the Opera remaster comes Demoni, also well-stocked with bonus demos, live versions, and videos, and housed similarly in a slipcase. Don't be surprised: Claudio is matching Cinevox's excellent Goblin remasters with his own releases via his Deep Red label.
The title track is a staple in the Simonetti canon, always performed live with whichever incarnation (currently Daemonia) of the Goblin ghost he's involved in. It's an industrial-sounding rock track with an exotic flavor that incorporates noisy vocal and percussive Emulator samples, a hybrid rumba/jazz bassloop, [synthetic] organ and strings, and the trademark spooky chorals. "Cruel Demon" is a short, fierce interlude of dense orchestration that prefaces the fiendish moan "Killing" opens with. Here, Claudio employs a faux-electric guitar sample years before John Carpenter and Alan Howarth did — a slick toe-tapper of an incidental piece. "Threat" and "The Evil One" are brief haunts evocative of dread and darkness. "Out Of Time" is a splendid slice of synthetic chamber music pushed along by sweet violin leads and a Teutonic backbeat provided by the Linn 9000 drumbox.
The remaster is padded with five bonus tracks and two videos: the original electronic and (Rhodes) piano demo versions of "Demon," and two live versions of that track, one from Simonetti's Horror Project, one from Daemonia's ProgWest 2002 concert.
The best bonus cut is the original (longer) 1985 demo version of "Killing," different enough to be enjoyed on its own with extended verses and additional solos! For your CD-ROM are two multimedia files: one of a TV spot with Claudio and pal Dario Argento promoting the original RCA release of Demons, and one of the ultra-cool "Demon" promo video, featuring our beloved composer — it's a hoot!
As with Opera, being a Goblin/CS fan and not owning Demoni is to be deprived!
Track Listing:
1. Demon
2. Cruel Demon
3. Killing
4. Threat
5. The Evil One
6. Out Of Time
7. Demon (Reprise)
— Bonus Tracks —
8. Demon – Original demo version (1985)
9. Killing – Original demo version (1985)
10. Demon – Original demo on piano (1985)
11. Demon – Simonetti Horror Project version (1991)
12. Demon – live version by Daemonia @ ProgWest 2002, Claremont, CA
— Videoclips —
13. Demon – Original videoclip directed by Michele Soavi
14. Demon – Original TV spot with Dario and Claudio
Total time – 43:55
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