The Spiritual Bat

The Spiritual Bat is an Italian gothic rock and deathrock group active since 2008. It develops from an earlier project, Spiritual Bats, conceived in 1992 by Dario Passamonti of Alchemisti Painters and Matteo Bracaglia. Passamonti, who is also a painter, composes music from the idea of turning image into sound, while Bracaglia serves as singer and lyricist.

Early project and live performance

The first Spiritual Bats vinyl EP is recorded in 1993. The project is designed to use a different line-up for each recording, but it consistently includes artwork by the Alchemisti Painters, whose work appears in the Venice Biennial’s 1986 Art and Alchemy section. Their installations and projections also accompany live shows. These performances are presented as multimedia events, described as live rituals and rare appearances that balance image and sound.

In November 1994, after performances at the Crypta in Rome and the Condor in Modena, the group opens for Rozz Williams and his project Daucus Karota at the Black Out in Rome. In May 1995, after a show at the Velvet, Confession is recorded live at Pan Pot Studio in Rome.

Rosetta Garrì and later releases

During the 1995 session, Rosetta Garrì is present and is invited to join the group after she is struck by the combination of alchemy and art. She remains the group’s only listed member and stays active in the project. Garrì later gives support to Dario Passamonti after the founders separate in 2004.

Alchemisti Music is formed and Sacrament is released in 1999 following a live show at CBs Gallery in New York in August 1998, which includes the projection of the Funeral Cries video. The release also features graphics by Eric Hammer, musician and painter in Mors Syphilitica, later known as Doc Hammer of Venture Brothers.

Through the Shadows

Through The Shadows is performed, recorded and mixed entirely by Passamonti and Garrì, with contributions from Maestro Bruno Paolo Lombardi of Italy’s National RAI Orchestra on “Wandering On Cobble Hills”, “Prague”, “Twins” and “Primordial Call”. The composition “Twins” is inspired by the atmosphere and ashes of New York on 11 September 2001. New York is described as the group’s second home, and also a home for Garrì’s family and close friends.