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Rating: There was a need for a book about the history of Jacula and Antonius Rex. The group of Antonio Bartoccetti and Doris Norton, over the years, has given rise to a genuine "cult" that boasts a select following of devotees. There has always been a halo of legend surrounding their events, and "Magister Dixit: the esoteric legend of Jacula and Antonius Rex", the volume published by Tsunami Edizioni and curated by Edoardo Vitolo, seeks to shed light on the thick veil of darkness that has always reigned supreme. The Jacula – the name derives from an erotic horror comic of the period – represented the dark and esoteric side of Italian prog. The volume proves very interesting as it retraces the stages of their philosophical and musical journey, which began precisely with Jacula. Their debut album "Tardo Pede In Magiam Versus" (1972) was something genuinely original and unprecedented for its time. The sounds were marked by the gloomy pipe organ played by Charles Tiring (who would disappear under mysterious circumstances in 1979, along with Albert Goodman, the drummer of the early Antonius Rex albums) while the Latin recitation and the gothic and dreamy atmospheres made it perfect as the ideal soundtrack of a Mario Bava film. Instead, the mysterious "In Cauda Semper Stat Venenum" from 1969, but published on CD later, is actually a fake: there is a strong suspicion of post-studio sound additions while the lyrics are copied from some tracks of the era by Van Der Graaf Generator. The legendary name Jacula has recently been resurrected by Bartoccetti and, after the album "Pre Viam" from 2011 which in my opinion is not entirely successful, further releases are already anticipated.
The Antonius Rex, after the break following "Praeternatural" in 1980, returned to the scene in 2010 with the excellent "Switch On Dark" (2006) and continue up to now with a more modern feeling and sound but with an unchanged occult spirit, although I personally continue to prefer the old things from the early '70s. The text is divided into chapters that analyze the various historical periods, commented on by Bartoccetti. Unfortunately, Doris Norton has left the group and did not actively participate in "Magister Dixit". The volume is enriched with many photographs and also contains appendices featuring interviews with Bartoccetti himself (curated by Massimo Gasperini, boss of Black Widow), his son Rexanthony (the band's new keyboardist, known for his musical activity in the techno-trance field), Ukrainian singer Svetlana Serduchka – guest on "Switch On Dark" and Romanian medium Monika Tasland who, after Franz Parthenzy, has become the most active collaborator of Bartoccetti. The aspect of mysticism, magic, and the occult is extensively addressed in the text: in particular, it speaks extensively about "women possessed by demons," a subject dear to Bartoccetti who has had direct contact with female individuals with this issue as can be heard in Pre Viam where the possessed voice of Sandra B. in the track "Possaction" is given space. "Magister Dixit: the esoteric legend of Jacula and Antonius Rex" proves to be an unmissable occasion for fans to delve into the mysteries and understand the "preternatural" philosophy of this truly dark character in the Italian musical landscape.
Eduardo Vitolo – Magister Dixit: the esoteric legend of Jacula and Antonius Rex – Tsunami Edizioni – 272 pages – 2015 – Euro 21.50
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