Moonspell
Portuguese gothic metal band
title: "Moonspell" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1992-establishments-in-portugal", "portuguese-heavy-metal-musical-groups", "portuguese-folk-metal-musical-groups", "portuguese-gothic-metal-musical-groups", "portuguese-musical-quintets", "progressive-metal-musical-groups", "musical-groups-established-in-1992", "musical-sextets", "century-media-records-artists", "napalm-records-artists", "steamhammer-records-artists", "mtv-europe-music-award-winners"] description: "Portuguese gothic metal band" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonspell" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Portuguese gothic metal band ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Moonspell |
| alias | Morbid God (1989–1992) |
| image | Moonspell Studio Kraków 2007 10.JPG |
| caption | Moonspell performing in 2007 |
| image_upright | 1.2 |
| years_active | 1989–present |
| genre | |
| origin | Brandoa, Amadora, Portugal |
| label | |
| associated_acts | |
| current_members | Fernando Ribeiro |
| Pedro Paixão | |
| Ricardo Amorim | |
| Aires Pereira | |
| Hugo Ribeiro | |
| past_members | Miguel Gaspar |
| João Pedro Escoval | |
| Duarte Picoto | |
| Luís Lamelas | |
| João Pereira | |
| Sérgio Crestana | |
| website | |
| :: |
| name = Moonspell | alias = Morbid God (1989–1992) | image = Moonspell Studio Kraków 2007 10.JPG | caption = Moonspell performing in 2007 | image_upright = 1.2 | years_active = 1989–present | genre = | origin = Brandoa, Amadora, Portugal | label = | associated_acts = | current_members = Fernando Ribeiro Pedro Paixão Ricardo Amorim Aires Pereira Hugo Ribeiro | past_members = Miguel Gaspar João Pedro Escoval Duarte Picoto Luís Lamelas João Pereira Sérgio Crestana | website =
Moonspell is a Portuguese gothic metal band formed in 1989. The group released their first EP, Under the Moonspell, in 1994 and followed up with their debut album, Wolfheart, a year later. They quickly became the most recognizable metal band from Portugal and a key figure in gothic metal.
Moonspell achieved success in Portugal with their 1998 album Sin/Pecado. With Memorial (2006), the group also became the first Portuguese metal band to have a record certified Gold. They are also popular in Germany, where their albums consistently enter the Top 100 Chart.
History
Early days (1989–1994)
Although they had been playing since 1989 under the name of "Morbid God", the band settled on the name Moonspell in 1992, shortly after they released the promo track "Serpent Angel". At the time of the name change, the band's line-up was Fernando Ribeiro (Langsuyar) on vocals, João Pedro "Ares" Escoval (Tetragrammaton) on bass, Duarte Picoto (Mantus) and Luís Lamelas (Malah) on the guitars, and Miguel "Mike" Gaspar (Nisroth) on the drums. Ribeiro and Ares were the founders and masterminds of Morbid God / Moonspell, while the latter members joined Morbid God at different points in 1992. Of them, only Mike Gaspar joined after the recording of "Serpent Angel".
On 24 February 1993, the band released their demo Anno Satanæ, which contained three songs accompanied by an intro and an outro. In September, Pedro Paixão joined the band to play keyboards. On 6 November 1993, Moonspell performed their first show in Charneca, Lisbon. Shortly after, Lamelas was fired and replaced by João Pereira (Tanngrisnir). The demo circulated around the scene and eventually attracted the interest of independent label Adipocere Records, which signed the band for a mini-album.
On 27 April 1994, Moonspell released the mini-album Under the Moonspell and toured around Portugal to promote it and try to jump to a bigger label. After the release of mini-album Under the Moonspell, Moonspell signed with Century Media Records for six albums.
