Goblin: drummer Walter Martino, who took part in composing “Profondo rosso”, has died

Drummer, percussionist and composer Walter Martino, co-founder of Goblin and one of the authors of the celebrated soundtrack to Dario Argento's “Profondo rosso” (Dario Argento, 1975), died on March 7th at a hospital in Livorno at the age of 72. The news was announced on social media by Goblin themselves, who remembered him as a decisive figure in shaping the sound of the band and of the music tied to some of the most iconic images in Italian cinema.

Born in Milan on April 18, 1953, the son of pianist and composer Bruno Martino, he was raised in Rome. Over the course of his career he played in several Italian progressive rock outfits, including Il Ritratto di Dorian Gray, Reale Accademia di Musica, Raccomandata con Ricevuta di Ritorno, I Libra and Banco del Mutuo Soccorso. In 1973 he joined Goblin alongside Massimo Morante, Claudio Simonetti and Fabio Pignatelli, and two years later took part in creating the music for “Profondo rosso“. In 1977 he composed, with Libra, the soundtrack to “Schock”, the final film by Mario Bava.

From 1976 he also worked as a session musician, collaborating in the studio and on tour with artists such as Mia Martini, Alan Sorrenti, Claudio Baglioni, Rino Gaetano, Antonello Venditti, Loredana Bertè and Renato Zero, as well as with international musicians such as Jean Mas, Bob Mintzer and Michael Manring. In 1993 he released the instructional video method “La batteria moderna”. Since 2015 he had been married to Roberta Pellegrini, with whom he had a daughter, Violetta Patrizia. In recent years he had been living in Portoferraio, on the island of Elba.

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