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Moonspell > Extinct > Reviews
Moonspell - Extinct

Moonspell at their catchiest - 78%

lukretion, June 25th, 2022
Written based on this version: 2015, CD, Napalm Records

Released in 2015, Moonspell’s tenth studio album is a continuation of the catchy goth rock sound that the Portuguese had already experimented with on the Omega White disc of the Alpha Noir/Omega White twin release. In fact, Extinct may just be the catchiest Moonspell’s album throughout their entire discography. Each of its 10 songs is packed with earworming melodies that stand out in all their glory thanks to a lean songwriting and a superb sound, courtesy of Mr Jens Bogren. Extinct also packs a punch or two, with a handful of songs that hark back to the heavier moments of the Lusitanian band – resulting altogether in a fairly well-rounded and satisfactory record, and probably their best effort since Memorial.

The album’s core sound pays tribute to the gothic rock of the 80s/90s, sometimes in a very obvious way. Songs like “Medusalem” or “The Last of Us” are little goth rock gems that would figure well next to the classic hits of bands like The Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim and Type O Negative, or more contemporary acts like Tiamat, HIM and The 69 Eyes. Keeping in style with the genre’s aesthetics, the songs’ verses often only use a drum and bass groove to support Fernando Ribeiro’s lush baritone. The rhythm section relies on simple but effective grooves, with drummer Mike Gaspar often just keeping a straight beat and letting bass player Ares Pereira give a richer pulse to the music. Meanwhile, Ricardo Amorim resorts to sporadic clean arpeggios and guitar flourishes, while Pedro Paixão’s keyboards provide tons of atmosphere and tasteful symphonic arrangements. The songs typically pick up in the choruses, where the guitar plays a more central role with effective melodic leads, and Ribeiro’s expressive voice unleashes terrific hooks.

Fortunately, Moonspell don’t forget to give their own unique spin to this classic goth rock formula. Middle-Eastern vibes permeate through the whole album and become particularly prominent on songs like “Breathe (Until We Are No More)” and “Medusalem”. Elsewhere, we are treated with some very lush and classy symphonic arrangements, which receive a much stronger emphasis on this album compared to Moonspell’s last couple of records, also thanks to Paixão’s renewed focus on the keyboard instead of the guitar. The guest work of “virtual orchestra composer” Jon Phipps and of the string group Mumin Sesler further strengthens the symphonic elements of the sound. There are also hints of electronica on the foreboding dark-horse “The Future is Dark”, by far the best piece of the album. Moreover, Moonspell also throw into the mix a few heavy punches. Ribeiro’s terrifying growls dominate the scene on songs like “Breathe (Until We Are No More)”, “Extinct”, “Funeral Bloom” and “A Dying Breed”, which are all considerably heavier than the rest of the LP. The sound here harks back to Moonspell’s earlier albums like Wolfheart and The Antidote, with their special blend of melodic black/death metal and gothic rock. These are all nice touches, that add freshness to the classic goth sound and elevate Extinct above much of the releases from that scene.

Coming to the negatives, the album is perhaps a tad uneven when it comes to the tracklist quality. We have some excellent songs that are among the best the Portuguese have ever written. “Breathe (Until We Are No More)” is a compelling opener that packs a great atmosphere and a hell of a chorus, before trailing off over an exciting duel between strings and guitar. “Medusalem” is quintessential gothic rock, as catchy as it comes, and is made special by its strong Middle-Eastern vibes (check out the bouzouki part played by Yossi Sassi from Orphaned Land). “Domina” is also great, as it strikes a perfect balance between catchiness and sophistication and contains a superb lead by Amorim as well as his most inspired solo of the record. And then there is “The Future Is Dark”, which is a phenomenal song, one of the best by the Portuguese. The track starts slowly, with a subtle electronic groove, before exploding in a gloriously understated chorus. This is one of those choruses that do not strike you immediately, but grow over time to eventually become impossible to get out of your head. Great stuff.

Next to these strong songs, however, we also have a bunch of tracks that are somewhat less interesting. “Funeral Bloom” and “A Dying Breed” pale in comparison to other tracks that Moonspell have written in this style, and would no doubt be considered fillers on albums like The Antidote or even Alpha Noir. “Extinct” and “Malignia” are pleasant, but ultimately lack bite and are quickly forgotten. “La Baphomette” is a fairly anonymous outro that feels very much like an unfinished song, while “The Last of Us” is catchy as hell, but is also such an obvious tribute to the classic goth rock sound of the 80s/90s that makes me almost uncomfortable.