Breakthrough (1995–1997)
Wolfheart was recorded in Germany with producer Waldemar Sorychta and was released on 1 April 1995. By June, João Pereira was struggling with the band's breakthrough and his daytime job, and was replaced by Ricardo Amorim, who was asked to join the band on 13 June. Shortly before, Ricardo had been approached by the band to possibly replace João on some shows, but that came to nothing as João was given a second chance.
In July, Moonspell performed three shows in the United Kingdom, their first ones outside Portugal, and in September, the band embarked on a European tour, supporting Morbid Angel. Duarte Picoto told the band he couldn't go on the European tour as he was having personal issues of his own, but they went on anyway, as they felt it was too big of an opportunity to throw away, and played as a five-piece. Ricardo, who had joined the band after Wolfhearts release, was then the sole guitarist playing live. Duarte's status in the band was on hold during the tour, as the band was initially reluctant about firing him due to his perceived importance on songwriting, but after it, the band felt comfortable as a five-piece and Duarte ended up not being reinstated.
For 1996's Irreligious, the band again recorded with producer Waldemar Sorychta. The song "Opium" became the first Moonspell single. It quoted one of Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa's heteronyms, Álvaro de Campos, on his poem "Opiário", and its music video featured the character of the poet writing in a bar with the band playing. Along with the release of the album in a convent, the Convento do Beato, there were factors that helped the band sell 10,000 copies of the album in their homeland.
On 7 February 1997, after serious artistic and personal conflicts with the rest of the band, bass player Ares was fired and was replaced by Sérgio Crestana. There were several lawsuits between Ares and Moonspell which were solved in 2004.
Experimenting (1998–2000)
Sin/Pecado was released in 1998. It had a bigger experimental nature than its predecessors. The song "2econd Skin" was released as a single. At the time they released the one and only Dæmonarch album, Hermeticum. Dæmonarch was a side project composed by all Moonspell members except drummer Mike Gaspar.
Sin/Pecado was followed in 1999 by The Butterfly Effect, recorded in London and produced by Andy Reilly. This album is considered to be very experimental in nature as well. Featuring "down-tuned guitar riffs, eerie synthesizer passages", the album was mainly composed by guitarist/keyboard player Pedro Paixão and was not very well received by metal critics.
More rock-oriented era (2001–2005)
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Fernando_Ribeiro.jpg" caption="[[Fernando Ribeiro]] during a live show in Spain in 2006"] ::
Darkness and Hope was released in 2001 and was produced by Hiili Hiilesmaa, producer of Sentenced and HIM. The album reached 79th on German charts and special editions included covers of Madredeus, Ozzy Osbourne's "Mr. Crowley" and Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart". "Nocturna" was released as a single and music video.
In 2003, the band released The Antidote, with Niclas Etelävuori from Amorphis playing as a session musician on the bass guitar, as Sérgio Crestana left the band earlier that year. The album was released with a book with the same title written by Portuguese writer José Luís Peixoto. Both the CD and book share the same concept and story and each song in the CD is sister to a chapter in the book that enhances the story in the lyrics. "Everything Invaded" was released as a single and music video. After the album's recording, Moonspell hired Aires Pereira as a touring bass player. The band toured extensively around the world, playing at Rock in Rio Lisbon in 2004, a concert that brought them to more mainstream attention in Portugal.
During 2003 the band recorded a cover of the jazz standard "I'll See You in My Dreams" for the soundtrack of the Portuguese short zombie horror film of the same name. There is an official music video which was filmed in one day during the production of the short and under a €2,000 budget. The song was also issued as a single in 2004, featuring the full and edited versions.
Revisiting their roots (2006–2009)
Memorial was released in 2006. Recorded with the producer of their first three albums Waldemar Sorychta, who also recorded the bass guitar parts, it was the first to be released under their new label SPV Steamhammer. The album topped the Portuguese album chart on its first week and also broke into the German Top 100 at number 68. Memorial achieved gold status in Portugal after selling 10,000 copies, making Moonspell the first Portuguese doom metal band to achieve that.
