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Moonspell

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Moonspell

Moonspell is a Portuguese Gothic Metal band, formed in 1992 and 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 latest 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.[2]

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 promo track Serpent Angel. In 1993, singer Fernando Ribeiro, drummer Mike 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-CD entitled Under the Moonspell. The record was a considered a landmark in Portuguese metal[1] and sold more than 5000 copies, becoming Acidopere's record with more sales.[4] Shortly after the release, they supported Cradle of Filth in a concert in Lisbon.

Breakthrough (1995-1997)

After the release of mini-CD 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 an European tour. Although the album had little or no recognition at the beginning, it was later recognized as a "milestone" by heavy-metal reviews site Metal-Observer.com.[5] During the tour, guitarrist Mantus quit the band and was replaced by Ricardo Amorim.

Irreligious came out in 1996 and was recorded again 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 launch 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.[1]

After conflicts with the band involving lawsuits, bass player Ares left the band and was replaced by Sérgio Crestana.

Experimentation (1998-2000)

Sin/Pecado (pecado means sin in Portuguese) was released in 1998. It had a bigger experimenting nature than its predecessors. The song 2econd Skin was released as a single. By this time, the side project Daemonarch, composed by all Moonspell members at the time, but drummer Mike Gaspar, released its only album, Hermeticum. 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 was considered very experimental was well and featured "down-tuned guitar riffs, eerie synthesizer passages".[6] The album was composed mainly by guitarrist/keyboardist Pedro Paixão and was not very well received by metal critics.[7][8]

"Darkness and Hope" and "The Antidote" (2001-2005)

Fernando Ribeiro during a live show in Spain in 2006

Darkness and Hope was released in 2001 and was produced by Hiili Hiilesmaa, producer of Apocalyptica or HIM. The album reached 79th on German charts[1] 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" (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.[2] Memorial achieved gold status in Portugal after selling 10,000 copies, making Moonspell the first Portuguese heavy metal band to achieve that.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

On 2 November 2006, Moonspell won an MTV Europe Music Award in the category of Best Portuguese Act.[9]

Portuguese culture influence

Portuguese influences can be found on Moonspell music, mostly through lyrics. Although most of their songs are in English, "Trebraruna", "Alma Mater" and "Ataegina" from "Wolfheart", "Full Moon Madness" from "Irreligious" and "Than the Serpents in my Arms" from "Darkness and Hope" are sung in Portuguese or feature parts in Portuguese.

Also, the chorus of "Alma Mater" utilizes a famous phrase "Orgulhosamente sós" (i.e. "We are proudly alone"), the motto of Portuguese Prime Minister and dictator, António de Oliveira Salazar (however, with no political implications).

Opium cites Álvaro de Campos, a heteronym of one of the major Portuguese poets Fernando Pessoa in his poem "Opiário".

"Trebaruna" and "Ataegina" are about the goddesses of Lusitanian mythology.

Moonspell covered Madredeus' song "Os Senhores da Guerra" (The War Lords).

Band members

Current members

Previous members

Discography

Albums

Demos

Singles and EPs

Music videos

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Moonspell Biography". Rockul.info. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
  2. ^ a b c "03 May 2006 - Moonspell breaks into the chars and live news". Moonspell.com. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
  3. ^ "Moonspell: Memorial certified gold in Portugal". Blabbermouth.net. 2007-01-16. Retrieved 2007-01-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ a b "Moonspell's Biography". Retrieved 2006-11-16.
  5. ^ "Moonspell - Wolfheart (9,5/10) - Portugal - 1995". Metal-Observer.com. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
  6. ^ "Butterfly Effect - Overview". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
  7. ^ "Moonspell - The Butterfly Effect". MetalStorm.ee. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
  8. ^ "Moonspell - The Butterfly Effect (6/10) - Portugal - 1999". Metal-Observer.com. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference blabbmtv was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Moonspell.
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