Album Review: Moonspell – Far From God
Reviewed by Rich Oliver
Portugal’s finest metal exports Moonspell return with their fourteenth album “Far From God”. Formed in 1989 as Morbid God before changing their name in 1992, Moonspell have been flagbearers for European gothic metal and one of the most popular and influential bands to come from Portugal and the south Mediterranean. There has been a fair gap since their last release – 2021’s “Hermitage” – and this is an album that the band cites as a rebirth and rediscovery. An album that “reconnects with the darker spirit of Moonspell’s classic era while sounding powerful and contemporary. Their “Irreligious” of the 21st century”.
When the title track and lead single was released back in March, my first thoughts was that it felt like a throwback to the band’s 90’s sound recapturing that dark romanticism that made albums like “Wolfheart”, “Irreligious” and “Sin/Pecado” gothic metal classics. This is definitely not Moonspell retreading old ground as it captures the mature moody feel of previous album “Hermitage” with the gothic atmosphere of those 90’s albums but with a very stripped back and minimalistic feel. “Far From God” is a testament to the expression “less is more” with the stripped back feel of the album allowing everyone to shine and to ensure the most gorgeous moments of the album knock you off your feet. The guitar work from Ricardo Amorim is gorgeous with less reliance on traditional metal riffs but rather carries the atmosphere and emotion, the rhythm section of bassist Aires Pereira and drummer Hugo Ribeiro is a tight unit but keeps things simple for the majority whilst the keyboards from Pedro Paixão create the backbone of the gloomy atmosphere. The vocals from Fernando Ribeiro lean very much to his baritone cleans with his harsh vocals making a few fleeting appearances.
The album highlights include ‘The Great Wolf In The Sky’ which is the most epic song on the album featuring gorgeous strings courtesy of special guest Alicia Nuhro. ‘For The Love Of Mortals’ really leans into the gothic romanticism and is one of the most beautiful songs on the album whilst album opener ‘Cross Your Heart’ really sets the scene for the rest of the album and is a defining Moonspell song. The heaviest moment of the album comes in ‘Our Freedom To Fall’ with chugging metal riffs and dark atmosphere and is another definite highlight.
“Far From God” is far more rooted in mood and atmosphere and for that reason it is classic Moonspell. It reaffirms why they are one of the greats and sees Moonspell reaching to reclaim that gothic metal crown. Considering that there was talk of the band coming to an end a few years ago, it is superb to see the band in such good form. The five years between albums has served Moonspell well and allowed to write an album that will certainly be seen as a classic.
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