La Stanza delle Maschere
La Stanza delle Maschere

The Italian horror cinema of the '70s is for many a unique season during which truly cult films were produced. Directors like Mario Bava, the early Dario Argento, the late Lucio Fulci, and the great Pupi Avati are names that have brought prestige to our cinematic school and are highly appreciated abroad. Music, too, at the time, had a very close relationship with cinema, as demonstrated by the Goblin, whose contribution was decisive for the fate of Argento's films. In their way, Jacula and Antonius Rex understood the “mood” of the time: there was a particular “feeling” in that decade which, fortunately, has not been completely lost. In Italy, a record label that has always paid great attention to the subject is undoubtedly Black Widow of Genoa, which, in 1998, came out with E tu vivrai nel terrore, a tribute to horror movies that also included a book (Incubi notturni). But the discourse has never really been interrupted, as demonstrated by some releases from this label, among which I highlight the new album by La Stanza delle Maschere. It is a true homage to the imagery evoked by the aforementioned directors. We find characters from a film like The House with Laughing Windows such as the Legnani sisters, Luigi Costa, a character in Zeder, and Ugo Piazza, the protagonist in Milano Calibro 9 by Fernando Di Leo (with a soundtrack by Osanna). But there is also an homage to a classic such as The Psychic by Lucio Fulci. Musically, we are faced with a doom that owes something to Death SS and the guru Paul Chain. Tracks like “The House with Laughing Windows” and “The Psychic” manage to evoke the magic of those legendary films. Claudio Dondo also did something similar in the dark-ambient field with his project Runes Order. Highly recommended to followers of doom and lovers of our horror cinema.