From the Ancient Shores of Lusitania

From the Ancient Shores of Lusitania: MOONSPELL

June 18, 2022 — Leave a comment

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Under the Spell of the Wolf… We Bleed.

By Daniel Pinheiro (Utopia Platafórmica)

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Black metal, as a musical and artistic genre, has come a very long way. From the streets of Newcastle to the landscapes of Oslo and so many other places around the globe, the genre has grown into something magnificent.

I have mentioned this more than once but I truly see black metal as the most complex genre within the Heavy Metal Universe. “What do you mean by complex?” says that young mate from New Zealand. Well… and this might scare off many of the black metal fans, but the genre lives beyond the music. Wait, what?! Yes, my friend, this musical, artistic genre lives in more than one layer of reality. Some may not ‘live’ it… I do not live it in all its plenitude, I assume; but I do understand that encapsulating it within strict and well-defined lines is not an accurate way to describe it, to depict it, to admire its vast intricacy. You could point out that several other genres have the same craftmanship, but no… just no. End. Joking, of course, but today’s subject in this brand new column is black metal, and we are headed for Portugal – to the Ancient Shores of Lusitania. Shall we?!

In trying to filter down the origins of the genre in Portugal, I remember having a debate with a mate about exactly who came first. He stated that Black Cross could be considered the very first black metal band in Portugal, but I dare say he was only taking into consideration the aesthetic facets of their art; maybe remembering seeing a pseudo-expert on social media claiming that Filii Nigrantium Infernalium and Decayed were the bands that started it all. Well, he got at least those right, I will give him that. But music fans, and it seems that Portuguese black metal fans most of all, try to hide the fact that a band that receives so much hate today was infact the third band behind the birth of the genre on these shores. Yes, MOONSPELL, formerly known as Morbid God, crafted exquisite works of Portuguese heritage inspired black metal using Arabic elements that are part of our nation’s history, the structure on which this country was built, if we look back in time. I truly believe that most of these deniers are actually aware of the band’s black metal past; their inspiration, the bands they worship as youngsters, and what they crafted with Anno Satanae and Under the Moonspell, all the way to Wolfheart. If you tell me that Wolfheart was their last black metal effort, I will back up your decision – but give these three releases their due credit.

Anno Satanae is a cold, harsh, homage to Europe’s black metal scene of the early 90s. Fernando’s vocal performance is top-notch, perfect for its time. I look at this demo as an almost hidden pearl of European black metal, to which the band added singular elements that perfectly portrait their heritage. Still to this day I find it to be one of the best demos of the ’90s (that I am aware of, of course). This set of songs hadn’t yet “extracted” from the band all of its potential, and it presents a band still very raw and clearly looking for its path. 

The band’s next release was a five song EP. I remember when I got a tape of this from a cousin (years later, of course) and how it amazed me, how it scared me; how it made me understand that this music was much more than just guitar solos and long epic melodies. Under the Moonspell is an amazing Work of Art. Does it hold up today? I will admit, when it comes to that question I am biased – I grew up with the band’s first four releases and they all have this immense meaning, but I still get goosebumps whenever I have the chance to hear this one live (yes… live, babies). For this release the band went from cold and aggressive melodies to Arabic dances and magickal tunes. Pedro’s keyboard lines help build momentum and take the music to a much higher level. Strings, the use of strings! It is remarkable how well they fit. The chanting, the chanting, my friends! The usage of acoustic guitars… this is exactly what absorbing heritage means: the Arabic influence that to this day remains in Portugal led to the band crafting this masterpiece.

I cannot praise this release enough. People tend to point out Wolfheart as the band’s perfect album, and I agree that it is fantastic, from start to finish; Under the Moonspell lives a bit in the shadow of the releases that came after it, and that is OK. Well… no. It is not OK, in my opinion! You have Arabic, you have Greek, you have Portuguese, you have a bit of everything in there, and it turned out amazing! You have a band that did not settle for just one genre, for just one sound. Is it black metal? Is it completely black metal?! Well, what was black metal in the early 90s? Heheh. It is black metal, but it also shows a sensibility that most black metal bands of the ’90s did not have – can we extract the Greek ones for that equation? – and that is what makes a real difference in the band’s sound. Oh, and I discovered Marquis de Sade via this release… thank you, Fernando!

The year was 1995, and the release was Wolfheart, on Century Media (thank you Century Media of the ’90s, thank you). I believe people were expecting a continuation of what they had heard before; but if there is one thing the band truly has to be recognized for it is their ability to evolve, to move towards different goals, create distinct paths, and walk them with pride. I got to hear Wolfheart before their previous releases, so to me they sounded like this, period. With this release and the ensuing exposure they received from it the crowd grew and the exposition rose and rose (the following Irreligious was soon to be the climax of that growth). The question that I now ask myself is, “is this black metal?” As if the album or its creators did care, please, but just to have a point of reference ‘Wolfshade (A Werewolf Masquarade)’ welcomes you into the band’s world; a small, but warm one. It speaks of wolves, it speaks of death, it speaks of blood. I still have it on a list as one of the albums that changed my life, and I could not care less if people furrow their eyebrows or laugh their arses off. To me it shows how little they are actually educated on music and quality art. We could go track after track, dissecting each one of them, to the core, layer after layer, but there is no need – as the overall melody that crosses the album is, in my opinion, their identity.

