TRACK #307:

No Escape by Norden Lights

We’re not quite outta the old country just yet folks, cause here comes Mr. Italy himself, Dario Argento.

We’ve no doubt got some Dario fans with us today, and our next song indulges in his mid-career tendency to load his soundtracks with rocking 80’s metal.

This one hails from 1987’s Opera, which (for my money, anyway) is probably Argento’s last hurrah. His 12 year, 6 film run from Deep Red to Opera is one gnarly lineup. Those two, plus Suspira, Inferno, Tenebre, and Phenomena all make up the bulk of what Dario is best known for and it’s a hell of a run.

After that, it’s a hit or miss affair for me with Argento. No matter, because that Cal Ripken-like streak is more than enough for this fan. Anything after that is dude playing with house money as far as I’m concerned.

You add his early 70’s giallos like Four Flies on Grey Velvet and his rookie outing, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (a personal favorite) and the guy’s a monster. Hell, any 3 of those films is enough to put you at the top of the heap. Quite frankly Suspira alone gets the job done just fine.

But Opera is where the run comes to its end. It’s truly the last time I feel like you’re watching something wholly Dario, and it’s quite good. It’s got plenty of Dario’s trademark stylistic flare, one rockin’ soundtrack and some seriously gnarly kills.

Chief among them is the one he affords to his former lover, Ms. Daria Niccolodi. Her bullet through the peephole demise is as artistically rendered a murder as Dario (or anyone for that matter) has put to screen.

And that gif cuts out the coolest part! Oh well.

With so many good songs though, it was tough to choose just one to include, but this shredder from Swedish metal band Norden Light is probably my favorite.

Played just after costume designer Giulia gets a clothes smoother tossed into her back, but just before she can reveal the true identity of the killer, all while poor Betty has to watch with eyes pinned back…literally.

From their lone LP, Shadows from the Wilderness, here’s Norden Light assuring us all there is No Escape.