Moonspell
is a Portuguese black metal/gothic metal/dark metal band with death/doom metal elements, formed in 1989 as Morbid God. After renaming themselves Moonspell in 1992, they released their first EP Under the Moonspell
in 1994, a year before of the release of their first album Wolfheart
. The band quickly gained status and became one of the most recognizable metal bands from Portugal. [1]
Moonspell reached the Portuguese top first with their album Sin/Pecado
, and were, along with Metallica and Iron Maiden, the only metal band to reach the first place of the Portuguese charts after the release of their album, Memorial
, in 2006. [2] With Memorial
, Moonspell also became the first Portuguese heavy metal band to have a record certified gold status. [3] They are also very popular in Germany, where Memorial entered in 68th in the Top 100 Chart.
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MOONSPELL TICKETS
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History
The early days (1992-1994)
Although they had been playing since 1989 under the name of "Morbid God",
[4] the band became Moonspell in 1992, the same year they released the promo track "Serpent Angel". In 1993, singer
Fernando Ribeiro, drummer Miguel Gaspar and bass player Ares (not to be confused with Aires Pereira) released the demo
Anno Satanae, which caught the attention of
French label Adipocere. It was for Adipocere that Moonspell released in 1994 a mini-album entitled
Under the Moonspell
. The record was a considered a landmark in Portuguese metal
and sold more than 5000 copies, becoming Adipocere's best-selling record at the time.
Shortly after the release, they played with
Cradle of Filth in a concert in
Lisbon.
Breakthrough (1995-1997)
After the release of mini-album
Under the Moonspell
, Moonspell signed with
Century Media for six CDs.
Wolfheart
was recorded in Germany with producer
Waldemar Sorychta and was released in 1995 and was followed by a European tour. Although the album had little or no recognition at the beginning. During the tour, guitarist Mantus quit the band and was replaced by Ricardo Amorim.
For 1995's
Irreligious
, the band again recorded with producer Waldemar Sorychta. While previous album was considered
black metal, this one fell into the genre of
gothic metal. The song "
Opium" became the first Moonspell single. It quoted one of Portuguese poet
Fernando Pessoa's
heteronyms,
Álvaro de Campos, on his poem "Opiário" and its
music video, featured the character of poet writing in a bar with the band playing. Along with the release of the album in a convent, the Convento do Beato, there were factors that helped the band selling 10,000 copies of the album in their homeland.
After conflicts with the band involving lawsuits, bass player Ares left the band and was replaced by Sérgio Crestana.
Experimenting (1998-2000)
Sin/Pecado
(
Pecado
means 'sin' in
Portuguese) was released in 1998. It had a bigger experimental nature than its predecessors. The song
2econd Skin was released as a single. At the time they released the one and only
Daemonarch album,
Hermeticum
. Daemonarch was a side project composed by all Moonspell members but drummer Mike Gaspar. The album was seen as a return to their
black metal roots and its lyrics were all written by singer
Fernando Ribeiro between the age of 14 and 16.
Sin/Pecado
was followed in 1999 by
The Butterfly Effect
, recorded in
London and produced by Andy Reilly. This album is considered to be very experimental in nature as well. Featuring "down-tuned guitar riffs, eerie synthesizer passages",
[5] the album was mainly composed by guitarist/keyboard player Pedro Paixão and was not very well received by metal critics.
[6]
"Darkness and Hope" and "The Antidote" (2001-2005)
Darkness and Hope was released in 2001 and was produced by
Hiili Hiilesmaa, producer of
Sentenced and
HIM. The album reached 79th on German charts
and special editions included covers of
Madredeus,
Ozzy Osbourne's
Mr. Crowley and
Joy Division's
Love Will Tear Us Apart.
Nocturna was released as a single and music video.
In 2003, the band released
The Antidote
, with Niclas Etelävuori from
Amorphis playing as a session musician on the bass guitar. The album was released with a book with the same title written by Portuguese writer
José Luís Peixoto. Both the CD and book share the same concept and story and each song in the CD is sister to a chapter in the book that enhances the story in the lyrics. "
Everything Invaded" was released as a single and music video. The band toured extensively around the world, playing at
Rock in Rio Lisbon in 2004, a concert that brought them to more mainstream attention in Portugal. From this album on, the tours feature Aires Pereira on the bass.
In early 2004 the band recorded a cover of the
jazz standard "
I'll see you in my dreams" for the
soundtrack of a
Portuguese horror movie of the same name. There is an official music video of this song featuring footage from the film itself.
