MOONSPELL: Extinct (GOTHIC METAL,Death Metal): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

With "Alpha Noir/Omega White" in 2012, Moonspell had proposed a double album whose ambition was to oppose the two sides of his personality, one aggressive, the other more calm. But this ambitious concept had found its limits. Separating Moonspell's identity in two was a risky idea as the strength of the Portuguese band lies precisely in its ability to mix its influences.

With "Extinct", their 11th album, the band comes back to a classic format and avoids the pitfall of repetition by making their music evolve and reinventing themselves to offer a sublime record. Indeed, Moonspell slows down the tempo that it had exploited these last years to come back to a sound closer to the "Darkness And Hope" era and its gothic and melancholic character. But the group mixes to this facet of its music a powerful rhythmic. The emphasis on oriental influences and piano passages complete this record with a dark beauty.

This mixture takes shape from the beginning with a delicious 'Breathe' which gathers all these qualities, a song at the same time seductive and rough. Musically, the whole is delicate, the oriental passages are splendid and the riffs very heavy. In the same way, 'Medusalem' is great as it combines well gothic metal and oriental metal close to Orphaned Land, the whole carried by the very pure voice of Fernando Ribeiro.

For the continuation, the group proposes powerful titles in the spirit of its recent records with 'Extinct' and 'A Dying Bride', but always with this nostalgy. Above all, he surpasses himself in the melancholic tracks that give the record an extra soul. Thus, the very beautiful 'Domina', all in restraint is carried by a chorus and a riff which give the shiver. There are also real gothic metal hits that make sadness so beautiful, like 'The Last Of Us', 'Malignia' and especially 'Funeral Bloom', which is huge because of its Sister Of Mercy-like tone on the verses. Moonspell even touches the sublime with the very melancholic 'The Future Is Dark' and its atmospheric solo whose atmosphere reminds us the spirit of Paradise Lost (Draconian Times).

Beautiful, majestic and imbued with a deep sensitivity, "Extinct" is a great vintage of an endearing band. Moonspell offers us a record that should be at the top of the best gothic metal records. This album, to be enjoyed without moderation, is a serious candidate for the title of record of the year. - Official website

MOONSPELL

EXTINCT

NAPALM RECORDS

GOTHIC METAL