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ANTONIUS REX :
PRAETERNATURAL

OK, this one is way out there. Because of the subject matter I wish I had the review posted in time for Halloween (today is Nov.1), but you can't always have everything you want. Antonius Rex, is a long running (since 1969), avant-garde, occult-themed, Italian Prog Rock band. Their first two releases were under the moniker of "Jacula", but the band then changed the name to be more in line with main man Antonio Bartoccetti (music, lyrics, vocals, guitar, bass). This album was originally released in extremely limited quantities in 1980, and was the group's last recording before the band ended. At the time, the only other member was Antonio's wife Doris Norton (music, keys, synths, drums). Only a mere 23 years later, this reissue on Black Widow Records will finally give the band's fans a chance to get their hands on this long out of print oddity. Basically, what we have here sounds more like a soundtrack to a horror movie than it does a straight up rock record. There is some Sabbathy guitar tones, but a lot of the music is made up of eerie sounds from Doris's Minimoog, strange synths, and other bizarre sounds. The vocals are almost non-existent, with just a few passages spoken in what I think is Latin, but I could be wrong. Most of the time it is pretty mellow, and employs a minimalist approach to create an aura of uneasiness and foreboding. This will obviously not appeal to all, but those heavily into 70s Prog, or film scores will eat it up. The band (or Antonio) is now supposedly making music again, and LPs/CDs are set to be released by the end of 2004 and again in 2005. Before I go, I do have to mention two tracks. First is "Falsum Et Violentia". This song oddly enough follows a track called "Halloween", but it is Falsum that is almost a direct lift of the theme from John Carpenter's 1978 classic horror flick Halloween. The second one worth noting is the last cut, "Vox Populi", (which I'm guessing is new to this re-issue), it is basically an oral history of the band given by Antonio with some strange music in the distant background. This is definitely something different. For more info, the band can actually be found on line at antoniusrex.com. Oh, and if you happen to have a spare 2,000 Euros ($2,550.00 US dollars) sitting around, you can pick yourself up an original singed copy of the first Jacula LP.
RATING = 7.5 Occult Prog Rock (Released 2003)

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