The Butterfly Effect

by

Moonspell

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I own a number of Moonspell's albums, but I think this one is by far the most interesting out of them all. I love how they threw in the industrial twist here, making things much more experimental sounding and appealing to both fans of Moonspell's earlier works as well as fans of bands like My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult and Ministry. I see that a lot of people rip on this album pretty badly, yet still give it a good rating. I'm not sure what that's all about, but I can tell you that this album will keep your attention with its unique variety of songs ranging from very screamy (Lustmord) to very heavy (Soul Sick) to almost tribal (title track).

Fans of Moonspell's first couple albums will likely not appreciate this one as much as someone with a taste in older industrial looking for something a little darker or with more of a gothic twist (ala Theater of Tragedy, maybe). I am personally a fan of just about every genre of metal with perhaps the exception of rapcore, and I find this album to be a nice blend of things. I especially gave the song "Soul Sick" a lot of air time on the radio while DJing in Nashville, TN. There are also a number of nice melodies thrown into the mix. I highly recommend this album.

Anyone who knows anything at all about Goth music knows that it's not mainstream and it's not all about whining and moping. And it's FAR from MTV related. Heck, they don't even play Marilyn Manson on MTV anymore. Goth has ALWAYS been an underground phenomenon, with only a couple bands that have (temporarily) made it to the mainstream. It's irritating when people speak out in ignorance.

This album was something of an experiment for Moonspell. This time they blended a militant aggro Industrial Metal element to their trademark heavy GOTH sound. Moonspell has never put out a bad album, but to me the albums that have captured what I consider to be the true Moonspell spirit are Wolfheart, Ireligeous, and Darkness and Hope. Yes I missed the corny Vampire lyrics on this album. I also really missed the "Transylvania Rock" atmosphere of those classic albums. I was so glad when they brought those dynamics back in Darkness and Hope. With this album they've presented an interesting Goth Metal release with an "Industrial" Metal edge. Still It didn't grab me the way their other releases have.