{"id":5433,"date":"2012-05-08T00:00:01","date_gmt":"2012-05-08T00:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=5433"},"modified":"2013-05-28T16:19:10","modified_gmt":"2013-05-28T16:19:10","slug":"feature-moonspell-05-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-moonspell-05-12\/","title":{"rendered":"MOONSPELL – A Grand Stand (May 2012) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

MOONSPELL – A Grand Stand<\/strong><\/span>
\nAnthony Morgan<\/span>
\nMay 2012<\/span><\/p>\n

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Moonspell (l-r): Pedro Paix\u00e3o, Miguel Gaspar, Fernando Ribeiro (seated),
Aires Pereira and Ricardo Amorim<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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Portuguese gothic metallers Moonspell publicly disclosed the fact that they had inked a three album contract with Hanover, Germany-based record label SPV on November 9th, 2005. The relationship lasted for two studio full-length affairs in the shape of April 2006\u2019s Memorial<\/em> and May 2008\u2019s Night Eternal<\/em>, SPV submitting an application for insolvency on May 25th, 2009. Moonspell consequentially signed a global contract with Napalm Records, an occurrence revealed on December 20th, 2011.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it was quite expected in a way,\u201d says Fernando Ribeiro of SPV\u2019s demise, Ribeiro being the vocalist and founder of Moonspell. \u201cWhen you are part of a company, and see where they are going… SPV used to be the biggest independent distributor operating from Germany, but then they started signing bands. When we left Century Media, they were really into Moonspell and the idea of having us. It was quite a match at the time, because Memorial<\/em> boosted ourselves and everyone at SPV was quite excited about the record. We then did Night Eternal<\/em> which was brilliant as well, but in the process I saw them signing really huge bands like Whitesnake and M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce<\/a>. I started thinking \u2018Well, that should be expensive,\u2019 and we all know that these bands \u2013 for how great they are \u2013 don\u2019t reach the numbers they reached in the 80s. We saw it coming that SPV would have problems, and actually were probably going towards a dead end. When they declared bankruptcy it was strange for their bands. Even though we\u2019ve been signed to labels and they have an important role in the scene, we always try to also be an independent band. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe changed labels here and there. Sometimes the labels grow and they have a structure, but don\u2019t get things done. Basically we always got used to progressing ourselves; when we were doing this Alpha Noir<\/em> album we were an unsigned band, and we were financing everything. After the album was ready, we were then just putting on the final touches. Then we started looking for a label, and Napalm was quite furious because they have a very similar background history as Moonspell. They started off as an underground black metal label, and nowadays they have something to prove to the other labels. They have a voice and they have a presence in the scene, so they\u2019ve cherry-picked bands like us, Tiamat, and Monster Magnet in order to bring them more credibility. They pay off these bands with enthusiasm, something I wasn\u2019t feeling on a bigger label. I really feel that it will be a great collaboration because they were totally open to our ideas, and they didn\u2019t mess up with anything. I\u2019m really, really glad we\u2019re a Napalm band, and it sounds good to say to your friends \u2018My record label is called Napalm, so beware.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Sharing labelmates like Whitesnake, Mot\u00f6rhead, Iced Earth, Helloween, and Saxon to name a few, one might assume that Moonspell was lost in the shuffle. \u201cNot really, because they divided the job among a lot of people,\u201d the mainman corrects. \u201cWe actually benefited from having larger bands on SPV because they work with true, professional promoters, and that worked for the more underground bands they had. They did a very good for Moonspell but at the end of the day, yeah, it\u2019s quite hard when you\u2019re fighting for something at a label and your counterparts are Mot\u00f6rhead or Whitesnake. It\u2019s not quite a fair fight for the more underground bands. These bands probably took all the money that SPV had to go on, but I think SPV always did a decent job of investing in other bands \u2013 they had Kreator, and they had Kamelot. They had bands that actually have grown in a market affected by a big recession, and I think they really struck a chord there. Unfortunately it cost them their company (laughs). <\/p>\n

