{"id":62928,"date":"2015-03-17T00:00:09","date_gmt":"2015-03-17T00:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=62928"},"modified":"2017-10-22T00:34:39","modified_gmt":"2017-10-22T00:34:39","slug":"feature-moonspell-03-15-pt1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-moonspell-03-15-pt1\/","title":{"rendered":"MOONSPELL – A Dying Breed, Part One (March 2015) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

MOONSPELL – A Dying Breed<\/strong><\/span>
\nAnthony Morgan<\/span>
\nMarch 2015<\/span><\/p>\n

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Moonspell (l-r): Pedro Paix\u00e3o, Ricardo Amorim, Fernando Ribeiro, Miguel Gaspar and Aires Pereira<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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\nMarch 2015 full-length Extinct<\/em> \u2013 the 11th proper studio affair from Portuguese gothic metallers Moonspell \u2013 arrived somewhat out of the blue for the quintet, although it had been almost three years since the issue of April 2012 double-album platter Alpha Noir<\/em> \/ Omega White<\/em>, Moonspell\u2019s inaugural Napalm outing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t planned by the band, to embark on composing, songwriting, and recording a new album,\u201d remembers Fernando Ribeiro, vocalist for Moonspell. \u201cIt was a record that was more of a gut feeling. I thought I had a cool concept in my mind, and I thought that I had a story to be told. I was pretty sure that the other guys were always keeping it flowing as well when it came to writing songs, so we just put together the pieces really quickly. Eventually, we started finding out the direction on the way. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew we wanted to do something different, expanding a little bit on some of our characteristics. Everything in the process was really fast, and we\u2019re quite happy and proud of the results because it sounds a little bit fresher. There\u2019s some places we\u2019ve just probably never been before with our songs, and so I think we did a solid album, a different album \u2013 much more melodic than our most recent stuff, but also an album that definitely has some of our personal signature, even though there\u2019s a lot of novelties to be found on this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Authoring compositions, the frontman\u2019s goals were unequivocal. \u201cI think at the end of the day, everybody aims for creating great songs that can definitely stand by themselves but then would also work very well on an album,\u201d he observes. \u201cWhen we were writing for this one, we really wanted to make sure that every song worked and that every song had a special mood, a special moment as well. That\u2019s why we didn\u2019t go into doing a really long album, and so we decided to concentrate on what we had. <\/p>\n

\u201cLike I was saying, we had some ideas in our mind for quite some time which was also to work on more exuberant arrangements, to make the music a little bit more killer when people listen to it, and also to work on the ability of keeping them returning to the album to find more and more about the album \u2013 about the lyrics, about what\u2019s behind that more melodic soundtrack that Extinct<\/em> definitely has. There wasn\u2019t really a plan; we just followed the lead of the music. Even though it sounds corny and romantic, I think that\u2019s exactly what we do. When we write our songs and start focusing on what becomes a record, we capture a little bit of the spirit of the time we are living and what we are going through personally. Twenty years has passed since we started releasing albums and making tours, and a lot of stuff has also happened to us. <\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of maturity came during the process as well, but I think our music just follows the kind of emotion that was set upon us more than 20 years ago. I think we try being creative, and try to also challenge our listeners into listening to something a little bit different than the gothic metal of today. I think Extinct<\/em> is a really good alternative, and we worked hard on it to also distinguish ourselves among the scene \u2013 regardless of the fact that we\u2019ve been a part of that scene for so many years in all kinds of positions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Extinct<\/em> earnt its moniker courtesy of Fernando\u2019s personal circumstances. \u201cMy personal circumstances \u2013 as the guy who writes the lyrics \u2013 I brought that aspect into the album,\u201d he notes. \u201cI called the album Extinct<\/em> because of two main events, let\u2019s put it that way. There was an event of life, which was the birth of my son three years ago. When we started composing for the new record, that was a big influence because of all the sheer joy and living experience that it is to be a father, you also go through very dark periods where you question yourself and where certain parts of yourself have to go under a process of extinction so that you become a better caretaker. <\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a father helped me realise how anguished I was just before as well, even with all of the companionship and the commonality within the band, and everything we\u2019ve been through together \u2013 and I have a brother and a sister. To be in control of someone\u2019s life… I don\u2019t mean to be in control of a fan\u2019s life through your music, but being in control of your flesh and blood, it\u2019s something that really involves a lot of change \u2013 it involves a lot of adaptation. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe other event was the death of Peter Steele from Type O Negative (April 14th, 2010), which was something I could never really get across just as a physical death. Obviously, I wasn\u2019t a part of his family, I wasn\u2019t a friend. We toured together; in 1996 we got to tour with them a little bit in their prime, and also we got to tour with them when everything was growing into chaos in Peter\u2019s life. When he died, the way that the scene reacted to it… I think the deaths of these kinds of people \u2013 like the last of their kind in a way \u2013 I see it as more of an extinction. Those times are not coming back; that inspiration that Type O Negative was on many lives, including mine, are not coming back. I think we are not evolving in the scene; it\u2019s kind of a nostalgic feeling in a way with some hope for the future, with some awareness that we have to go on with things. <\/p>\n

