Goblin
Eerie Italian prog-rock and jagged synths that define the giallo aesthetic. Tense, theatrical, and deeply atmospheric music for midnight drives and dark rooms.
Eerie Italian prog-rock and jagged synths that define the giallo aesthetic. Tense, theatrical, and deeply atmospheric music for midnight drives and dark rooms.
The music of Goblin feels like a fever dream captured on 35mm film. It is a world of lush analog synthesizers, aggressive funk-inflected basslines, and gothic organ swells that create an immediate sense of cinematic dread. There is a tactile, velvet-heavy quality to their sound, where every drum fill and guitar lick feels like it is punctuating a moment of high-stakes suspense.
What truly sets them apart is the juxtaposition of high-energy progressive rock virtuosity with genuine avant-garde experimentation. They can pivot from a driving, danceable groove to a terrifying soundscape of whispered voices and dissonant bells in a single breath. This duality makes their work feel both sophisticated and primal, tapping into a specific European brand of stylish horror.
For the uninitiated, their 1970s soundtracks are the essential entry point. These records are not just background scores but complete musical statements that stand alone as masterpieces of the genre. Start here if you want music that transforms your environment into a stylish, slightly dangerous mystery.
Goblin (also Goblin Legacy, Back to the Goblin, New Goblin, Goblin Rebirth, the Goblin Keys, the Goblins and Claudio Simonetti's Goblin) is an Italian progressive rock band known for their film scores. They frequently collaborate with Dario Argento, most notably creating the scores for Profondo Rosso in 1975 and Suspiria in 1977. Because their collaborator Dario Argento specializes in creating horror, suspense and slasher/giallo genre movies, scores made by Goblin in these movies often had eerie and ominous tones. CD re-releases of their scores have performed well, especially in Germany and Japan. Goblin returned with a series of live concerts in Europe in 2009 and in North America in 2013. Initially recording as Cherry Five (they had done some live shows as Oliver), their early work spawned one eponymous progressive rock record, and they were then called in to compose the score for Profondo Rosso. The band changed their name to Goblin, rewriting most of the score, originally written by Giorgio Gaslini including the famous main theme. The 1975 soundtrack album was a huge hit. After a reshuffle in their line-up, they put out an instrumental progressive rock album Roller, before working with Argento again for 1977's Suspiria. Some tracks from the album Roller were used in the Italian version of George A. Romero's film Martin replacing those from the original soundtrack written by Donald Rubinstein. This was because at that time Goblin's music had become very popular in Italy following the successes of Profondo rosso. Other film scores and a concept album (Il Fantastico Viaggio Del Bagarozzo Mark) followed, then the score for the European version of George A. Romero's 1978 Dawn of the Dead. In both this and Suspiria's opening title sequences, they are credited as "The Goblins with Dario Argento". Tracks 1, 2 and 7 from the European version are also in the American version of the film. Despite their success, membership continued to be a revolving door. The remaining members continued to work on further scores, and there was a partial reunification of three of the four band members for Argento's Tenebrae (1982), credited to the three band members, but not as Goblin. The last collaboration with Argento took place in 2001, with the film Sleepless.
Shares progressive rock, art rock, synth-pop (subgenres); urban night, midnight, cathedral (atmosphere)
Shares progressive rock, art rock, synth-pop (subgenres); analog warmth, reverb heavy, layered dense (production style)
Shares progressive rock, art rock (subgenres); analog warmth, reverb heavy, layered dense (production style)
Shares progressive rock, art rock (subgenres); analog warmth, reverb heavy, layered dense (production style)
Shares analog warmth, reverb heavy, layered dense (production style); art rock, progressive rock (subgenres)
Shares analog warmth, reverb heavy, layered dense (production style); progressive rock, jazz fusion, art rock (subgenres)
Shares progressive rock, art rock, synth-pop (subgenres); analog warmth, reverb heavy, layered dense (production style)
Shares progressive rock, art rock (subgenres); mysterious, haunting, brooding (moods)
Shares analog warmth, reverb heavy, layered dense (production style); urban night, midnight, fog (atmosphere)
Shares progressive rock, keys/synth, cathedral, art rock (signature)
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