City of the Living Dead Original Soundtrack 1982 IMPORT Various Euro labels   Buy It Now

Horror soundtracks aren't necessarily hard to come by, at least if it's something that has been released theatrically in the United States. There are rare times when something obscure will be readily available, but for the most part, if you're dealing with a film from another country, let's say Italy for example, not only is locating it in your local music store a hard task, finding it in general is a task that's close to impossible.

I've been a fan of the Italian horror film for quite a long time now, over a decade as a matter of fact, and my love of the films has gone to the next level, and that's to explore the soundtracks as well. While many people swear by the works of Dario Argento, I personally have never cared for the man, instead being a fan of Lucio Fulci. One of the first films of his that I had the pleasure of watching was a film that these days is known as City of the Living Dead, know to many video hounds as The Gates of Hell, or even under the Italian title Paura nella Citta dei Morti Viventi, though in most cases that's unlikely. Behind most of Fulci's films was the music of Fabio Frizzi, a man that is known to many that are well-versed in the world of Italian horror, and his soundtracks generally have either made the film or ruined it completely. With City of the Living Dead, Frizzi's music actually does make the film, and for those that have seen the film, there is going to be several bits of music that will bring back memories.

The music is divided up a bit strangely however. The opening track is listed as "Introduzione, Paura, Liberazione" and ultimately in listening to the track, it makes sense as it is divided up into three very distinct movement. The first bit I can't place exactly from the film, the second part immediately conjures up a familiar image of a young woman getting sick and a flow of internal organs spewing forth. The music was used in more parts of the film than that, but this is one of the first things that jumped into my mind, probably due to the classic gory nature of the scene.

The second track on the disc, "Fatti Misteriosi" at first isn't quite a memorable piece, and is very random in the way that it is composed. However, the cut gives way to another very familiar piece of music for the film. "Irrealtà di suoni" is another cut for the film that should familiar to most, especially once that very recognizable guitar riff comes into play. Some of these musical themes are repeated however in tracks later on the disc, but this something that has been done throughout film history, and even extending into the video game market, and the repetition of a familiar theme does well to keep things in the viewers mind. "Apoteosi del Mistero" on the other hand is a piece that most will recall as the faithful moment when the dead began to rise from their graves.

Now, there are of course a few tracks that make me wonder if I'm listening to a porn soundtrack. For example, "Verso l'alba" starts with a bass line that makes me think that the pizza guy should be bursting through the door at any moment with a "special delivery." Luckily, that's really the only track of this nature that's on the soundtrack, a rarity really when you think back to films of this generation.

The one thing to bear in mind with the soundtrack is that it was composed back in 1980, and also done by a single individual. There are a good deal of old school moog synths used in the composition, and the often times very bizarre musical structures were very commonplace at the time, especially when it came to the horror film. Most horror films from the 70's and early 80's all tend to go for this approach, as do some that appeared back in the 1960's, and although it may be different than what we hear today.

The soundtrack for City of the Living Dead certainly isn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, however it still is a very good listen, especially if you're a fan of the Italian horror genre. Anyone who has seen the film will be able to place where most of the music appears throughout the film. The real downside for anyone in the states however is that Europe is really the only place I've even been able to find that has the soundtrack available, and the conversion rate for the price is outrageous ($25 or more for the soundtrack depending on the vendor.) However, if you're a Fulci fan, a Frizzi fan, or both, it's going to be money well spent.

-mike-
 

Composed by: Fabio Fizzi

Track Listing: 01 - Introduzione - Paura - Liberazione 02 - Fatti misteriosi 03 - Irrealtà di suoni 04 - Occhi di brace 05 - Verso l'alba 06 - Apoteosi del mistero 07 - Suoni dissonanti 08 - Paura vivente 09 - Paura e liberazione 10 - Tenebre viventi Running Time: 28 minutes