Although the album is heavier than the previous, it was very well received and its release was featured in various Portuguese news broadcasts. A new release of the album was released in December 2006 and featured a DVD with live performances and the music videos made for the album. Music videos for "Finisterra" and "Luna" were released.
The band then worked on releasing a DVD originally entitled Lunar Still/13 Years of Doom, but had some issues of a legal nature and was forced to delay the release, originally expected in September 2005. It was pushed later to 9 December 2008 with a new title: Lusitanian Metal.
On 2 November 2006, Moonspell won an MTV Europe Music Award in the category of Best Portuguese Act.
The Great Silver Eye, a best-of album, was released on 26 June 2007.
In 2007, Moonspell released Under Satanæ, a re-recording of early songs.
Night Eternal was released on 16 May 2008, again with Niclas Etelävuori on bass. The lead single off the album, Scorpion Flower, features Dutch singer Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-The Gathering, now Agua De Annique).
Moonspell performed the "Blackest of the Black" tour with Danzig, Winds of Plague, Dimmu Borgir and Skeletonwitch.
Moonspell toured Europe with Cradle of Filth, Gorgoroth, Septicflesh and Asrai ("The Darkest Tour: Filthfest") in December 2008, and took part in a European tour with Cradle of Filth and Turisas, dubbed the "Darkest Tour: Filthfest 2", in April and May 2009.
In July 2010, it was reported that the Portuguese Postal Service would release "a collection of stamps that represent the most significant rock moments and records from Portugal," which included Moonspell's first album, Wolfheart.
New albums (2010–present)
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Moonspell_-_Kavarna_Rock_Fest_2011.jpg" caption="Moonspell at [[Kavarna Rock Fest]] 2011"] ::
In July 2010, vocalist Fernando Ribeiro revealed the band was working on a new album, which he described as "the most exciting, sexiest, darkest, heaviest and catchiest stuff we've written in ages!". In December 2011 Moonspell signed with Napalm Records, and Ribeiro released the following statement: Around the same time, Aires Pereira was admitted as a full member of the band, after playing live with them for eight years.
In January 2012, Moonspell revealed the title of the new album to be Alpha Noir, with a release date of 27 April 2012 and a special edition set to include the album's "musical twin", Omega White. The band's press release cited Bathory, King Diamond, Onslaught, early Metallica, Testament, and Artillery as influences for Alpha Noir, which was described as "an incendiary album". Omega White was instead described as an album of "pure atmosphere and shadow", an homage to Type O Negative and The Sisters of Mercy and similar to Moonspell's second album Irreligious. Alpha Noir and Omega White were both produced and mixed by Tue Madsen, who had previously worked on the band's Under Satanæ and Night Eternal records.
In 2015, Moonspell released a new album titled Extinct. This album continued Moonspell's trend into darker and more gothic music.
On 3 November 2017, they released a concept album named 1755. It detailed the story of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, and was sung entirely in Portuguese, apart from some choirs in Latin.
On 3 July 2020, Moonspell announced that Mike Gaspar, the original drummer, had left the band, and that he would be replaced by Hugo Ribeiro.
On 26 February 2021, Moonspell released their 12th album called Hermitage.
Moonspell is currently working on a new album scheduled for release in 2026. They also plan to do several 30th anniversary tours for their first three studio albums, from 2025 to 2028.
