Liste des groupes Dark Gothique Visioni Gotiche Il Segreto del Demone (The Secret of the Demon)

In the 1990's, I was a fan of the goth metal bands; Tiamat and Type O Negative. So I decided to take on the challenge of reviewing a newer goth band. This dark goth quartet come from Milan, Italy, which is about 30 miles away from the Swiss border in northern Italy. The band's name, Visioni Gotiche, means gothic vision in the Italian language. The album title, Il Segreto Del Demone, means the secret of the demon in Italian. They have done several soundtracks for movies in the past. Especially for Italian horror movies.

This is their 5th production and it was released by an Italian label. Their 4 previous albums were self released. Their previous album was called Il Segreto Del Demone Parte 1(2008). The 1st disc of this 2 disc set is a re-release of that previous album. These 2 discs comprise a long and seemingly inexhaustible concept album about a woman who is stalked by a demon. The music is a mix of gothic music and dark horror movie sound effects, which was their forte. The lyrics are in both English and Italian. The male vocals of Michi Guer are sung or spoken in Italian in both clear and grim voices(baritone and tenor). The female vocals of Laura D are sung and spoken in a clear alto pitch. Her voice reminds me of the voice of Livia Zita(King Diamond's wife) who provided some vocals on some of his later albums, like The Puppet Master.

Disc 1
La Casa Del Sogno(The House Of Dream) starts with ominous keyboard playing, then then there are male vocals whispering in Italian. Eerie keyboard effects come midway into this song. Then the song breaks out with piano and symphonic music. Then there are beautiful female vocals singing in English about a haunted house, which are soon joined with razor sharp guitar riffs. Incubo(nightmare) starts with cosmic keyboard playing tritone harmonies. Then the song breaks out into a heavy song with a very distorted bass. Then the baritone voice of Michi Guer comes in to portray the voice of the demon. He seems to be bellowing about a zombie, but I'm probably wrong about that, because he is usually expressing himself in Italian. The guitars sound very atmospheric. Their are lots of cool keyboard distotions in toward the end of this song, with symphonic music and church like choruses. Ipnose(hypnose) starts out with very mysterious guitar riffs with cathedral like choruses. This song is very atmospheric. There are lots of keyboard sound effects. Then Michi Guer breaks out with some flashy guitar playing that sound something similar to the style of Carlos Santana. Then towards the end of this song, there is piano playing music playing a dramatic, yet eerie melody resembling the theme song for The Exorcist. L' Angelo Soffente(the suffering angel) starts off with organ playing that sounds fit for an Italian cathedral, then it's accompanied with with piano, violin, and symphonic music. The music gets heavier towards the end of this song and the vocals of Laura D get more intense. Il Ritual Nero(black ritual) Starts off with a cathedral like chorus, symphonic music, and pianos. Then the song breaks out with bizarre violin distortions and creepy symphonic music. A distorted crash of a gong is followed by a flashy guitar solo and the song ends with strange xylophone music and sound effects.

disc 2
Il Ritorno Dell Angelo(return of the angel) The song starts with piano playing and what sounds like the screeching of a large predatory bird. Then the song kicks into a more relaxing rock song , with Peter Gabriel style bass playing. La Stanza Della Morte(the room of death) has a lot of strange keyboard playing, with the tenor vocals of Michi Guer. The song ends with an ominous mood. La Solutudine Dell' Anime(the loneliness of the soul) starts with creepy organ playing and thunder. Hypnotic keyboards join the song midway, and the song ends with beautiful female vocals. The first 3 and a half minutes of the song I Custodi Del Demone (Keepers of the demon) ramble on with Laura D talking about a door opening and the dark presence of a demon. Then the last 90 seconds of this song rock with extraordinary cheesiness. La Rivelazione(revelation) starts with creepy piano playing, reminiscent of the King Diamond intro , Out From The Asylum(from his "Them" album). Then there is a male monologue in Italian. Then after this drudgery the song converts into rock music, with some flashy guitar playing that resemble Ritchie Blackmore. Eterno Dolore(eternal pain) is another strange and atmospheric song. It begins with symphonic music and sound effects. Then it switches gears with some electric guitar playing and some mediocre rock music. Lacrime De Sangue(bloody tears) is a weird song with bizarre keyboards and the sound of a woman weeping. Soon there is the voice of a demon and more sound effects. Then this song transforms into a boring symphonic song. Prigionieri Del Male is a symphonic song with operatic femle vocals(like Herjalf). Then transpires into a so-so rock song, with Carlos Santana style of guitar playing.

This album is extremely melodramatic and verges at the threshold of boredom. I don't notice any significant changes from disc 1 to disc 2. Disc 1 was recorded about 2 years ago. This album comes across more like a movie soundtrack than it does a rock album. It's about 60% symphony music and about 40% rock music. This music is very cyclic and atmospheric, that's cool, but this is not an album for the headbangers. This is an album for the rave clubs(all night dance clubs). Or maybe it would be a decent album to play, when you're traveling, with some people who hate metal music. I think that this music has some resemblance to Theatre Of Tragedy and Lacrimosa, although it does seem to be watered down with so much melodrama and sound effects.