���Already sold out from the source, One Way Static's latest entry into the field of horror soundtrack reissues is a stunning new edition of Donati's score to the all-time chunkblower classic Cannibal Ferox, featuring additional material that wasn't available on previous releases of the score. Released in the US under the alternate title Make Them Die Slowly, this 1981 flick from famed director Umberto Lenzi is one of the sickest to come out of the Italian "cannibal cycle" of the late 1970s/early 80s, a cavalcade of barbarism, butchery, mutilation, torture, castration and more; the flesh-eating on display is really only the tip of the iceberg. People talk a big game about Deodato's infamous Cannibal Holocaust and it's generally considered to be the final word in cannibal horror, but this was always my favorite of all of the Amazon-based meateater epics. Maybe it was the big box and the infamous marketing campaign that trumpeted the movie as being "banned in over 31 countries", but this one always felt more mean-spirited than the other pastaland cannibal flicks, not to mention featuring the presence of the great Giovanni Lombardo Radice (The House On The Edge Of The Park, City Of The Living Dead, The Church), possibly the most abused actor in Italian horror from the era; this guy has died horribly on screen more times than I can count.

��� Anyways, Donati created quite the score for Lenzi's charnel orgy, a suitably demented soundtrack that brings together Latin percussion, tribal drumming, ultra-sinister synth-drenched prog rock, goofy marching band music for the scenes set in New York City, and gobs of sweaty disco. The main title theme utilizes brass sections and synthesizers for a bit of classic, spacey 70's era disco-laced funk, but the much more ominous "Cannibal Ferox Theme" is heavily reminiscent of Goblin's brand of synth-drenched spookprog, creepy chorales howling over a killer combo of feverish tribal drumming, droning bass guitar and trippy synth sounds. The other tracks featured here range from bits of eerie, tropical flavored sex-jazz, bouts of creepy space rock smeared in brass horns, with the influence of Goblin's work on Suspiria and Zombi seeping into many of the more synth-heavy tracks, like the amazing doom-laden prog of "Piranhas". The best and most memorable parts of Donati's score are the mournful deathmarches that are scattered throughout the latter half of the soundtrack, tracks like "Kettle Of Doom", "Evil Rising" and "Man Hunting" blending a sickening, funereal atmosphere with bursts of airy woodwinds, crunchy hard rock powerchords, and searing fuzz-drenched electric guitar that bring a nasty, nauseating vibe unique to this film. A classic carnographic soundtrack.

��� This reissue of Donati's Cannibal Ferox is presented both as a gorgeous deluxe gatefold vinyl edition (with extensive liner notes from the composer, cast and crew) limited to one thousand copies, and on limited-edition cassette tape which also includes a bunch of killer vintage radio spots and trailers, including a batshit crazy Japanese trailer for the film.