\u201cThat wasn\u2019t much of a serious problem for us though, because everything was very smooth. When the company filed for bankruptcy, we decided to settle the accounts with money and some other stuff. We were contracted to the label, but they couldn\u2019t exercise that option. The label wasn\u2019t able to release our record in a proper manner. It wasn\u2019t that dramatic or painful getting out of the deal with SPV because the deal wasn\u2019t valid anymore. The moment they became insolvent, everything else was cancelled really.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alpha Noir<\/em><\/a> and Omega White<\/em> constitute a double-album, the Moonspell fold submits. \u201cThe album takes a big picture of what we\u2019ve done so far as a band,\u201d Fernando reckons. \u201cIt also shows even more where we\u2019ve come from, our influences, and what we like to do. We did the albums Memorial<\/em>, Night Eternal<\/em>, and Alpha Noir<\/em> \u2013 the first album of the two \u2013 that were quite intense and quite powerful, so we had a hangover from writing such intense music (laughs). We were writing songs that had a different nature in a way. Instead of trying to put all of this on a record, as we were writing more songs anyway we decided to split the band into two at least creatively, and have two different sets of songs. We weren\u2019t thinking about making a double-album or whatever, but it got so interesting for us that we decided that the principle of having two albums or two sides was actually what we wanted to present to the crowds. Personally I think that to have the whole experience is to have a better picture of what Moonspell is in 2012, and also everything from our catalogue. I feel that with this album, we covered every aspect and every sensibility as songwriters. <\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen it comes to releasing the album I think everybody was advising us to release Alpha Noir<\/em> and then Omega White<\/em> afterwards, but we didn\u2019t want to break the artistic integrity of Alpha Noir<\/em> and Omega White<\/em>. We tried very hard, and fortunately Napalm was open to it. They weren\u2019t thinking about the cash flow, the touring, and the problems we will face, but to keep it as we created it. Obviously a double-album will probably be too much for some of the fans, so we came up with the idea of having a special edition which has both albums, that the enthusiasts will get for sure. I believe that nowadays with the internet though, everybody will have the chance of coming into contact with it anyway. Sometimes you have to choose the lesser of two evils; we thought breaking our artistic integrity would be the worst decision. This way, everybody is happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

A thrash influence flavours Alpha Noir<\/em>. \u201cWe wanted Alpha Noir<\/em> to be an album that was more alive really, and it all started when we played the 70000 Tons Of Metal,\u201d the frontman discloses. \u201cThere were a lot of thrash bands there. Our guitar player Ricardo (Amorim) was hanging out with Testament\u2019s guys and watching all the shows, so one thing led to another, and he started to write stuff more focused on this thrash and speed metal influence. I then got really excited and I really liked thrash metal, probably more obscure bands like Onslaught or Artillery, and Annihilator\u2019s first album \u2013 it\u2019s a masterpiece. We got really excited because thrash metal was a big pleasure when we were teenagers, and now that we\u2019re not teenagers anymore \u2013 we are heading fast into our 40s \u2013 it was great to to experiment in a way, and to see how it also fitted with our way of making music. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt fitted really well because I think the guitars are very alive, the riffs are more memorable, and everything is very groovy in a way. It mixed with our darker sound. You\u2019ve heard all these riffs before, but it\u2019s delivered in a more original way. Of course, many people are already thinking or are afraid that we\u2019re jumping into the thrash revival bandwagon. We\u2019ve toured with some of those bands and it\u2019s interesting, but not so much that we wanna score a tour with Legion Of The Damned or Municipal Waste. It\u2019s just a musical influence, but for us it made all the sense to bring it to the table. Now I think when we\u2019re practising for the shows, it really sounds alive. We wanted an album that passes on enthusiasm ahead of doing something different and probably more complex.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thrash metal isn\u2019t Alpha Noir<\/em>\u2019s sole ingredient, however. \u201cI think the thrash influence is really obvious and it\u2019s a more guitar-oriented album, but I think there are certain characteristics we started to explore more,\u201d Fernando notes. \u201cWe played faster music on Memorial<\/em>, Night Eternal<\/em>, and our last Century Media album The Antidote<\/em>. I think there was this great album in 1996 made by Carl McCoy from Fields Of The Nephilim; he made this project called Nefilim, and did this album called Zoon<\/em>. For me that\u2019s really the blueprint of gothic metal over anything else; if you know this album you\u2019ll recognise it\u2019s very dark sometimes \u2013 dark and gothic \u2013 but also it sounds like Slayer<\/a> sometimes. It has really heavy, heavy guitars and double-bass drums. It\u2019s a great example of how you can mix the metal world and the gothic world without necessarily having to use the same resources like female vocals or orchestration. Sometimes there\u2019s a very fine line between what\u2019s sublime and ridiculous, so the gothic metal style is a little bit always hanging on a wire. It\u2019s very easy when you express these kinds of emotions to be a little bit over the top, let\u2019s say. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that album with loud and deep guitars and deep vocals was really influential for us, and besides the thrash influence that\u2019s something we always like to do. When people call us dark metal or gothic metal, we don\u2019t want to take away the metal part. I still think it has to have these epic moments and atmospheric moments as well though. I think that Nefilim album was really influential, and was something that Moonspell really, really loved at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The usage of female vocals as well as orchestration to augment gothic metal is generally excessive, arguably. \u201cI think it\u2019s not what you use, but how you use it,\u201d the singer emphasises. \u201cI think when you have these raw materials you really have to be smart and do it in a way that is not ridiculous, otherwise it creates a strange effect. When you wanna be majestic or big by adding female vocals or orchestration, what you\u2019re doing is probably creating second-rate soundtracks. They don\u2019t really master orchestration techniques. Gothic metal always fall into this routine of beauty and the beast. Of course I love female vocals and we have our history with female vocals with Moonspell as well, but we always found it a special arrangement, something to add to our music. Not all the bands are, so I feel that sometimes the female fronted bands are very one-dimensional. They\u2019re always kind of the same, and it\u2019s the same for almost everyone. <\/p>\n

