MOONSPELL
This is
one of the most important names of the dark-gothic metal genre, a band that have
written important pages like with the full-lenght “Wolfheart” (Vote 9.5), a
mix of heavy-doom metal with a strong vampiric and romantic atmosphere, a music
probably inspired by that type of literature.
The
objective of the band was to picture a twilight scenario in a rapture of
decadence, a visionary thirst of black magic. After so many years of exposition
almost nobody have tried with success to represent that imaginary with the same
quality, only Cradle of Filth, in a dark and more evil way, have reached higher
results, but with a different approach, not so similar to the “Wolfheart”
influences. Moonspell created something unique, original with a strong emotive
impact.
The
next work is “Irreligous” (Vote 9), an album that have probably acquired
part of the success that Wolfheart deserved, it’s surely a very good album
with a less vampiric influence.
“Irreligious” is much more a gothic album in the extensive sense of the
word, “Wolfhearth” was like a story, an almost perfect story, and the 
new
one is much like a book of dark novels, there’s less visual conformity but
the excellence of the previous works is near but not reached.
After all Moospell have been able to not change radically but also to not
repeat them.
The most horrible album ever made by the band is the third, titled “Sin/Pecado”
(Vote 5) a failed mix between gothic-dark metal and electro-dark, a work where
two or three good songs are surrounded by boring tracks, and a
psuedo-commercial-dance influence is something audible to confirm the
decadence of that band. “The Butterfly Effect” (Vote 4.5), the fourth
album, is another demonstration of the band confusion. The result of the
songwriting is an insipid and nervous type of music that have nothing in
common with the quality and feeling of the band. After a more meditate
retrospective the band have realized the muddling path that they’ve chosen
with that last release and turned a bit back to the early atmospheres, but
without the same level of inspiration and spontaneity.