\u201cThose were the two main personal events that actually ignited the writing of the lyrics for Extinct<\/em>, though. There are many aspects of them in the lyrics. Obviously, I didn\u2019t write solely about these two subjects, but the emotion in-between life and death is definitely where I wrote \u2013 the more grey, diffused area where base my lyrics upon. They\u2019re more personal, and not so much fiction. Definitely not.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Fernando Ribeiro<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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When such seminal musical figures like Peter Steele pass away, this creates an inevitable void. The likes of Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden typically headline metal festivals, causing one to wonder as to the possible health of the metal scene in roughly 20 years time when such bands have called time on their respective careers. \u201cIt\u2019s curious that you mention that, because especially Black Sabbath with their last album (13<\/em>, June 2013), they showed the scene \u2013 the crowd \u2013 a lot of vitality,\u201d the mainman reckons. \u201cIt was a great album with great music; even though they don\u2019t have anything to prove any more, they felt they could expand on their sound. I think that definitely is a lesson, even though we\u2019re not a household name \u2013 we\u2019ll never have even half of the recognition of Black Sabbath. Being from Portugal, we have our own history, but it really inspired me because I can relate to that while probably a younger kid can\u2019t. Sometimes people just overlook the work and importance of such bands, but I think that times are changing. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think with the internet and with all of these bands popping up, people are getting tired of amateurs and really want to follow bands who know what they\u2019re doing. I think there\u2019s a chance for bands like us, especially in our genre and with this kind of album, because it\u2019s really an alternative to what\u2019s going on in our own scene. That scene is gothic metal, which is more dominated by the logic of soprano singers, mid-growlers. Sometimes all of the rock and the dark parts go away into too much of a sugar-like song, and stuff like that. I think it\u2019s really important that good albums are produced by any band, but if older bands can still have a word to say, I think that that\u2019s a thing that I\u2019m definitely up for myself. In a way, how the scene evolves and what it\u2019s going to be in 20 years is something that we can start now. I think the metal scene is going through a little bit of a crisis, a creative crisis. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s only great when bands like Black Sabbath come up with such surprising albums. Also, the new Accept (Blind Rage<\/em>, August 2014), the new Judas Priest (Redeemer Of Souls<\/em>, July 2014), they\u2019re all very, very good albums. I think that just the kings of metal \u2013 the top of the chain bands \u2013 are showing how things are done, and I think that that\u2019s a great thing happening these days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the Black Sabbaths, Accepts and Judas Priests of the metal world \u2018are showing how things are done\u2019, one has to wonder whom is taking up the mantle among the more recent crop of metal acts. \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Fernando muses. \u201cI don\u2019t know really how to see that far. What I know is nowadays, it seems that people… I\u2019ve always seen music as something that grows with you. Sometimes I feel that, especially with people who listen to music right now, they\u2019re much more interested in some sort of entertainment. I think for me, the future of metal has to go through some change as well. I think that sometimes the fans really have to choose between probably a more difficult record, and a record that doesn\u2019t give them instant gratification but more insights into the future. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s a very critical phase right now as we\u2019re in 2015, where metal has probably reached its limit with all of the festivals that we\u2019ve played and all of the bands have played, for 70-100,000 fans. If bands stop being creative and if they start making records where it\u2019s business as usual, to meet an agenda, like \u2018Let\u2019s make a record for the summer festival season… Let\u2019s milk the brand,\u2019 then I think we all will have a problem. With all of these times where things are a little bigger, I think it\u2019s always a great time to start doing different music in a way, and that\u2019s what we are trying in our genre as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Irrespective of whom eventually fills the inevitable void in the general metal scene, as far as the gothic metal scene is specifically concerned, a void was created as a result of Peter Steele\u2019s passing. Nevertheless, the man\u2019s influence can be heard in the singer\u2019s vocal contributions towards Extinct<\/em>. \u201cI have to say that for me, that\u2019s a big compliment,\u201d he appreciates. \u201cI think that not only as a singer with his deep bass baritone \u2013 because he had a deeper vocal than what I have \u2013 he\u2019s definitely a person that really stood up as someone that also really read very well into his own lyrics and his own universe, and he was much more complete than just a singer. He also played the bass. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m heavily inspired by many, many singers, and I think that Peter Steele is probably at the top of the list, and so is Type O as a band for Moonspell. Even though we try to keep our music as unique and as original as possible \u2013 as a lot of bands try to, in a way \u2013 I think that we always nod to our influences. There are a lot of vocal influences that I have, and definitely Peter Steele. When I first heard Type O Negative \u2013 especially with Bloody Kisses<\/em> (August 1993) \u2013 we were doing our first album Wolfheart<\/em> (April 1995) at the time, and immediately I said \u2018Well…\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cI was more inspired by a kind of black metal vocal, like Bathory and also some other stuff and some other singers. When I listened to Bloody Kisses<\/em> though, I was really definitely very inspired by the romantic, dark, vampiric touch that Peter Steele had. Of course, you always like to emulate in a way your idols, but there are great singers around. I love (Carl) McCoy from Fields Of The Nephilim. He\u2019s one of a kind; a great singer, a great performer, and great visually as well. I used to love Andrew Eldritch (The Sisters Of Mercy); I think for the 80s and early 90s, he was just the most awesome guy around on the gothic scene. Obviously Peter Murphy (Bauhaus) as well, and many, many other singers. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think you always have to learn from the best. I always try to work out and improve on my vocals, my accent, because I\u2019m from Portugal (laughs). Sometimes I sound a little bit like Count Dracula (laughs). People always tease me, because Portuguese is a very hard-shaped language. When you listen to it, it always sounds a little bit like Slavic, like Russian, a kind of accent where sometimes people think we\u2019re from the east. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey pick on us, but it\u2019s hard, and I think it\u2019s worse when I start taking on an American accent or a UK accent (laughs). I find it very funny when people whose native language isn\u2019t English speak, because they try to adopt this accent. They just sound like they\u2019re out of a Second World War comedy movie, and obviously I have to look up to all of these artists that especially are not only great singers, but write really great lyrics as well, and can express them and bring them to life as all of these singers I\u2019ve referenced can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Moonspell (l-r): Aires Pereira, Pedro Paix\u00e3o, Fernando Ribeiro, Ricardo Amorim
and Miguel Gaspar<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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Many different accents exist across the depth and breadth of the United Kingdom. \u201cYeah, that\u2019s true,\u201d Fernando agrees. \u201cWe once had a tour bus from the UK, and both of the drivers were from Newcastle. We\u2019ve been there on tour in the UK as well, and sometimes we had to be really focused because it\u2019s an accent that\u2019s sometimes so thick. They don\u2019t sound like the English we talk with each other and with other bands, and also the English we see in American series\u2019 and films sometimes (laughs). Imagine, though. Even in a country like Portugal which is so small, and even the couple of islands we have with the Azores, the accent is really, really different from even a hundred kilometres away. It\u2019s just very different.\u201d<\/p>\n