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\u201cThere are some bands that always stand out from the pack, but in reality, some people really hate gothic metal because they have certain impressions of the genre. There\u2019s probably much more to the style than meets the eye. Moonspell always thinks a lot, and always tries to do something new with the female vocals. For instance, on Night Eternal<\/em> we didn\u2019t invite just any singer; we invited Anneke van Giersbergen, formerly of The Gathering. She was there, and she was probably the forerunner for female gothic metal vocals when she was in The Gathering. We never really actually played or met with an orchestra because many bands in metal have already done that, and some with good results. I really like Septic Flesh for instance because the arrangements are really crazy and out of the ordinary, but with orchestras sometimes you can listen to that on soundtracks in a better form. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe kind of like our dreamy keyboards that sound like the 80s or the 90s, because sometimes I felt keyboard parts were better. I really like the sound. I wouldn\u2019t like it if it was played by an orchestra, because it would sound different. There are a lot of keyboards \u2013 especially on Omega White<\/em> \u2013 and I really, really like them because without a lot of means you can create something big. Sometimes with an orchestra, you just overwhelm. I think that so far, keyboards really make things happen for Moonspell. Also, I think that orchestras aren\u2019t special anymore. Everybody has done that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alpha Noir<\/em> shares common traits with 2006\u2019s Memorial<\/em>, and April 1995\u2019s Wolfheart<\/em>. \u201cI think the album that it\u2019s probably more in line with is Memorial<\/em>,\u201d Fernando acknowledges. \u201cPeople that listen to it say it reminds them of Wolfheart<\/em> as well, but I wouldn\u2019t say musically. I think this album has the enthusiasm of Wolfheart<\/em>, definitely. After making so many albums and having created history as a Portuguese band, sometimes we\u2019ve had stages in our mind where we were very at ease with ourselves. With this album, everything was very arduous to do though. It was a lot of hard work, but we were enthusiastic about it. There was this raw power about this album that probably reminds people of Wolfheart<\/em>, but it\u2019s always dangerous to talk about the past because I feel going back to the roots is impossible for the band. I think when you have a classic album from European metal or from the UK, people always tend to put pressure on the band. I think an album is just a classic one though when the audience makes it classic. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn the 90s, people were very open to listening to probably bands like My Dying Bride, or Paradise Lost, or Moonspell, or Tiamat, or other bands. Then there was a darker period for us where people were listening more to bands such as Rhapsody and whatever, and didn\u2019t really care about us. That started at the end of the 90s, but fortunately it\u2019s coming back slowly but surely. This band still has a lot of fans; we have two generations listening to 90s metal again. So yeah, even though our past was quite unexpected for us but turned out particularly well, actually we are at risk of lying to our fans by saying this album goes back to the roots. No, it has influences from our roots. It has some other stuff we learnt along the way musically and personally as well, but it\u2019s always a new album. I think people never expect Wolfheart Part Two<\/em> or Irreligious Part Two<\/em>, but expect a good album. I think that\u2019s what we have right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Great Recession that has blighted the globe since the late 2000s shapes the lyrics authored to accompany Alpha Noir<\/em>. \u201cEven though I always try to keep a line through all the lyrics, I always end up writing about mankind\u2019s biggest issues,\u201d the lyricist concedes. \u201cI would say this album is a little bit different. It\u2019s more in-your-face when it comes to the lyrics because it\u2019s an album that is born in a time where from Europe to New York, a man goes to office… and my country Portugal is done. This creates not only a financial crisis, but also people lose their way of living. They start hating their lives, and start hating their country. Sometimes it\u2019s pretty harsh to go out in the streets of Portugal and see how desperate people are because a guy had a bad run, woke up the wrong side of town, went to his computer, and labelled your country junk, just overlooking years of history, culture, and all of that. Music is definitely our vehicle. In a way Alpha Noir<\/em> is an optimistic album because it motivates people to fight for themselves, and to be able to do that I think you really have to regain your self-esteem. <\/p>\n

