STEVEN SLOZZ'S + LIVE CEMETERY TOUR 2020 +

I once roamed cemeteries to gain contemplation, but recording artist (filmmaker) Steven Slozz (aka Stefano Dalca) has roamed them with his bodacious band to perform straight-from-the-gut orchestrations, culled from a noted, creative queue. The results can be found in Steven Slozz's + Live Cemetery Tour 2020 + (a cassette/LP offering, adorned by keen Karloff/House of Frankenstein imagery). 

Some might call Slozz's artistic indulgence blasphemous, but his intent is sincere and celebratory, having been sequestered to private hours to construct his epic "opera".

For those in the know, Slozz's rifts are heavy-metalist. They are, therefore, strong enough to summon spirits from their sleep, but also numbing enough to keep them pleased and at ease. 

I admire Slozz's work, and this daring best-of sojourn is one that all his fervid fans must own--and will, by hook or by crook. In fact, cassette copies and vinyl pressings of the + Live Cemetery Tour + can be purchased per inquiry at

https://www.facebook.com/cuordivinile

In the meantime, one may partake a hearty listen on YouTube: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOiYJYP8V2U&t=166s&fbclid=IwAR1_MbOW1Ud_RVDzU2xjXfivc_v52B3atCbVpv-vj210Np5CHTdrsy_FUzk, 

STEVEN SLOZZ (STEFANO DALCA): HELLISH TUNES STRAIGHT FROM THE GUT

Steven Slozz (aka Stefano Dalca) is back and with the utmost, creative vengeance.

This time it's not cinematic experimentation that the eclectic artist presents, but rather a musical, EP/CD quartet, and oh my, is his crafty culmination ever devilish.

Me In Deditionem Accipe, Tenebrarum Filia Aclvcis Corrvptrix! is one Hell of a powerhouse disc, distinguished by the tracks "La Tua Presenza" and "Spiegalo A Dio": operatic, Doom Metal anthems that contain a straight-from-the-gut, earthy shove.  There's something defiant yet giddy about Slozz's voice, which invokes an inviting, roller-coaster ride. Yes, these tracks emote danger, but as one listens, one can't help but sense Slozz's tongue-in-cheek grin. 

Slozz's shove continues in the expressive, Sepvlcra Vestra Repetite, Resvrrectvr!!, with catchy variants on the aforementioned. "Resurrezione" and "Ritorno Al Sepolcro" burst with a slow-rise spark that rolls like a molten river, ushered by a mad, opera phantom. (Listen long enough and you'll smell the sinful, smoldering rank as it curdles from out Slozz's throat.) 

The third CD is a homage to Maria Betroletti Toldini, a Trento, Italy woman accused of witchcraft, who was beheaded and burned three-hundred years ago. Slozz calls the tribute Hexhammer, and it contains the passionate set, "La Tremenda Inquizone" and "La Paura". The selections not only conjure visions of putrid persecution but the spewing, black slime that stems from its holier-than-thou administrators.   

Again, Slozz's edgy vocalization (accompanied by merciless, guitar rifting and pipe-pedaled capping) give the connecting, commemorative pieces a joy-ride feel, even if an underlying despair permeates. 

Last but not least is Slozz's Obsura Et Occvlta, Apocalypsis Adventvm Nvntiant: a brain-crushing, CD that darts into places few would dare roam. However, for the brave, "Apocalisse Mortifera" and "Tetre Presenze" give listeners a menacing, monk-ish melody (for the former) and an arid assault (for the latter) which crumble into wall-clamoring cacophonies: once more, straight from the gut, and with enough force to make even the most determined demons quiver.

(As a chilling bonus, Slozz surprised me with a brooding "Videographia 2018 -2020" disc, which features not only his feverish sounds, but abstract imagery as only he can render such. Thank you, my fiendish friend!!!) 

If interested in obtaining any (or all) of Slozz's groundbreaking material, please touch base per "bizarrechats". It's as easy as leaving a message below.  

