Danger: Diabolik finds Ennio Morricone at his most audacious and pop‑surreal, scoring Mario Bava’s 1968 cult film with music that is as bold and stylised as its comic‑book anti‑hero. Working at the peak of his late‑60s powers, Morricone dispenses with any idea of background underscoring and instead builds a soundtrack that grabs centre stage: fuzz‑laden guitars, slinky bass lines, bright brass stabs and acid‑tinged keyboards colliding with lush strings and wordless voices. Central among these is “Deep Down”, the film’s unforgettable theme sung by Christy (Maria Cristina Brancucci), a sultry, descending melody wrapped in reverb and wah‑guitar that has since become a touchstone of psychedelic lounge.

The score’s palette is a unique mix of guitars, early electronics and “very mod orchestrations”, giving the whole album a darkly futuristic feel that mirrors Bava’s pop‑art visuals. Morricone leans hard into groove here: many cues ride infectious, almost go‑go‑like rhythms, then twist them with unexpected harmonic turns or bursts of dissonance. Flutes and saxophones weave in and out of the texture, surfacing as both melodic leads and jittery ornaments; choruses of voices and unconventional noises flicker at the edges, adding a hallucinatory sheen. Even the briefest interludes feel meticulously shaped, as if each were a miniature single waiting to be dropped into a club set.​

Part of the soundtrack’s mystique stems from its history. Composed in 1967 and recorded when Morricone was already juggling Westerns, thrillers and experimental projects, the original session tapes were later reported lost in a fire, making Danger: Diabolik one of his rarest and most sought‑after scores. For years, only fragments and bootlegs circulated, often dubbed directly from the film’s optical track. Recent re‑recordings by ensembles such as I Solisti e Orchestre del Cinema Italiano have painstakingly reconstructed the music from surviving materials, restoring its full impact and revealing details obscured on the original prints. Newly curated LP and CD editions collect these versions, often adding alternate takes and expanded arrangements, and packaging them with critical notes and listener’s guides for deeper exploration.