"Memorial", "Under Satanae" and "Night Eternal" (2006-present)
Memorial
was released in 2006. Recorded with the producer of their first three albums Waldemar Sorychta, who also recorded the bass guitar parts, it was the first to be released under their new label
SPV Steamhammer. The album topped the Portuguese album chart on its first week and also broke into the German Top 100 at number 68.
Memorial achieved
gold status in Portugal after selling 10,000 copies, making Moonspell the first Portuguese
heavy metal band to achieve that.
Although the album is heavier than the previous, it was very well received and its release was featured in various Portuguese news broadcasts. A new release of the album was released in December 2006 and featured a DVD with live performances and the music videos made for the album. Music videos for "Finisterra" and "Luna" were released.
The band is currently working on releasing a DVD entitled
Lunar Still/13 Years of Doom
, but is having some issues of a legal nature and has been forced to delay the release, originally expected in September 2005. It has been pushed later to the 9 December 2008 with a new title : Lusitanian Metal
[7].
[8]
On November 2, 2006, Moonspell won an
MTV Europe Music Award in the category of
Best Portuguese Act.
The Great Silver Eye
, a best-of album, was released on
June 26,
2007.
Recently, Moonspell released
Under Satanæ
, a re-recording of early songs.
The newest album is called
Night Eternal
. It was released on
May 16,
2008. The lead single off the album,
Scorpion Flower
, features Dutch singer
Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-
The Gathering).
Moonspell performed the "Blackest of The Black" tour with
Danzig,
Winds of Plague,
Dimmu Borgir, and
Skeletonwitch.
[9]
Moonspell toured
Europe with
Cradle of Filth,
Gorgoroth,
Septic Flesh and
Asrai ("The Darkest Tour: Filthfest") in December 2008, and they will take part in a new European tour with
Cradle of Filth and
Turisas, dubbed the "Darkest Tour:Filthfest 2", in April and May 2009.
[10]
Band members
Current members
- Fernando Ribeiro (Langsuyar) - vocals (1989-).
- Miguel Gaspar (Mike/Nisroth) - drums (1992-)
- Ricardo Amorim (Morning Blade) - guitar (1995-)
- Pedro Paixão (Passionis/Neophytus) - keyboard/guitar (1994-)
- Aires Pereira (Ahriman) - bass (2003-)
Previous members
- Baalberith - drums (1989-1992)
- Luís Lamelas - guitar (1992-1993)
- J.M. - guitar (1993-1995)
- Mantus/Duarte - guitar (1990-1995)
- João Pedro) - bass (1989-1997)
- Sérgio Crestana - bass (1997-2003)
- Waldemar Sorychta - bass (2006- 2007)
- Niclas Etelävuor - bass (2003-2008)
Discography
Studio Albums
- Wolfheart
(1995)
- Irreligious
(1996)
- Sin/Pecado
(1998)
- The Butterfly Effect
(1999)
- Darkness and Hope
(2001)
- The Antidote
(2003)
- Memorial
(2006)
- Under Satanæ
(2007)
- Night Eternal
(2008)
DVD's
Demos
- Morbid God
(1992)
- Anno Satanæ
(1993)
EPs
- Goat on Fire
(1994)
- Under the Moonspell
(1994)
- 2econd Skin
(1997)
Singles
- Opium
(1996)
- The Butterfy Effect (Promotional)
(1999)
- Nocturna (Promotional)
(2001)
- Everything Invaded
(2003)
- Finisterra (Promotional)
(2006)
Compilations
- The Great Silver Eye'' (2007)
Music videos
- Opium (from
Irreligious)
- 2econd Skin (from
Sin/Pecado)
- Magdalene (from
Sin/Pecado)
- Butterfly FX (from
The Butterfly Effect)
- Nocturna (from
Darkness and Hope)
- Everything Invaded (from
The Antidote)
- I'll See You in My Dreams (soundtrack from
I'll See You in My Dreams (2003 film))
- Finisterra (from
Memorial)
- Luna (from
Memorial)
- Night Eternal (from
Night Eternal)
- Scorpion Flower (from
Night Eternal)
References
- Moonspell Biography
- 3 May 2006 - Moonspell breaks into the chars and live news
- Moonspell: ''Memorial'' certified gold in Portugal
- Moonspell's Biography
- Butterfly Effect - Overview
- Moonspell - The Butterfly Effect
- Moonspell.com
- MOONSPELL Named 'Best Portuguese Act' At MTV's EUROPE MUSIC AWARDS
- http://www.blackestoftheblack.com
- Cradle of Filth, Moonspell, Turisas to team up for "Filthfest Tour"