PRAGMATISMI DISTOPICI PRETERINTENZIO(A)NALI: A NEW, SURREAL MASTERPIECE FROM STEVEN SLOZZ/STEFANO DALCA

Oh, how I so look forward to the sublime creations of writer/director Steven Slozz, aka Stefano Dalca. His latest is yet another dark, DVD gem. 

"Pragmatismi Distopici Preterntenzio(a)nali" is as mysterious and provocative as its cryptic label implies: sharp, short (under a half hour) and oh-so-bittersweet. It's the irreverent filmmaker's reply to David Cronenberg's "Videodrome", with a tasty spoonful of Clive Barker; David Lynch; Washington Irving; and Stephen Vincent Benet stirred in, but in this case, the protagonist (Matt Migisi) is lured by bare-bones pornography. 

The detained lad's situation unfolds like some hushed, Faustian pact: the surreptitious selling of dignity for symbols of vapid lust, from which there comes no fulfillment or feasible return. The viewer's gaze remains fixed until the uncanny process spurts a Frankenstein-ish birth and a pledge that the scornful cycle can never end.

The morbid conception is adorned by menacing symbols: a black, creepy-creased chamber (or is it, in fact, an odious womb?); a defiled, cocked crucifix; a ghostly television that summons with groans; and as our stand-in Satan, a presiding, goat-headed specter (played by Slozz; who's also featured in this post's emotive, publicity stills). These profane props bolster the feverish account: one that might have manifested if, perhaps, Carl Theodor Dreyer and Andy Warhol had teamed. 

Slozz and his quirky collaborators juggle the mimicking additives to instill hypnotic inducement, with Migisi's empathetic expressions working as their narrator and the lovely Mery Fromsex finishing them with an ironic brush of doom.

Once it gets rolling, "Pragmatismi" arguably becomes a fierce, pantomimed abridgment of any of life's predestined mistakes and/or births, with harsh, black-and-white currents charging throughout its sick, unremitting queue. Be warned: The film takes its content to the eccentric extreme, as trashy reminders splash from out a technological Pandora's Screen. 

These impious sights press an indelible stain onto the mind, and for all of their unpleasantness, they symbolize a wish fulfilled. To know good, a person must know evil; and to know evil, devilish procreation awaits. "Pragmatismi" is, therefore, a necessary warning from which the spectator arises all the wiser, despite its sordid ooze. 

By the time the credits rolled, I realized I needed this film--had yearned for it, if only on some incorporeal, subconscious level.

Slozz's submissions always emit that addictive quality, but aren't dreams of the same gesticulated ilk? We (re)enter slumber with the hope of gaining discovery through abstract form. "Pragmatismi" is, like the filmmaker's previous experiments, a reverie...a nightmare...captured by camera, with angles raunchy and Caligari-esque, striking and stinging...unforgettable and onerous. 

"Pragmatismi" is available to anyone bold enough to grasp it. For a copy, touch base with Slozz at ... https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009219645065; or contact bizarrechats, so that your humble host may relay your audacious request.  

STEFANO DALCA/STEVEN SLOZZ'S TRITTICO PARANOICO TERMINALE!!!

In the cinematic realm of the abstract, the weird...the wonderful, such names as Alejandro Jodorowsky and David Lynch come to mind, but I'd argue there's another writer/director deserving of the same, exalted prestige...Italy's Stefano Dalca, otherwise known as Steven Slozz.

Dalca's specialty is the short film, and in such, he excels, just as Lynch did in his early, pre-"Eraserhead" days. The young filmmaker's fondness for surrealism is contagious. I can't tell you how many times I've watched his material before entering slumber and have had the most magnificent dreams. (For further analysis, please visit my review of "Dissonanze Relazionali: Oct '15). Yes, Dalca is as fine a magician as one will find.

Dalca's latest endeavor is "Trittico Paranoico Terminale" ("Terminal Paranoid Tryptych"): a 66-min, black-and-white sojourn that digs deep into psychological quirks and conditions more than any other production he's fashioned. On many levels, "Trittico" is his most ambitious venture yet, and perhaps his greatest success, considering the subject matter is a delicate one, with focus on obsessive-compulsive disorders and bipolar hindrances, with which so many people struggle. 

