This is not a dream…not a dream.
This week we're excited to announce an all new re-issue of John Carpenter and Alan Howarth's soundtrack to 1987 cult-classic PRINCE OF DARKNESS with brand new package design by Sara Deck.
We also have new Distributed Titles from our friends at Cadabra Records with two exclusive Mondo colorways, along with a new release from Two Headed Dog.
As usual, new releases go on sale Wednesdays at NOON (CT) via mondotees.com.
NEW THIS WEEK
DEATH WALTZ RECORDING CO.PRINCE OF DARKNESS - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack LP. Music by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth. Re-mastered by Alan Howarth. Package design by Sara Deck. Includes liner notes by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth. Pressed on Plutonium God vinyl (Green with Black Smoke) also available on 180 Gram Green or 180 Gram White vinyl. Expected to Ship 7-10 days. Ships Worldwide. $30
Death Waltz Recording Company is proud to return another classic work to corporeal existence in the form of John Carpenter and Alan Howarth’s score to PRINCE OF DARKNESS. The second in Carpenter’s “apocalypse trilogy” (sandwiched in between THE THING and IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS). The film takes on the myth of the return of the Anti-Christ to the living world but ingeniously places it into the world of science, dealing with notions of matter, anti-matter and theoretical physics. As is usual with Carpenter’s films, it was not treated well on release but has since picked up a cult following from home video. Carpenter and Howarth’s score has the feel of a dream and a nightmare; one that is immediately displayed in the main title theme, where ethereal voices are combined with a typically catchy bassline to create a sense of disquieting mystery. Wild and dissonant synthesizer effects are juxtaposed with more traditional melody that suggests the meeting of our world and that of the Anti-God. The best way to stop the end of the world happening again is to listen to PRINCE OF DARKNESS.
DISTRIBUTED TITLES
DISTRIBUTED TITLESH. P. Lovecraft's Dagon, The Cats of Ulthar & The Music of Erich Zann LP. Read by Andrew Leman. Score by Anima Morte. Released on Cadabra Records. Mondo Exclusive pressed on Clear vinyl. 200 copies only. Expected to Ship in 7-10 Days. Ships Worldwide. $35
Vinyl spoken-arts label Cadabra Records presents an audio adaption H. P. Lovecraft’s classics: Dagon, The Cats of Ulthar & The Music of Erich Zann. Read by renowned Lovecraftian scholar and narrator Andrew Leman, with an original score by cinematic instrumentalists Anima Morte.
Told from the perspective of a drug-addled mariner, Dagon is H.P. Lovecraft at his scaly and slimy best. First published in 1919, the short story has become one of Lovecraft’s most well known and adapted works, notably by horror director Stuart Gordon and referenced by many other games and novels. Read by Andrew Leman with a synth-driven score by Anima Morte, Dagon moves at an unrelenting pace, challenging you to question everything you think you know about our place in the natural world.
DISTRIBUTED TITLESEDGAR ALLAN POE, THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH & BERENICE. Read by Anthony D. P. Mann. Scored by Maurizio Guarini (Goblin). Released on Cadabra Records. Mondo Exclusive pressed on Clear with Black Swirl vinyl. 200 copies. Expected to Ship in 7-10 Days. Ships Worldwide. $35
As an homage to Edgar Allan Poe’s masterful prose, Cadabra Records have enlisted renowned composer Maurizio Guarini (Goblin) to score these two macabre tales. THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH provides fertile ground for Guarini’s strings; the violins giving chase to the narrator’s words as they float down Prince Prospero’s many colored chambers. There are several motifs present that alter the mood, whether it be an uplifting flute in the purple chamber or a menacing timpani and ticking clock in the black. Later, as Anthony D. P. Mann’s voice takes on a darker tone, the score becomes much more immediate, leaning heavily on the organ and cello to masterful effect. You’ll want to spin this one a few times to take in the haunting cleverness of Guarini’s work.
“Berenice” is one of Poe’s lesser known works but is in no way inferior to his more famous stories. Here, Guarini leans on the piano and flute to help underscore the loneliness and inner turmoil of our complex narrator Egaeus. The addition of dark percussion and synth parallel Egaeus’ own mental degradation, and with a pitch shifting piano draped by reverb laden guiro we begin our own descent into his madness. Poe’s story (expertly read by Anthony D. P. Mann) will take you into the darkest corners of one man’s compulsive obsession, leaving you shaken but wanting more.
DISTRIBUTED TITLES
Broken Lamps - Kaleidoscope. Two Headed Dog/Electric Nerve Music. Expected to Ship in 7-10 Days. Ships Worldwide. $20
Presented by Electric Nerve Music, in association with Two Headed Dog, Kaleidoscope is a modern library record conceived by producer/multi-instrumentalist Eric Bowr under the name Broken Lamps. It sets its stage between 1968 and 1979 with a heavy dose of fuzz guitars, monophonic synth, Hammond organ and lush string sections. Moved by the works of composers like Bruno Nicolai and Piero Umiliani, Bowr has maintained a sonic vibe throughout the record that is reminiscent to early giallo, '70s exploitation and Euro-cult soundtracks. While combining the use of period-correct instruments and recording techniques, Kaleidoscope will take you back to a beautifully dark and creative time in music and film.