Band members
;Current members
- Fernando Ribeiro (Langsuyar) – lead vocals (1992–present)
- Pedro Paixão (Passionis/Neophytus) – keyboards, sampler, programming, guitars (1992–present)
- Ricardo Amorim (Morning Blade) – guitars, backing vocals (1995–present)
- Aires Pereira (Ahriman) – bass (2004–present)
- Hugo Ribeiro – drums (2020–present)
;Former members
- Miguel Gaspar (Mike/Nisroth) – drums (1992–2020)
- João Pedro Escoval (Ares/Tetragrammaton) – bass (1992–1997)
- Duarte Picoto (Mantus) – guitars (1992–1995)
- Luís Lamelas (Malah/Fenrir) – guitars (1992–1993)
- João Pereira (Tanngrisnir) – guitars, backing vocals (1993–1995)
- Sérgio Crestana – bass (1997–2003)
;Timeline ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:18 PlotArea = left:110 bottom:60 top:10 right:20 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1992 till: TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:3 start:1992 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1992
Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitars id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Keyboard value:purple legend:Keyboards id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:Studio value:black legend:Studio_album
LineData = layer:back color:Studio at:04/01/1995 at:07/29/1996 at:01/20/1998 at:09/13/1999 at:09/18/2001 at:09/29/2003 at:04/25/2006 at:10/12/2007 at:05/16/2008 at:04/27/2012 at:03/06/2015 at:11/03/2017 at:02/26/2021
BarData = bar:FRibeiro text:"Fernando Ribeiro bar:Picoto text:"Duarte Picoto" bar:Lamelas text:"Luís Lamelas" bar:JPereira text:"João Pereira" bar:Amorim text:"Ricardo Amorim" bar:Escoval text:"João Pedro Escoval" bar:Crestana text:"Sérgio Crestana" bar:APereira text:"Aires Pereira" bar:Paixão text:"Pedro Paixão" bar:Gaspar text:"Miguel Gaspar" bar:HRibeiro text:"Hugo Ribeiro"
PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(11,-4) bar:FRibeiro from:start till:end color:Vocals bar:Picoto from:start till:09/01/1995 color:Guitar bar:Lamelas from:start till:11/01/1993 color:Guitar bar:JPereira from:11/01/1993 till:09/01/1995 color:Guitar bar:Amorim from:09/01/1995 till:end color:Guitar bar:Escoval from:start till:02/01/1997 color:Bass bar:Crestana from:02/01/1997 till:12/31/2003 color:Bass bar:APereira from:01/01/2004 till:end color:Bass bar:Paixão from:start till:end color:Keyboard bar:Paixão from:09/01/1995 till:end color:Guitar width:3 bar:Gaspar from:start till:07/01/2020 color:Drums bar:HRibeiro from:07/01/2020 till:end color:Drums
Discography
Studio albums
::data[format=table] | Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | POR | GER | FRA | FIN | NLD | AUT | BEL | Wolfheart | Irreligious | Sin/Pecado | The Butterfly Effect | Darkness and Hope | The Antidote | Memorial | Under Satanæ | Night Eternal | Alpha Noir/Omega White | Extinct | 1755 | Hermitage | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 50 | 55 | — | 30 | 93 | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 42 | — | 18 | — | 25 | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | — | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 43 | 99 | 21 | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 | 75 | 125 | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 68 | 181 | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | 62 | 144 | — | — | — | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | 37 | 108 | 37 | 83 | 44 | 186 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 39 | 178 | 42 | 87 | 54 | 56 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 11 | 72 | 159 | — | — | 63 | 89 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 19 | — | — | — | 33 | 60 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::
Live albums
::data[format=table]
| Title | Album details | Lusitanian Metal | Lisboa Under the Spell | From Down Below |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| :: |
Compilations
