Italian post-apocalyptic laser metal (from Finland) you what?? Well actually this happens to be something I am a bit of a connoisseur of due to my other love of dodgy movies. Let me put it in context. With the advent of home video, one of the most successful titles of the era for Warner Home Video was Australian hit Mad Max (1979). This opened the floodgates for a ream of imitators and as far as films are concerned nobody did a better job at plagiarising popular albeit underground cinema than the Italians and directors renowned for Giallo thrillers, erotic comedies, zombie and cannibal gut crunchers were quick to fire out a slew of films. Amongst these were Sergio Martino’s ‘After The Full Of New York (1983), Joe D’Amatos Endgame (1983) and Texas Gladiators (1982) Ruggero Deodato’s ‘Atlantis Interceptors (1983) Enzo G Castellari’s Bronx Warriors (1982) Guilliano Carnimeo’s Exterminators Of The Year 3000 (1983) and Lucio Fulci’s New Gladiators (1984). These were all not only great fun to watch but helped labels like EV and Medusa flood the market with all sort of films. They are still incredibly popular today with those who saw them the first time around and thanks to Nightsatan they may also get a second look and help some of them finally get definitive DVD releases.
What has all this to do with music you ask? Well the soundtrack was an integral part of these films and to give the often cheap budgets a more futuristic feel synthesized scores were heavily utilised and it is from these stamping grounds and music by the likes of Riz Ortolani, Guido and Maurizio De Angelis, Walter Rizatti and Carlo Maria Cordio that Nightsatan take their cue from.
Not only have Nightsatan made a soundtrack in essence they have also made a 24 minute film to go with it which is an absolute hoot and one that will stir a lot of memories in aficionados of the post-apoc genre. They are releasing this in conjunction with the album and although I have had the pleasure of seeing it we have been asked not to share the link. A trailer is however here http://vimeo.com/85812194
Nightsatan play in character much the same way I guess as Ghost and Gwar! We have Inhalator II (the clean cut human pretty boy), Wolf-Rami (warrior, skull faced mutation) and Mazathoth (the cybernetic sonic wizard). It would appear that they have some album release shows coming up but only in Finland, it would be interesting to see if they play in character and quite honestly think it is the only way they could do things legitimately.
Naturally the album runs a lot like a movie soundtrack would do and is divided into 14 tracks, some mere fragments and a lot with quite a bit more substance about them. I won’t pick out all the films they remind me of (a bit beyond doing short of a mass viewing session) but the opener ‘Lost Karelia’ with sorrowful weeping keyboard lines could be straight off Vangelis Blade Runner score. Everything here is pure retro keyboard work and it has the B-Movie feel down to perfection. Don’t expect fast and blazing parts, they really are few and far between, this is all about setting mood and numbers such as ‘(Obey) Thy Master’ are full of desolation and fill a void where a once heavily populated world has been decimated and only a few survivors dwell like rats. As I mentioned covering label mates E-Musikgruppe Lux Ohr keyboard boffins are going to have fun ticking off what instruments and sequencers are used here, it sounds like they utilise quite an array of them.
A favourite number is the actual ‘Theme From The Loops Of Doom’ it’s a chilling melody that bristles again with that desolation and scurrying fugitive survival streak. It does owe a lot to John Carpenter but with Escape From New York being the other non-Italian classic and most successful film of the genre how could he not get a mention? I forgot to say that it’s not all synths there is room for some guitar parts that solo in a way some used to listening to \\metal// per se could only describe as incredibly cheesy. It’s all part of the charm here though. ‘Doom Doom Girl’ is a haunting and simple eerie part that gets right beneath the skin and makes you shiver like a dose of radiation sickness and ‘Nightmare In The Night ‘ is a chanting and sinister part that makes me think of some unholy cult practicing diabolic fiendish rituals ‘Omega Man’ style.
Without wanting to waffle on and dissect each track more it’s obvious that I enjoyed this on plenty of levels. I have to wonder how it will go down with those who have never seen the movies it has been inspired by though, incidental listeners may just find it lacking as they don’t grasp where it is coming from. That said it has not stopped all the hipsters jumping in on the recent Goblin bandwagon even to the extent of flooding to see a band they did not realise was the legitimate thing. I’ll certainly be among the first to applaud the authenticity and dedication to the subject matter from Nightsatan (even going as far to do their film in Italian) though and keep my fingers crossed that this is not simply a flash in the pan.
(8/10 Pete Woods)
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