The aforementioned Wolfheart<\/em> \u2013 Moonspell\u2019s debut proper \u2013 celebrates its 20th anniversary in April 2015. \u201cThat\u2019s what really pops in my head, because I remember very vividly Wolfheart<\/em> and all the things that happened with Wolfheart<\/em>,\u201d the lyricist begins. \u201cOur transformation from a Portuguese band that was trying hard to get some recognition \u2013 especially outside Portugal \u2013 and then all of the process that happened to get Waldemar (Sorychta, producer), to get the album released, to get Century Media supporting it, and the big surprise that it was for everyone that it turned out to be. I think up to today, it\u2019s the biggest selling release from a Century Media band from Portugal, so there are a lot of great memories. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think my best memory is when we flew back from Germany, where we recorded back in 1995. I had a Walkman with a tape of Wolfheart<\/em> \u2013 back in the day, there was nothing else (laughs). I had a Walkman, and I listened to it. It was the first time I could listen to our music well-produced, with our ideas being perfectly placed and played much better than if we had gotten stuck in Portugal and worked with a local producer. It was the first time that I felt Moonspell was something that probably wouldn\u2019t just stay for a first album, that we would probably evolve and progress, and make the dream come true. <\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, it came with a lot of pain (laughs). All the band knows that it\u2019s not a walk on an open boulevard full of light, and people applauding. It was great, hard work to get Wolfheart<\/em> to people the old school way by touring a lot, but the way it has spread… Not only to the countries that normally buy metal records, but also to countries that I could never imagine an album such as Wolfheart<\/em>… We arrive, and all the respect we get from all other bands. There are Wolfheart<\/em> fans who come out specifically to hear those songs. We never expected the album to get this status, the status of an album that is also seen as part of a movement, like the more avant-garde metal, black metal, dark metal that Century Media was releasing back in the 90s. We were totally fans, and longed to write a little bit of that history, and add a Portuguese chapter to that. Of course, we\u2019re really proud of it. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have time with all of the tours coming, but we would like to do a Wolfheart<\/em> show in some cities around Europe. If we don\u2019t have the time with the touring for the new album though, then maybe for some dates we\u2019ll just play the whole of Wolfheart<\/em> and then the whole of Extinct<\/em>. Let\u2019s see. It\u2019s 20 years of Wolfheart<\/em>, so everything\u2019s possible. We all know the songs by heart, so it won\u2019t be a problem to play them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Should Moonspell perform Wolfheart<\/em> live in its entirety to mark its 20th anniversary, hopefully the concert (s) in question will be visually recorded. \u201cWe\u2019ve done it a couple of times,\u201d Fernando cites. \u201cWe did it on a Halloween show here in Portugal, to just have a Night Of The Wolf. Not too many times, like two or three times, and always with a guest singer for the female vocals. We did it once at Inferno festival in Norway, and it was great. It was really like time travel, and people were really excited listening I wouldn\u2019t even say towards the likes of \u2018Alma Mater\u2019, which is a regular thing in our setlist, but songs like \u2018An Erotic Alchemy\u2019, \u2018… Of Dream And Drama\u2019. The folk songs of that period of Moonspell. I never really get tired of listening to Wolfheart<\/em>, and the praise, and people looking forward to it, because this album brought us a lot as well. We\u2019re extremely grateful. <\/p>\n

