Memorial

by

Moonspell

Edit

In this Portugese bands' latest release, their sound gets even darker and heavier. Fernando Ribiero does a decent job on vocals overall, but the real highlight of this album is its musical variety. Most of the vocals are death growls. This is not a problem, as Moonspell's music is complex and shows much emotion compared to some of their contemporaries. There are few Goth Metal bands that have as powerful a sound as Moonspell. This disc is no exception. It is hard to pick favorite songs of this album, as all of them are good. After a powerful introduction with "In Memoriam," the first really great track "Finisterra" starts, which is head-banging and has awesome lyrics. Each song has a different feel to it. The next song after "Finisterra," "Memento Mori," has a really eery feel to it, as well as vocal variety. It is my second favorite track after Finisterra. "Sons of Earth" is a cool instrumental track. The track after that, "Blood Tells" sounds like it is influenced by Theatre of Tragedy. "Upon the Blood of Men," the sixth track, is a unique song with death vocals that sound desperate, for lack of a better word. "At the Image of Pain" is a slightly slower song, that has more Doom Metal influences and strange vocals for a Moonspell song. The next track, "Sanguine," starts out melodic and slow and builds into an emotional piece of music. Guest vocals on this song are done by Brigit Zacher. This is also one of my favorite tracks, just because it is so different. The next song "Proliferation," sounds like a soundtrack from a sci-fi or horror movie, and feels unnecessary to the album, but it leads nicely to the beautifully evil "Once it was Ours!" This is also a very cool track that fits well on this Moonspell album. Contrasting greatly with "Once it was Ours," the short eleventh track "Mare Nostrum" has a much more atmospheric feel, and is fully instrumental. After this is another really beautiful track called "Luna." This is another one of my favorites. This has a much lighter gothic feel to it, more similar to Lacuna Coil, with more guest vocals done by Brigit Zacher. Track thirteen, "Best Forgotten," has heavier and more melodic parts, and is overall a pleasant song. The bonus track, "Atlantic," is more than satisfactory as a Moonspell song, and Fernando uses several different vocal styles, which work well together. This is a very solid release by these Goth Metal masters. I recommend it for anyone who likes the heavier forms of Goth Metal or for fans of Doom Metal or Death Metal.