It is a bit – okay, a lot – strange to hear these tunes live, next to their most recent ones. How odd it is. Moonspell has become the band people want to hate, for the Portuguese heavy metal fandom. In Portugal you either hate them or love them, as there is no grey area. That is absurd, especially coming from black metal fans. Ok, if you are in your twenties, you just started checking out black metal and you are an edgy guy, you are going to spit on them and run to the nearest cliché black metal band of the 21st century. Okay, I also like some of those bands, and will never neglect who these mates were, based on how much I like, or not, their music… but it is insulting to mention Portugal’s black metal forefathers and not count Moonspell as one of them! Scene kids (and grown men), aiming for a tough guy image, pffft. I risk saying none of you gave Rotting Christ’s Triarchy of the Lost Lovers a go, right?! Yeah, I see you.

Looking back on this record, and how it impacts on me now, as an – almost – old fart, I see how much quality it has, how much power it holds, and how strong an identity it has. An instrumental tune like ‘Lua d’Inverno’ is an astonishing approach to ancient Portuguese history. It radiates history and heritage. The track that follows? ‘Trebaruna’. Now that is Portugal at its best. From this point on – if you missed it on Under… – the band fully embraced the keyboard and began writing their tale. Pedro Paixão is an amazing musician; the mastermind behind what Moonspell achieved… except for ‘Butterfly FX’. Mate, what were you on when you wrote that?! ‘Angelizer’, ‘Mute’… but, back to the early ’90s. although the record showed some more aggressive and visceral tunes, it also had fans’ beloved vampire tale: ‘Vampiria’. It is… okay I’m running out of adjectives, but you got the picture. Last time I heard it live I went crazy. It baffles me how anyone might not see the majesty of this music. It’s immense. Imagine rocking this in the ’90s, in Norway, amidst the Black Metal Mafia phenomenon (LOL), in the presence of musicians that most of us admire and thank for their contributions to our musical and overall artistic growth. Ah, in your face, mates!

What follows really cemented Moonspell’s position in the European heavy metal scene. Irreligious showed the band engage in a very, very special form of gothic metal – still a very wolf-like attack on the senses, yet filled with sweet melodies. This is the true vampiric soundtrack, right? Along with Cradle of Filth plus Bram Stoker and Poe books, this record hit me like a bomb! I was fourteen when it came out, and I believe I had heard Wolfheart some time before – two almost perfect records for a teen just discovering extreme music and literature. I was “introduced” to Crowley due to this record. Funny thing, Moonspell taught me more about literature than all my Portuguese Language teachers (except for an English teacher who lent me some Agatha Christie and Poe books). And people say heavy metal is bad for you. Musically speaking, this is my least favorite from the four that are mentioned in this text. This record comes from a time when a label made all the difference. I tried to get my hands on taped releases from Century Media like they were the bloody (Un)Holy Grail! All sounded amazing, all. Irreligious trails, in a way, the same path all the other former-black / death metal bands had walked until that point, Tiamat being a particular favorite of mine. Again, the music. It differs, substantially, from its predecessor, adopting a more… gothic approach. Ok, not that gothic, but slightly gothic. It attracted a different crowd – some fans decided to step back and exit, others embraced the different sound that had been crafted and kept on going. ‘Full Moon Madness’ ran over every single one of us, with power. Pedro’s almost silent melody gives it this enormous atmosphere and carries the track into climax. Ricardo’s solo is… stunning.

Now, let us close out Moonspell’s early or “untouchable” discography. Disclaimer: everything that came after this next one will not be mentioned. My sincere apologies to their fans. 

Did Irreligious prepare us for what was coming? I have no idea. I know, I looked at it with doubts. Their previous endeavor had taken them to musical fields I was not expecting, but this one went straight off the charts, mates! 2econd Skin is… well, I have no idea what it is, honestly. Until this day that chorus in the title track has to be one of the most annoying I have ever heard. That chorus is out of this world… fast forward that track, and we are then presented with an album that captured an atmosphere that we can almost physically touch. It is still within the realm of gothic (which the band genuinely embraced from this point on), but it sounds modern, fashionable. Small details aside, the atmosphere is claustrophobic, scary, heavy, and almost depressive. I know I “ingested” this record on an almost daily basis, for a while – and it affected me. All that time spent listening helped shape the way I started looking at religion, for example. I had never been very sure that religion was a relevant, fundamental aspect of the human being, and after absorbing this album (and some side reading) I reached conclusions and opinions. Aside from resembling a spear, straight to the heart of the Catholic belief, 2econd Skin has this roughly erotic scent to it. Not easy to put into words, to be honest, and it might sound weird… religion and eroticism combined, and this is the final product.

I have written in the past about this album and I have a very strong opinion on it. I had the chance to see them live when it came out and loved the songs even more. I would venture say it is their best. Is it the one that I like the most? Is it the one with which I identify the most? Is it the one that had the biggest impact on me? No. But it probably was one of the albums that made me reflect the most on what was around me, as a whole; it broke barriers and left its mark on the late ’90s heavy metal scene, especially the gothic scene. It has, at times, this almost rock n’ roll vibe to it; this groove, a very up-tempo rhythm to the songs. Then it goes deep into your core and slashes a bit of your hope in life, dragging you into depression. I know this record has the capacity to break me, to pull me into a sad place. Still trying to understand how that goes, to be honest. We started with Moonspell’s black metal outlet and ended up at this gothic danceable groove set of songs, tremendously loved by this scribe, that will linger forever as the band’s last good album, in my opinion. Oh, and one final thing to mention: Crestana’s bass is heavy as hell in this recording! Why did he leave, right?!

Conclusion: Moonspell grew to be one of the biggest bands in a scene that lives halfway underground, halfway mainstream; where big stages and full arenas are recurring, but where small pubs in the UK are home to them. Even though we went our separate ways I will always show my respect to these lads for what they started, for what they gave me, as a music fan, and for what they accomplished. Being from Portugal strengthened them indeed.

There is always a claw at the end of each hand.

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