\u201cJust to say that it was a good thing but now it\u2019s in the past, and now we have a brand new album sounding super? No. I think we have to live in harmony with what we did, especially when what you did was so surprisingly positive in our lives and other people\u2019s lives. I could never have imagined all of the doors that Wolfheart<\/em> opened for us, which were unbelievable, almost unreal for a Portuguese band. We\u2019ll gladly do it, definitely, if people are up for it. To feel a little bit of the Wolfheart<\/em> spirit again, going back to 1995 and all of those influences, it has been tested and everybody was really into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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From 1995 through to 2015, Moonspell have evolved both as a group as well as individuals. \u201cI think we have changed a lot, especially in terms of what needed to be changed,\u201d the performer ponders. \u201cWe were a band from Portugal, and so we were very naive. There wasn\u2019t anyone really who were doing the same stuff as we were back then, to get some feedback and live advice from. We kind of learnt about everything ourselves, and then there were all the other problems. In Portugal, sometimes it\u2019s hard. It\u2019s not like being a German band or a Scandinavian band. It\u2019s sometimes more problematic for us travelling around, and to be able to live from music. The key elements of Moonspell are still there. I think we have a fantastic relationship between the members. Obviously, we\u2019ve had our shitstorms over the years (laughs). <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more than a family, I would say. It\u2019s people that I\u2019ve chosen. I\u2019ve been in Moonspell for 23 years. For instance, I\u2019ve turned more of my own apartment into Moonspell\u2019s studio in the last few years, so it\u2019s kind of a very constant thing in our lives and in the lives of the many, many people who work with us, or listen to our music. It\u2019s kind of something that went I wouldn\u2019t say well financially or whatever, but when it comes to connecting people and when it comes to relationships, it\u2019s something that has brought a lot. Much more than we ever expected, in a way. Obviously, we have changed. I can say that I\u2019m the same like I was 20 years. Of course, a part of me wishes to be the same, to have all of that youth and probably really, really less cynical about the world (laughs). On the other hand though, I think we always made the right choices. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe always changed what had to be changed while keeping the key elements of Moonspell, which are incredible friendships. Also, we like to work, and we like to be challenged. We have a very strong commitment to the band, because this is one shot in a lifetime for a Portuguese band. We always work hard because in a way, we feel privileged. We\u2019ve worked for it definitely, but also I had other bands in Portugal and they couldn\u2019t reach where we reached. We always wanted to reach further, and always expand with our band. It\u2019s always in our plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

