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I
know this Portuguese band never went away, but I was so fond of
their classic Wolfheart that after a couple of heart
crunching spins of Irreligious I vowed never to listen to
them again. Strangely, I kept my word until this week when
catching the buzz created by Night Eternal I decided to
give Moonspell another chance. I know, I must have missed a few
good songs, but like Pee Wee Herman said after getting caught
with the hand on his penis, ‘such is life, sometimes it
fucking sucks’.
Before
kissing Moonspell’s ass I’d like to mention that while listening
to this record Tiamat came to mind. Not because like Night
Eternal, their latest offering (Amanethes) also
slayed. On the contrary, Amanethes was so weak that I
established a relationship between these two because while
Moonspell has been able to revive their career by literally
retreating to their early days’ primal power, Tiamat has also
gotten more violent but unable to shake their romantic penchant
for cheese those Swedes are these days stinking ass.
In 2007
Moonspell re-recorded a few songs from their 1993 EP Anno
Satanae and issued them as Under the Moonspell.
Still all pissed off at them for having included those female
vocals that sounded like corny music for manga cartoons on
Irreligious I never got around to checking it out.
Apparently that last recording revived in Moonspell the
brutality of days of yore and that spirit has filtered through
Night Eternal.
This time
around Moonspell doesn’t sound like they did circa Wolfheart.
Aided by producer Waldemar Sorychta, Moonspell just sounds much
more professional; bigger, better, grander, and in some passages
somewhat majestic. Vocalist Fernando Ribeiro sounds like he just
swallowed a bull. His vocals are gigantic and, discounting
counted occasions, have nothing of that pseudo tenor charming
man gimmicky angle he used in Wolfheart and, I bet,
posterior albums. Now, he simply delivers brutal vocals and when
not he is kinda speaking. And even when he is accompanied by
female operatic vocals like is the case of “Scorpion Flower”,
it’s good enough to send shivers up your rectum.
Night Eternal
isn’t exactly black metal. But the band has certainly upped the
ante in all metallic matter of speaking. Their eloquent melodies are still
here, and all that gothic romanticism that seemed to embellish
their past endeavors is also present, except nowadays these
Portuguese men sound like pissed at the moon lycanthropes. I am
so glad these guys are back. Let’s never fight again.
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