::data[format=table] | Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | POR | Sin/Pecado + Irreligious | Wolfheart/The Butterfly Effect | The Great Silver Eye | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | | — | | | | | | | | — | | | | | | | | — | | | | | | ::
EPs
::data[format=table]
| Title | Album details | Under the Moonspell | 2econd Skin |
|---|---|---|---|
| :: |
Video albums
::data[format=table]
| Title | Video details | Lusitanian Metal | Lisboa Under the Spell |
|---|---|---|---|
| :: |
Demos
::data[format=table]
| Title | Demo details | Anno Satanæ |
|---|---|---|
| :: |
Music videos
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Directed | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "Opium" | Irreligious | |
| 1998 | "2econd Skin" | Sin / Pecado | |
| "Magdalene" | |||
| 1999 | "Butterfly FX" | Andreas Marschall | The Butterfly Effect |
| 2001 | "Nocturna" | Tiago Guedes | Darkness and Hope |
| 2003 | "Everything Invaded" | Tiago Guedes, Frederico Serra | The Antidote |
| 2004 | "I'll See You in My Dreams" | Filipe Melo | I'll See You in My Dreams (soundtrack) |
| 2006 | "Finisterra" | Ivan Čolić, Josip Čolić | Memorial |
| "Luna" | Miguel Braga, Edgar Martins, Sérgio Martins | ||
| 2008 | "Scorpion Flower" | Ivan Čolić | Night Eternal |
| "Night Eternal" | |||
| 2012 | "Lickanthrope" | Felipe Melo | Alpha Noir/Omega White |
| "White Skies" | Victor Castro | ||
| 2015 | "Extinct" | Extinct | |
| 2015 | "Domina" | ||
| 2017 | "In Tremor Dei" | Miguel Braga | 1755 |
| 2017 | "Todos os Santos" | Paulo F. Mendes (Editor) | |
| 2020 | "The Greater Good" | Guilherme Henriques | Hermitage |
| "Common Prayers" | |||
| 2021 | "All or Nothing" | ||
| "The Hermit Saints" | |||
| :: |
References
References
- "Moonspell Biography".
- "3 May 2006 – Moonspell breaks into the charts and live news".
- (16 January 2007). "Moonspell: ''Memorial'' certified gold in Portugal".
- "Moonspell's Biography".
- "Butterfly Effect – Overview".
- "Moonspell – The Butterfly Effect".
- "Moonspell Video". O Pato Profissional Produções Lda..
- Moonspell.com
- (2 November 2006). "Moonspell named 'Best Portuguese Act' at MTV's Europe Music Awards".
- http://www.blackestoftheblack.com {{dead link. (February 2018)
- (26 February 2009). "Cradle of Filth, Moonspell, Turisas to team up for "Filthfest Tour"".
- (6 July 2010). "Moonspell gets its own stamp".
- (December 20, 2011). "Moonspell signs with Napalm Records". Blabbermouth.net.
- (18 January 2012). "Moonspell: new album title, other details revealed". Blabbermouth.net.
- Jendryščík, Ľuboš. (8 January 2018). "Fernando Ribeiro (Moonspell) – "The earthquake is ultra symbolic…"".
- Kai, Thomas. (26 August 2020). "Fernando Ribeiro (Moonspell) – "The idea behind it was also to cater for the big Moonspell community around the world.".
- (May 16, 2024). "No New MOONSPELL Album Until Late 2025 Or Early 2026". [[Blabbermouth.net]].
- "Moonspell Portuguese Albums Chart".
- "Discographie von Moonspell". GfK Entertainment.
- "Moonspell French Albums Chart".
- "Moonspell Finnish Albums Chart".
- "Moonspell Dutch Albums Chart".
- "Moonspell Austrian Albums Chart".
- "Moonspell Belgian Albums Chart".
- "Sludge Scans For June 2000".
- "MOONSPELL: 'Memorial' Certified Gold In Portugal".
- (23 June 2008). "MOONSPELL Frontman: We Are No Satanists".
- (16 May 2012). "Metal By Numbers 5/16: Taking The Charts by Storm".
- (20 January 2012). "Recording new album".
- (8 March 2017). "MOONSPELL In Pre-Production For '1755' Portuguese-Language Album About Great Lisbon Earthquake".
- (19 June 2017). "MOONSPELL To Release '1755' Album In November".
- (March 2022)
- (7 June 2018). "MOONSPELL To Release 'Lisboa Under The Spell' In August".
- (5 August 2020). "MOONSPELL – The Butterfly Effect (Reaction Video) {{!}} Napalm Records".
- (28 October 2017). "MOONSPELL – Official Video For "In Tremor Dei" Released".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::