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\u201cI think the old order of the world isn\u2019t working anymore, especially for countries like Portugal or Greece or Egypt. Everything is very confusing at this time, and that ended up in our album. I feel Alpha Noir<\/em> is like getting into an arena in a way, and you\u2019re all affected by the smell of sweat and fear. There\u2019s also a little spark of revolution, of changing your life, by doing something to achieve the next level. I picked Alpha Noir<\/em> as a title because \u2018alpha\u2019 is the beginning, and the first letter of the Greek alphabet. The order of things isn\u2019t well, but I think in the end people will become more human and they will better understand what is fear and what is evil. I also think a musician always has a responsibility probably not to change the world, but at least to give a new perspective or their light to a certain subject, and to share it with the people that are kind enough to buy their music.\u201d<\/p>\n

Omega White<\/em>, meanwhile, pays homage to root musical influences such as Sisters Of Mercy and Type O Negative. \u201cI think it\u2019s an album where you can really recognise those influences,\u201d Fernando admits. \u201cMany times I listen to what\u2019s new in goth and dark rock, and I always find myself coming back to the Type O Negative and Sisters Of Mercy records. In a way, they cannot be surpassed. Also, when I meet different people who are into Moonspell, sometimes they don\u2019t know about Fields, Type O Negative, and Sisters Of Mercy, and that is something really bad to happen. It\u2019s also our mission to give back something to these bands that have so deeply influenced us. Omega White<\/em> is basically the Type O Negative and Sisters Of Mercy in us; the catchy songs, the big vocals, the female vocals as well, more uncomprising songs, and an even more personal album. This is like a depository of our feelings after Alpha Noir<\/em>. After the arena comes the healing room, which is Omega White<\/em>. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you listen to it, you\u2019ll recognise very easily those kinds of influences. Some people who\u2019ve listened to it have said it\u2019s close to our album Irreligious<\/em> from 1996, and even though it\u2019s not Irreligious Part Two<\/em> I can see what they\u2019re saying. It\u2019s another eight songs which are very vibrant, and very catchy. It particularly reminds you of a time when we were all happier with our lives, and people were more into music (laughs). It\u2019s a tribute, but they\u2019re not cover versions. They\u2019re original songs, but they pay respect to all of these bands. Many of these bands are either not in business anymore or they\u2019re doing just one-offs, so it\u2019s quite important that our fans know where we come from and where gothic comes from. I think it\u2019s a nice introduction to the bands that have influenced us so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

More subtle influences additionally surface on Omega White<\/em>. \u201cI would say that of course we always kept an open mind,\u201d the founder observes. \u201cEven when we were listening to more underground bands and extreme music, there were always these bands we love and also some indie bands. At the time they were more interesting, and they did something really dark. Pedro our keyboard player is really into that style. There\u2019s Johnny Cash as well, the American Recordings albums. There\u2019s a little bit of everything in there that we listen to, that we considered to be Omega<\/em> music. It was all a little bit personal, and they all ended up there in the songs of Omega White<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similarities can be drawn between Omega White<\/em> and two past Moonspell albums, namely July 1996\u2019s Irreligious<\/em> and January 1998\u2019s Sin<\/em>. \u201cThey\u2019re the blueprints for Omega White<\/em> definitely, because of the songs, the arrangements, the lyrics, and the intention,\u201d Fernando verifies. \u201cIt isn\u2019t repetition, but also, Alpha Noir<\/em> is album number nine and Omega White<\/em> is our tenth album. Basically, it\u2019s quite amazing that number nine and number ten can pick out things from our own discography. One thing we always wanted to do with Moonspell \u2013 and it\u2019s hard \u2013 was to be recognised by our own sound and that was always very, very important, that people could recognise something they would connect with Moonspell. <\/p>\n

