It’s the 13th studio album for the Portugese dark gothic metal titans MOONSPELL! With some luck we should see them on stage at Alcatraz Fest. In Belgium this summer! I’m looking forward to see them back on stage. I miss the festivals and a great album like this makes it even harder!
They start with The Greater Good: almost a-cappella and with a dark feel. Once the music surrounds the vocals it gets a bluesy melancholic metal touch and reminds me a bit of one of my favourite bands in this genre: Anathema. It’s a bombtrack within this genre and catches my attention from the start! Towards the end the screaming gives it a harder touch, just as the rage in the screams. They have only started and I already get a wow feeling! More rocking comes with Common Prayers, where I also hear a synth. The song slows down after a while, but goes up again. More emotions and a deep bluesy feel comes with All or Nothing. There is also an acoustic guitar in it. Somehow this song reminds me a bit of Pink Floyd (and that is a great thing). The title track Hermitage mixes rage with the bluesy feel and an apocalyptic touch. It’s highlight number 4 (and we are at track number 4). The hammering drums sound like explosions, whilst the guitars sound really hot towards the end (like as if the snares might start to melt soon). Entitlement reminds me a bit of the last album of David Bowie as it has a jazzy / blues feel with softer vocals. Towards the end the song becomes a bit harder and heavier. Solitarian goes back into the bluesy / synth / Pink Floyd feel. It’s the only track I would skip on this album (but that’s also because I’m a vocal lover and there are no vocals on this one). More desperation and raw emotions comes with The Hermit Saints. The powerful backings gives it a mythical touch and more power! The award for most difficult tile goes to Apoptheghmata: a dark gothic metal track with clean vocals, a bluesy guitar and a melancholic feel. Once you hear the vocals go screaming we get a rougher side. Without Rule reminds me a bit of the new Steven Wilson (The Future Bites). The song has sharp lyrics and mixes a synth with guitars and a spacey feeling. The song explodes towards the end and becomes a real bomb (but not without a slice of blues)! For me this is the real end of this great album, but they added an outro to it: City Quitter (outro). The outro is a piano minded piece, with dark slices on top coming from a synth. With this you know that the story is not finished, like in thrillers where you suddenly see the monster getting away or getting up whilst we all were thinking it was dead …
Well: it’s an excellent album, well produced and with some possible hits on it. I just hope all the fans like it as much as I do! I hope to see you in the festival season (at Alcatraz)!
Hermitage Tracklist:
01. The Greater Good
02. Common Prayers
03. All or Nothing
04. Hermitage
05. Entitlement
06. Solitarian
07. The Hermit Saints
08. Apophthegmata
09. Without Rule
10. City Quitter (Outro)
+ Bonus Tracks:
11. Darkness in Paradise (Candlemass cover – available on LP, Deluxe Box, MC + Mediabook)
12. The Great Leap Forward (7" Vinyl – available in Deluxe Box – sold out)
For More Info About MOONSPELL Visit:
www.moonspell.com
www.facebook.com/moonspellband
www.instagram.com/moonspellofficial
https://label.napalmrecords.com/moonspell
www.moonspell.rastilho.com
MOONSPELL is:
Fernando Ribeiro – Vocals
Ricardo Amorim – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Pedro Paixão – Keys, Guitar
Aires Pereira – Bass
Hugo Ribeiro – Drums