The film begins with a somber youth scribbling away at a table, and upon showing us his crude handiwork, we're led into such unnerving tracks as mummification; forced feasting; canine transformation; adultery per a fish-faced fiend; a twisted spurt of hide-and-seek; an intoxicated Christmas; anguished strolls and bullying violence; plus ceaseless cleaning, capped by infuriating, irreparable repairs. Oh, dear my! Are these terrible interludes weighed upon us by others, or are we their cause and effect? Does it really matter who's to blame? Our filmmaker seems to say: No matter the emanation, we all do feel life's mounting pains; none of us are alone in the fight.  

As grim as "Trittico'"s content is, Dalca has fun with its delivery: his segments equaling a kind of hard medicine coated in beguiling sugar and spice, all arranged in a subtle, three-tier flow. Some of his best examples come when he enters the scenes, showboating his keen knack for pantomime. His cheerfully tormented friends also do a lovely job emulating his style, which reinforces the wry continuity.

"Trittico", like Dalca's previous works, will likely be difficult to pigeonhole for the casual viewer (heck, probably any viewer), even when the obsessive insinuations clearly curdle through. It's more the way in which the moments are rendered that gives the product its unmatched flavor. "Trittico" allows one to drape one's own moody meaning upon the scenes, and once this is accomplished, one is hooked. On this basis, there's nothing in the cinematic field today that even comes close to triggering such personal perception. Dalca, therefore, is the be-all/end-all master when it comes to this alternative, storytelling format. 

If you're interested in obtaining a copy of "Trittico", feel free to message Dalca on this post, or contact the man directly at ... https://www.facebook.com/stefano.dalca ... for pricing and shipping arrangements. The dear Mr. Slozz will be more than honored to converse. (BTW: Stefano, I'm most appreciative of the dedication!)

DISSONANZE RELAZIONALI PREMIERES!!!

My Facebook friend from Italy, Stefano Dalca, otherwise known as Steven Slozz, has stirred a new, sublime, silent film..."Dissonanze Relazionali" ("Dissonances Rationale"). Now, with a catchy title like that, you might wonder what exactly does this curious excursion entail. 

Well, like Dalca's previous film, "Autopsia Di Un Incubo" ("Autopsy of a Nightmare"), "Dissonanze" is a twisted adventure, covering many surreal avenues. 

Unlike "Autopsia", which prides itself on Freudian-injected vignettes from the dream world, "Dissonanze" is slightly more linear, focusing on a mysterious female who lures young men with her mind-gaming charms. Her victims are her prizes, if you will, and her suicidal buffoons. Dalca becomes her latest, tormented captive, though others share his humiliation. (Think Jonathan Glazer's "Under the Skin", but spun in a campy mode.)

"Dizzonanze" also features other specters (including a stationary, frog-like entity; a haunting, pale-faced persona; and a twitchy chap who's simply spawned from inebriation) and on this basis, could be categorized as horror/fantasy. It's not quite Val Lewton in its insinuated tone, mind you, but neither is it a straight-forward demons-on-the-loose vehicle. Its sojourns reside in their own abstract confines, much like an early David Lynch movie or Carl Theodore Dreyer's "Vampyre", and like "Autopsia", the compilation acts as a reverie transferred to film. Even in the end, "Dizzonanze" remains shamelessly enigmatic: a Dalca/Slozz signature. 

Dalca employs his joyful friends to make his movies, which to date have been photographed in black-and-white, accompanied by waltzing organ music. Each member of the troupe seems to be having fun in their endeavors, evidenced by their broad, tongue-in-cheek pantomime. Dalca is particularly deft when he gets rolling, offering expressions that range from moody frowns to Chaplin/Keaton clownery. 

If you're into imaginative, off-kilter material, Dalca's productions will be right up your alley. Feel free to contact him via Facebook, either under "Stefano Dalca" or "Steven Slozz", and the experimental maestro will take it from there.

(Also, I wish to thank Dalco and his crew for the touching salute I'm granted during the film's credit scroll. I'm deeply touched and most grateful. God bless you guys.)