It was a night when a bit of the cold from the North had begun to reach Portugal, and the town of Montijo in which I had arrived for a very special show. MOONSPELL was playing a Halloween show for their biggest fans; the fans of their home country. After forming in 1992, and playing with all the biggest names in metal, that is nothing short of a "magical" feat.

I had the pleasure prior to the show of speaking with the bassist, Aires Pereira (hailing from Venezuela ) and the drummer, Hugo Ribeiro- whom spent some time in his youth in Newark, NJ and then returned to his parents’ homeland of Portugal.

One of the questions I was curious to know was how Moonspell, being a band of 5, write & arrange their songs? Pereira said, "The lyrics are mostly 100% Fernando. With 'Hermitage' (their latest album ), we did two productions - we were so happy with the first one but we went back and changed a few things, the songs (musically) were 50/50- between Ricardo (Amorim) and Pedro (Paixão). For us (Pereira and Ribeiro), we had own our personal touch."

When you listen to 'Hermitage', it's quite clear that it is a GROUP effort; not one or two members contributing- it has a very different feel and style from their previous albums; an album that is following in the some of the ways of other European metal bands but Moonspell still retains their signature touch. Fernando (Ribeiro) has an UNMISTAKABLE voice; the kind of voice that gives you vampiric chills. It is wonderful to know that bands, especially like Moonspell, that have been playing for many years, are still open to changes YET retain their special aesthetic that got them to where they are today.

The show was an incredible endeavour; I was lucky enough to take some amazing photos of the band in their element.

The crowd that surrounded me knew every word; they did play many of their newer songs from 'Hermitage' , which, as I mentioned above, is such an unparalleled album - it enhances each of the band members’ talents in a curiously unique way.

When I saw Moonspell in Antwerp in 2019, the stage show was WILDLY different, I am guessing due to the difference of the albums (at that time, '1755' was their latest release and the majority of it is in Portuguese). With 'Hermitage', many songs are in English and during the show, I heard only a few songs in Portuguese. I was very happy to hear them play,"Vampiria" from the album 'Wolfheart', which was released in 1995 (one of MY personal favourites). It was played towards the end of the magnanimous show, and EVERYONE in the audience was just as pleased I was!! ( I had to leave carrying a Moonspell shirt with, "You’re a beast, evil one" on my back in bright green!!) HOW could I not?!

The show did not disappoint in any way; the fans of their home country were there to support them - even with the rainy, orange sky outside and a chill in the air. The weather added to the ambiance of this unstoppable, unequaled gothic/doom metal band. I'm sure we have not heard the last of them; their fans (and myself!!) are excited to hear the direction of the next album. Hails!!

(Much thanks to Jorge Piña and @halloweenrockfest ) Xx

MOONSPELL is:

Fernando Ribeiro
Pedro Paixão
Ricardo Amorim
Aires Pereira
Hugo Ribeiro

Socials

Twitter- @moonspell

Instagram- moonspellofficial

Facebook- Moonspellband

Review, Interview and Photos by

Marisa Dymond
marisadymond@gmail.com
(484) 947-8207
Lokeren, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium