In honor of the scariest month of the year, today’s Mid-Week Beat is focused on a band who is best known for their chilling soundtracks to some of the most iconic horror films.

The Italian prog-rock band Goblin formed in the early 1970s. They were orignially named Oliver until Cinevox, their record label, changed their name to Cherry Five. The band was influenced by the prog-rock titans of the time: Genesis, Yes and King Crimson. However, Cherry Five had their own strange and cinematic sound and Cinevox mostly published film soundtracks, so the band was often called upon to perform and arrange various composer’s soundtrack compositions. This made the group very familiar with the musical techniques that were unique to soundtrack work.

In 1975, the band was called in as a replacement for composer Giorgio Gaslini for the film Profondo Rosso (Deep Red) after he had a conflict with the film’s director Dario Argento. They changed their name to Goblin in an effort to differentiate themselves from Cherry Five, who had just released their debut LP. The Argento soundtrack albums ended up being huge hits, selling more than a millions copies, and from then on, Goblin’s music would forever more be associated with Argento’s films.

The success of the Profondo Rosso soundtrack kicked off the most prolific and successful period for the band and they would go on to provide the scores to many horror classics including Suspiria, Zombi and the European release of George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. This prolific period ended in 1978 when the band began to splinter. What remained of the original group continued to provide sountracks to Argento’s films including Tenebrae in 1982 and Non ho sonno (Sleepless) in 2000.

In 2005, an official biography of the band was released and founding members Massimo Morante and Fabio Pignatelli reformed the group. They released the album BackToTheGoblin – 2005 and in 2009, Goblin performed live for the first time in 32 years, performing five dates around Europe and the UK, with the “classic” lineup that performed on the essential Argento soundtracks.

That lineup split up due to internal conflicts before they could finish the European tour but on June 24th of this year they announced that they would be embarking on their first ever North American tour featuring three members of the classic lineup: keyboardists Claudio Simonetti and Maurizio Guarini and founding guitarist Massimo Morante. They are playing 17 dates throughout October and Brown Paper Tickets is ticketing all three of their Los Angeles shows at the Egyptian Theatre!

Unfortunately, all three shows are sold out but we got some other great shows coming up for fans of horror-inspired music.

Friday, October 4 to Saturday, November 23 I Shocktoberfest 14: Jack The Ripper – San Francisco, California   Thrillpeddlers is pleased to present their annual Halloween Extravaganza Shocktoberfest 14: Jack the Ripper – An Evening of Horror, Madness, Spanking and Song commemorating the 125th anniversary of the Jack The Ripper murders in London. This 14th annual extravaganza of terror & titillation includes: a classic 1934 “Grand Guignol” thriller – Jack the Ripper by André de Lorde and Pierre Chaine; The Wrong Ripper – a world premiere one-act play by Rob Keefe; “A Visit to Mrs. Birch and the Young Ladies of the Academy” (The opening scene from the Victorian Spanking drama, a Thrillpeddlers’ favorite also celebrating its 125th year); Salome by Scrumbly Koldewyn –  a new musical spin on Oscar Wilde’s classic, and a “Lights-Out Spook-Show” finale. Don’t miss the seeing company named “Best Live On Stage Bloodbath” and “Best Theatrical Sideshow” by the Bay Guardian and SF Weekly.

Tuesday, October 8 I Calabrese and the Big Bad! – Charleston, West Virginia   “Calabrese’s sound has been compared to The Misfits, The Ramones, and a host of other acts in between. In reality, their unique ability to take burning hard edged rock guitar with crisp clean drums along with darker crooning voodoo vocals sets them apart from any current punk act. By sinking their fangs into their work and locking their jaws down, Calabrese’s stalwart approach combined with vampiric biting wit make them a force to be reckoned with on the horror punk sound stage.” – Fangoria (America’s Horror Magazine since 1979).

Saturday, October 12 I Oculus Outré & The Chiodo Bros. present THE KILLER KLOWN KARNIVAL! – Burbank, California   Hosted by Son of Monsterpalooza, The KIller Klown Karnival will feature a live performance by seminal punk rock legends THE DICKIES showcasing songs from their Killer Klowns from Outer Space EP along with hits spanning their 36-year career. Plus the theatrical horror rock of LA’s “goat-man band” Rosemary’s Billygoat. Also performing will be the eminent Los Angeles burlesque troupe Peepshow Menagerie with their interpretation of The Kreepy Kabaret plus DJ Howie Pyro and even more surprises to be announced. In addition to the aforementioned stage performances, The Killer Klown Karnival will host The Killer Klown Kontest where attendees are encouraged to dress up as the most terrifying Klown Karacter they can conceive of and kompete before The Chiodo Bros. who will determine which is the Kreepiest! Plus there will be Killer Klowns from Outer Space Kast members Grant Kramer, Susan Snyder, Mark Martinez and Harrod Blank in attendance, Kreepy Vendors, ultra-rare behind-the-scenes footage from the filming of Killer Klowns from Outer Space, photo ops, a killer DJ & much more!

Wendesday, October 16 I MilitiA.’s HEAVY METAL HOUSE OF VOODOO –  New York, New York   MilitiA. (Judas Priestess, Dee Snider’s Van Helsing’s Curse, “The Rock Goddess” of the Afropunk movement, former host, VJ, music and alternative style expert from FUSE, MTV and VH1) and music director Benjamin Ickies (This Ambitious Orchestra, Oh! You Pretty Things) bring you a creepy cabaret to make you scream this Halloween season. It’s The Divine Miss M meets Metallica’s S&M.  MilitiA., Ben and their horror metal orchestra give you gris gris and hauntingly heavy classic covers guaranteed to make you shiver.

Goblin biographical information courtesy of Wikipedia.