\u201cI had this impression when I first listened to Omega White<\/em> after the mix, because of the sound and the togetherness of the songs. Even though Irreligious<\/em> has its differences, I think it\u2019s one of the albums where the songs are more together. That\u2019s why we play them so often live, because they have a context and they have a colour. We were basically tired of making albums where the songs were very different from each other. That\u2019s also why we did a double-album. I think the togetherness and also the studio sound is very dry. It\u2019s very, very similar to Irreligious<\/em>, but you have to fast forward a lot of years because Irreligious<\/em> is from 1996 and a lot of things have changed. That comparison is more or less right on the money though.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Moonspell (l-r): Fernando Ribeiro, Miguel Gaspar, Ricardo Amorim, Aires Pereira
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A more personal demeanour characterises Omega White<\/em>\u2019s lyrical preoccupations. \u201cIf I compared it to Alpha Noir<\/em>, Alpha Noir<\/em> is like someone screaming in your face while Omega White<\/em> is more the murmur in the lips, more let\u2019s say an inner voice,\u201d the composer distinguishes. \u201cI took care of the bigger, epic subjects on Alpha Noir<\/em>, and that allowed me to have a lot of freedom to make Omega White<\/em> more of a depository of emotions. There\u2019s everything there, and it\u2019s definitely more personal. There\u2019s the broken hearts, friends who\u2019ve died, people you admire who\u2019ve died. It\u2019s an album that goes very much in that direction. I see Omega White<\/em> as a room \u2013 a confession booth \u2013 where you confess your sins or your wishes. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s topics like heartbreak, loss, and also darker emotions like wanting to have someone who you can\u2019t really have. All these subjects were basically also covered by bands such as Type O or Sisters. It\u2019s more that kind of album, but I think the white colours also give a kind of tranquillity to the album because sadness and melancholy doesn\u2019t have to be a violent thing all the time. Especially for the Portuguese people it\u2019s something that just affects us daily, but we have learnt to handle and share the same oxygen with in a calmer manner. I think Omega White<\/em> is the impression of that direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Country artist Johnny Cash\u2019s American Recordings period \u2013 lasting from 1994 until his death in 2003 at the age of 71 \u2013 influenced Omega White<\/em>, as Fernando alluded to. In that regard, the Portuguese musician reflects on his life as well as past mistakes. \u201cI think it\u2019s almost impossible not to do that,\u201d he feels. \u201cI\u2019m 37, nearly 38. During these last three or four years, my life has changed quickly in all aspects. I was kind of waiting for an album where I could tell that story probably through metaphors and obviously through lyrics and poetry, because I don\u2019t like to push things. I think music is about magic and seduction and romance, and not giving away everything as well as mouth feeding people. I do not name any names. I do not just tell about an experience from minute one up until it ends, but yeah, I think there\u2019s a lot more of ourselves on the album like the things we crave for, and everything that really inspires you to make a song or to make a lyric. It\u2019s always impossible to have something you can\u2019t have, but you can complain about that. That\u2019s the plan behind Omega White<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

