Goblin at Webster Hall

Admit it: You had no idea that Goblin was a great band. You knew that they sounded awesome, especially when accompanied by Dario Argento's beautiful sets, mysterious props, gruesome death scenes and adequate screenplays. But who actually listens to Goblin when they're not part of a movie soundtrack?



As it turns out, seeing Goblin on their first ever American tour feels like finding out that Trent Reznor composed music outside of his film scores. Opener "Magic Thriller," (forgive the title--English is not their first language) from 2005's Back to Goblin, proved that they didn't need film to make cinematic music, and that their mojo outlasted Argento's by about 20 years. The unpredictability of songs like "Dr. Frankenstein" and "Roller" lent themselves well to improvisation, though tonally they all sounded like the albums.

Like a lot of bands that people don't know how to classify, Goblin get called "progressive." Their songs aren't especially long or bombastic, although Goblin's adventurous composition senses (there wasn't a chorus in sight all evening) helped endear them to the Rush and King Crimson fans in attendance. Their arrangements are more electronic than symphonic, with proto-industrial keyboards laying down the haunt on the subdued "Aquaman" and Profondo Rosso's "Mad Puppet," the latter's 12-bar progression showing hints of the kind of hit Goblin could have been streamlined into, had they worked with an outside producer and not a film director.

But thankfully, Goblin found their audience through film, and the show's second half was a horror movie hit list, with the title tracks to Suspiria, Tenebre, Phenomena and Profondo Rosso all performed in a thrilling sequence. "L'alba Dei Morti Viventi" and "Zombi," from the Dawn of the Dead soundtrack, played out like a Wendy Carlos nightmare, drifting into controlled psychedelia that culminated with a dancer and a whispering vocalist joining the band onstage. They were reminders of the band's celluloid history, particularly the ballet school giallo Suspiria, which I'd almost forgotten at that point.

Openers Secret Chiefs 3, avant-rock veterans featuring members of Mr. Bungle and Estradasphere, noted their place on the bill by covering a few movie themes in their set, including "The Godfather," "The Exodus" and best of all, "Halloween." Their originals, a progressive blend of jazz, surf-rock, metal and klezmer, were equally compelling.

Fantômas, The Director's Cut

One of the only "supergroups" that ever lived up to that adjective was Fantômas, the avant-metal quartet starring Faith No More and Mr. Bungle's Mike Patton, the Melvins' King Buzzo, Slayer's Dave Lombardo and Mr. Bungle/Secret Chiefs 3's Trevor Dunn.



On 2001's The Director's Cut, they drastically reworked movie scores from a lineup that reads like a Kim's Video Employee Picks section. Some of the most acclaimed movie composers in history get turned into experimetal (sic) freakouts--would you like some grindcore with your "Godfather?" How about Mike Patton's creepiest, child-like singing for "Rosemary's Baby" or "The Night of the Hunter?" Stream it here and see how many of the scores you can recognize--it's about as hard as finding old blues songs in Led Zeppelin II.

Metalheads of the Day: Ween

Weirdoid rock took a hit this week when Ween announced their breakup. My guess is that they'll reunite some day, but it will be at least a few years before Gene and Dean drive anyone crazy with that boogie oogie oogie oogie.

At best, such as on 1994's Chocolate and Cheese, Ween were the rarest kind of experimental band, the kind that gets stuck in your head. They parodied pop, rock, R&B and country as lovingly as Spinal Tap parodied metal, spewing out ingratiating melodies that made you want to dance even when the lyrics made you want to throw up. More cheerful than the Butthole Surfers, more singable than Mr. Bungle and more versatile than Primus, they leave a gaping hole in the alternative universe. 

Ween's performances were even more unpredictable than their albums, but one treat was seeing them cover metal and hard rock standards. By not playing to a metal audience, they gave new life to classics by Motörhead, Van Halen, Nirvana and Black Sabbath.

"Ace of Spades"


 "Hot for Teacher"


"Heart-Shaped Box"


"War Pigs"


There's a hint of silliness in all of these (except for "Heart-Shaped Box," which will always sound unsettling). I'm sure that the band that wrote "Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down)" doesn't mind the thought of offending some humorless Sabbath fans. But I like the goofy tinges and the are-they-or-aren't-they-kidding debates that these covers raise. My take is that no one would go out of their way to learn "Hot for Teacher" just to make fun of it.

Lest anyone still doubt Ween's metal credit, they recorded the best Motörhead impression ever performed by anyone not named Lemmy. "It's Gonna Be a Long Night" is an original from 2003's Quebec, but I could hear it next to anything on No Sleep 'til Hammersmith.




Ween are pushing th' little daisies now, and they deserve a break. But if they ever come back, I bet they've got a great metal record in them.