The greatest difference between 1995 and 2015 is that Fernando is experiencing fatherhood. Certain quarters mainly describe becoming a parent as being a joyous thing, although Fernando has referenced the darker aspects associated with it. \u201cPeople sometimes jump to conclusions,\u201d he cautions. \u201cOf course, being a father is something totally special in your life; it\u2019s something totally joyous, and it\u2019s made of glorious moments like walking in the park with your kids, and their first word, and when they walk for the first time, and when they crack a joke for the first time. I think that perceptions about most parents and most literature about parents is as though everyone lives on a fantasy island (laughs), where everything is perfect and everything goes alright. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I see is that many parents are unaware of the struggle between yourself as a father or as a mother, and sometimes I see a lot of friends and a lot of people just totally neglecting themselves in order to take care of their kids, which is a very noble thing to do. Also though, when their kids get to grow up, they will have much more boring and normal fathers and mothers that probably expect their lives wouldn\u2019t be so rich without their kids. <\/p>\n

\u201cMe and my wife, who is also a musician and a singer but in a pop band, we always understood this kind of fight. We always understood that we would go to dark moments. We always understood that it would cause problems with our lifestyle, which is late hours and being away. There\u2019s a lot of chaos. Obviously we\u2019ve found our harmony, but for me it is important and a tradition as a lyricist that I tell about the places that probably every father has been. It\u2019s probably too shameful for other fathers to talk about, though. Moonspell music is also where I lay my weight; when I came back from Sweden, I was much more relaxed in a way (laughs), and was definitely much more up to facing real life again. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think people, especially when you read about kids… It\u2019s not an exact science at all. In my opinion, they paint it a little bit too much with gold so to speak. My wife did an interview here in Portugal, and the interviewer said \u2018Would you like to get pregnant again?\u2019 She said about how we have a one-child policy and that we like that, and how it\u2019s also a question of love, and about how we don\u2019t want any more kids, and about how it feels awful when you\u2019re pregnant. Everybody criticised her, because everybody was saying \u2018Oh, it was the most beautiful experience in my life.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cMy thing is that with real love comes a greater pain. Also, it\u2019s like the Spiderman metaphor, that with greater powers comes greater responsibilities. If everybody deals with that in a joyous way then I\u2019m a bit jealous of these people (laughs), because there\u2019s definitely dark stuff that you have to go through as a father and as a person. It\u2019s not a situation where everybody\u2019s playing around and having picnics.\u201d<\/p>\n

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MOONSPELL – A Dying Breed Anthony Morgan March 2015 Moonspell (l-r): Pedro Paix\u00e3o, Ricardo Amorim, Fernando Ribeiro, Miguel Gaspar and Aires Pereira March 2015 full-length Extinct \u2013 the 11th proper studio affair from Portuguese gothic metallers Moonspell \u2013 arrived somewhat out of the blue for the quintet, although it had been almost three years since […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,278],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-moonspell"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62928","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=62928"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63014,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62928\/revisions\/63014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}