In writing both Alpha Noir<\/em> and Omega White<\/em>, Moonspell initially penned three compositions: \u2018Lickanthrope\u2019, \u2018Love Is Blasphemy\u2019, and \u2018Whiteomega\u2019, the latter surfacing on Omega White<\/em>. \u201cWhen we had the idea of Alpha<\/em> songs and Omega<\/em> songs, we concentrated on Alpha<\/em> first because that was the stuff we wanted to get done with in a way,\u201d the vocalist imparts. \u201cIt was powerful, so we had to embrace the moment and the enthusiasm. We wrote Alpha Noir<\/em> and then recorded it first but we always kept working on the songwriting of Omega<\/em>, so they\u2019re like two twins. One came before the other into the world, but they are born from the same womb. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we did was write the songs, and then worked with a German guy called Benny Richter to arrange the songs and to do a bit of musical production. Mike (Miguel Gaspar) our drummer then flew to Antfarm Studios in Denmark to work with Tue Madsen on drums, and then Tue Madsen flew to Portugal to do the set-up from our own studio here in the outskirts of Lisbon. We then recorded everything else, vocals and bass, guitars. That studio is like our first home, not even second; we spend more time there than anywhere else in the world. I\u2019ve moved out in the last five years probably five or six times, but I\u2019ve never moved out of there (laughs), which is a good sign. When this process was finished, we repeated the process for Omega<\/em> with Benny, Mike flying to Denmark, Tue coming to Portugal, and then recording. The albums were then mixed, first Alpha<\/em> and then Omega<\/em>. I think Alpha<\/em> was the first one to be completed, and then Omega<\/em> followed shortly afterwards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Denmark\u2019s Tue Madsen (The Haunted \/ Hatesphere \/ Ektomorf) produced and mixed the two efforts. \u201cWe found him a couple of years ago,\u201d Fernando recalls. \u201cWe were working with Waldemar (Sorychta, Grip Inc. \/ Eyes Of Eden \/ Enemy Of The Sun guitarist) for years before that; he did Wolfheart<\/em>, Sin<\/em>, Irreligious<\/em>, and then he did Memorial<\/em> with us. Tue was also involved with Night Eternal<\/em>, and we re-recorded old Moonspell material for a mini-album called Under Satanae<\/em>. They were songs from our demos and Under The Moonspell<\/em> \u2013 our first EP songs \u2013 and we really, really liked his drum sound. We liked the way that he was as a person and as a producer, so we decided to record Night Eternal<\/em> with him and the experience was fantastic. We were all in Denmark, and they were great times. We were totally devoted to composing, writing, and recording. Also, Alpha<\/em> and Omega<\/em> were such personal pet projects in a way that we needed someone with the right profile but who also had a friendly relationship with us in order to be working in a much more comfortable environment. <\/p>\n

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\u201cBesides being a great technician and a great producer, Tue also fully understands our songs. He knew very well that the Omega<\/em> sound would have to sound different from the more metal sound of Alpha<\/em>, and he worked very hard. We were really, really fucking picky with everything, especially with Omega White<\/em> and the sound of the voices \u2013 there were many voices etcetera. I think we came out of the whole process as definitely a winner. We really liked the sounds on the albums, and we really liked the fact that everybody from the label to the graphic designer were not just working professionally with us. They were working on something they believed. For me, that shows that everybody was very committed to make something that was not just another Moonspell album.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shot in Nandufe, Tondela in the central region of Portugal, a music video was directed by Filipe Melo for the track \u2018Lickanthrope\u2019 (from Alpha Noir<\/em>). Moonspell had worked with Filipe previously. \u201cThat was crazy to do,\u201d the frontman laughs. \u201cWe did our last few videos using CGI and chroma, and we wanted to come back to something more real this time. We had this old friend that worked with us on the video \u2018I Will See You In My Dreams\u2019 for the movie of the same name, and it was like a zombie video where we were playing and just defeating zombies. They were trying to kill us, and we\u2019d kill them back. Ten years on from that video, I called him up and said \u2018We wanna do a new Moonspell video.\u2019 It\u2019s very inspired by the wolfman, and the old Hammer Horror movies. There\u2019s a graphic version of the Big Bad Wolf meeting Little Red Riding Hood. A couple of days later he called me up, and said \u2018Right, I\u2019m in but only if you allow me to have more money for the budget.\u2019 He then said \u2018I want to make you the first Portuguese werewolf movie,\u2019 so it all came down to that idea. I wanted something more simple, like something in the atmosphere of From Dusk Till Dawn<\/em> (1995) with the band playing. <\/p>\n

