Wednesday, March 25, 2026

EP Review: Fulci "Risorsero dalla Tomba e Fu… L’Apocalisse!" (20 Buck Spin) by Dave Wolff

Band: Fulci
Country: Italy
Genre: Death metal
EP: Risorsero dalla Tomba e Fu… L’Apocalisse!
Format: Digital, 12” vinyl
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Release date: March 20, 2026, May 1, 2026 (vinyl)
In 2024 the Italian giallo death metal band Fulci continued their tradition of homaging Italian cult horror with “Duck Face Killings,” a loose tribute to director Lucio Fulci’s classic “The New York Ripper.” Released in 1982 as a low-budget exploration of madness and murder, some of its graphic murder scenes were not too well-presented but had an impact on independent cinema and helped to shape Italian horror, gore, and splatter.
At the time, having an indie horror film banned outside Italy for being too provocative was a mark of distinction. The increased sexual and violent content of “The New York Ripper” led to its ban in the UK until 2002. Inspired by the raw, primal, stripped-down style evident in most of Fulci’s films, the band sought to tap into that energy. Despite limited budgets, fans recognized how much art Fulci created with scarce resources, helping to redefine cinema.
Having homaged “City of the Living Dead,” “Zombie,” and “Voices From Beyond,” and recorded an anthology at Florida’s Morrisound Studios to establish their presence in the birthplace of US death metal, they made an album some say surpasses the movie in its detailed murder scenes, vividly capturing the killings and the killer’s state of mind. To build their reputation, the band launched Fulcicon to highlight Fulci’s status as a visionary among his Italian fans and horror and death metal enthusiasts worldwide, in 2025.
This year the band will premiere the trailer for “Risorsero dalla Tomba e Fu… L’Apocalisse!,” an indie short directed by Domenico Montixi for which they wrote a soundtrack. Drawing from “City of the Living Dead” and the obscure 1975 Fulci film “The Four of the Apocalypse,” the short is a spaghetti Western involving paranormal themes. Set in Dunwich, England, in 1980, the teaser evokes a cold, harsh, foreboding Quentin Tarantino-like atmosphere, creating timeless dread as two people stumble upon something they probably shouldn’t. Despite its half-minute runtime, it leaves an impression making viewers eager to see what’s found.
In the soundtrack the band aims to capture not just the sound but the essence of Fulci’s movies. The scores by Fabio Frizzi and Francesco De Masi, though crude, rough-hewn, and under produced, dug into the malevolence and psychosis Fulci brought to the screen, bringing out the dark depths from which they emerged. The three songs on Fulci’s EP made me want to watch those moves again, as they return that otherworldliness to life for a new generation of metal and horror fans more than forty years later.
The eerie atmosphere, the sense of confinement, the foreboding feeling of impending doom, the hint of unleashed evil… everything conveyed on screen is reflected in how the songs were composed. They sound like they were crafted by a band deeply immersed in those themes of Fulci’s films, intuitively capturing the mood and emotional intensity. The full production creates a rich, immersive atmosphere, with a clear sound that emphasizes the pervasive presence of evil lingering in the air, lurking beneath the ground and hiding in the deepest mysteries.
A suffocating sense of dread permeates everything from the intro through the next track, which begins with an ominous tri-tone reminiscent of Black Sabbath and continues with crushing riffs, guttural vocals, and unsettling lead guitars. The band also covers “Apoteosi del Mistero” from the “City of the Living Dead” soundtrack, reworking it to fit the EP’s sound and adding lyrics to showcase the potential they recognized in the original piece from their first viewing of the film. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:
Jason Dahlke: Vocals
Fiore Stravino: Vocals
Dom Diego: Lead guitar, synthesizer
Ando Ferraiuolo: Acoustic and rhythm guitar
Klem Diglio: Bass
Edo Nicoloso: Drums

Track list:
1. Risorsero dDlla Tomba e Fu… L’apocalisse!
2. Paura che Uccide
3. Apoteosi Del Mistero


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