\u201cI knew that Filipe though would come with extra ideas to make the video not a regular one, but something brilliant. I think it\u2019s one of the best videos we\u2019ve done so far, and it was also the one that we suffered for the most because it was 20 hours of shooting. There was glue on my face, hair, and werewolf teeth, but I think the result is really good because it\u2019s also a tribute to a lot of movies. If you\u2019re into movies you\u2019ll recognise From Dusk Till Dawn<\/em>, you\u2019ll recognise Indiana Jones (Raiders Of The Lost Ark<\/em>, 1981), you\u2019ll recognise The Deer Hunter<\/em> (1978), The Wolf Man <\/em>(1941). I think it was a great thing for us and also for Filipe, because he is a cinema fan and I\u2019m a cinema fan as well. Movies in a way also inspire me to write music, and we\u2019ve already contributed to some soundtracks here in Portugal. It\u2019s quite exciting. From what I\u2019ve seen, it\u2019s really good and I think it\u2019s really old school. Everything in there is real; the set, the female dancers. The prostitutes weren\u2019t real, but they were actresses (laughs). The Wolf Man, you name it. It\u2019s really a tribute as well to all the supernatural figures that can be found in literature and in cinema.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Lickanthrope\u2019 is uniquely titled, the word traditionally spelt as \u2018lycanthrope.\u2019 \u201cI\u2019m glad somebody noticed, so thanks,\u201d Fernando chuckles. \u201cIt\u2019s just a game of words. \u2018Lickanthrope\u2019 is a song that has a lot of sex involved, and there\u2019s a lot of sensual activity going on. I tried to add spice by not using the correct spelling, because \u2018lick\u2019 can mean when you lick someone. The song has these sensual feelings about it, and it wouldn\u2019t sound as sexual if it was traditionally spelt. That\u2019s why I made this little twist, in order to convey more the meaning of the song.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018White Skies\u2019 was selected to feature in Omega White<\/em>\u2019s inaugural music video. \u201cIt\u2019s different from the \u2018Lickanthrope\u2019 video, because I wrote the script together with the production team,\u201d the singer reveals. \u201cI wanted something really simple. We used two sets. It\u2019s just the band playing the song in black and white; the video just goes between the band playing in a room, and a party of Portuguese suicide girls. They just go in a room and interact, have a pillow fight, and all of that. It\u2019s a more clich\u00e9d video we\u2019ve never done, but I think this Omega<\/em> style \u2013 especially the song \u2018White Skies\u2019 \u2013 really relates to that. It\u2019s great because we had no money to do these videos, but a lot of people just pitched in, wanted to do it, and wanted to work with Moonspell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alpha Noir<\/em> and Omega White<\/em> are done and dusted now of course, and Fernando is \u201cmore than satisfied. There\u2019s some artists who don\u2019t listen to their albums and don\u2019t care, but I\u2019m listening very heavily to this album. I\u2019m very proud because Moonspell has been around 20 years, and we\u2019ve done a very remarkable album in a time where everybody is saying that music is dead and nobody cares about a double-album. They just wanna buy songs on iTunes. I refuse to live in this reality. People still have the time to listen to music, and they still want to make the compromise or the sacrifice of making an album which I think is something that you have to do when you are a fan of music and a fan of a band. Even if you pay \u00a320 for a record, you can have a priceless experience. Nobody ever talks about that. People just wanna put a price on everything, and I think music is way beyond that. It\u2019s way more romantic than that, so I think we have achieved our main goal which was to have a good representation of ourselves. <\/p>\n

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Moonspell (l-r): Pedro Paix\u00e3o, Aires Pereira, Fernando Ribeiro, Ricardo Amorim
and Miguel Gaspar<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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\u201cWe went so far as to make two albums to feed our hunger for this self-indulgence, these things that musicians have to express. I would say that our expectations are always realistic. I know that Moonspell isn\u2019t the biggest band in the world, but not the smallest as well. Coming out of Portugal, I think we\u2019ve gone to places that nobody here in our small country has gone. We have a full agenda of touring in Europe; we\u2019re going on the Barge To Hell metal cruise, and there are a lot of festivals as well as a lot of shows. I think things are shaping up, and I\u2019m really enthusiastic about things. We can play these songs live obviously, because that\u2019s where you get the real value of the songs and I think that will also be a great experience. That continues the cycle we initiated in 1992 when we changed our name from Morbid God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alpha Noir<\/em> was released in Europe on April 27th, 2012 and subsequently in North America on May 8th, all through Napalm Records.<\/p>\n

Interview published in May 2012. All promotional photographs by Paulo Moreira.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MOONSPELL – A Grand Stand Anthony Morgan May 2012 Moonspell (l-r): Pedro Paix\u00e3o, Miguel Gaspar, Fernando Ribeiro (seated), Aires Pereira and Ricardo Amorim Portuguese gothic metallers Moonspell publicly disclosed the fact that they had inked a three album contract with Hanover, Germany-based record label SPV on November 9th, 2005. The relationship lasted for two studio […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[278],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-moonspell"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5433"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5465,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5433\/revisions\/5465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}