And here lies what I think is perhaps the greatest limit of this album. I cannot help but feel that, like Moonspell’s previous two records, Extinct somehow fails to fully capture and reflect the Portuguese band’s unmistakable personality. To some extent, it sounds derivative, with influences that are slightly too obvious to spot, and it lacks the charm and differentiating touch that made many other Moonspell’s albums so special and unique. It’s not a mortal sin, and if the music is as good as (much of) that on this LP, it is certainly forgivable. But, seen in the grander scheme of Moonspell’s entire discography, it’s impossible to not walk away from this record feeling slightly discontent for an album that is damn good, but just not special enough for Moonspell’s standards.

My Curse Is To Love You - 90%

Twisted_Psychology, July 27th, 2015
Written based on this version: 2015, CD, Napalm Records

Moonspell seems to have spent the better part of their twenty year career jumping between their roots in extreme metal and interest in post punk and goth rock. An album or two has come close to marrying the two styles but most seem to prefer one over the other to the point where 2012's Alpha Noir/Omega White was available as a double album with a disc for each style. Moonspell's eleventh full-length album isn't on the classic level of Wolfheart or The Antidote but it may be their most successful integration yet.

No matter what approach they're going for, there are always certain elements you can expect to hear when listening to a Moonspell album. The guitars go between clean melodies and aggressive chords, the rhythm section is more active than many of their peers, and the vocals alternate between rough shouts and Peter Steele style crooning. There aren't too many twists though the album seems to be split to where the first half is more upbeat while the second focuses more on mid-tempo brooding.

Predictably, the first half provides the album's strongest highlights. The building contrasts on the opening "Breathe (Until We Are No More)" and the rather bouncy title track provide the album's heaviest moments while "The Last Of Us" recalls "Herodisiac" with its infectious vocal layering and driving Sisters of Mercy beat. Fortunately the second half doesn't slouch as "Malignia" balances a symphonic bridge with a hard hitting chorus, "Funeral Bloom" has a smooth post punk hook, and "La Baphomette" closes on an almost jazzy note.

As someone who enjoys Moonspell's forays into goth rock about as much as their metal, it is quite nice to see the band mix the two styles in such a satisfying fashion. The band's usual talent for diversity is in great form and the hooks on "The Last Of Us" and "Medusalem" among others make this one of the year's more entertaining efforts. They'll never make anything as genre defining as Wolfheart ever again but Moonspell is still essential listening for goth fans of all trades.

Highlights:
"Breathe (Until We Are No More)"
"Extinct"
"Medusalem"
"The Last Of Us"
"Funeral Bloom"

Dark at Heart <3 - 58%

GuntherTheUndying, April 7th, 2015

Moonspell lost me on “Night Eternal,” enough to kill my boner for the band so much so that I never bothered checking out “Alpha Noir.” It was sort of strange familiarizing myself again with “Wolfheart,” “Under Satanae,” and other Moonspell efforts I hadn’t touched in ages. They are an esoteric bunch in the slyest of ways, and that is what makes “Extinct” a foreseeable surprise. I don’t recall this much of a goth rock foundation used on any of the band’s prior offerings. More metallic elements of Moonspell’s pastimes pop out in various forms, but the song structures are the most accessible compositional themes this interesting group has applied yet. The calculable nature of “Extinct” makes its tracks inconsistent—some are decent, some wishy-washy.

This transition is a natural shift for Moonspell; gothic elements in the musical backbone shouldn’t surprise anyone at this point. To have an accessible, radio-friendly style leading the charge is something I’m not sure I’m fond of, however. I love the black metal bits of “Wolfheart,” and don’t mind the gothic elements, but to have the manageable themes completely usurp Moonspell’s other musical components, to me, is a bit of a letdown. Doing so pigeonholes what the group can and cannot do; this is evident on “Extinct” through its lack of variety and the few tricks up its sleeve. Not to imply its small number of gags are inherently bad, per se, but there is a large gap of quality here that shows the band hitting all sorts of spectrums without being consistently decent or nut-crushingly atrocious.

“Breathe (Until We are No More)” kicks things off effectively—a stern, emotional rocker exploring a collective instrumental front that, while predictable and aiming for accessibility, manages to become greater than the sum of its parts. “Medusalem” and “Funeral Bloom” are potent and notable, again showing the group’s metal elements (crispy guitar tone, harsh vocals, etc.) emerging through a base of gothic rock. Fernando Ribeiro sounds made for this setting, using mainly his baritone croon to match the dirge of the musical front and growls when applicable. There isn’t much imagination in the straightforward movements of the circular rock-aligned guitar work. More than once, however, Moonspell presents tunes that flow well and end up sounding not too shabby.

But as I mentioned, some of these tracks completely fall short and sound like pieces of poop on a stick. “The Future is Dark,” in particular, is a wreck—its chorus and that annoying intro with Fernando warbling over synths makes me want to use black magic to have it brought to life just so I could beat it to death with a baseball bat. “A Dying Breed” and a few others show just how caged Moonspell is to the gothic rock formula upon which “Extinct” is based. Despite its awful moments, though, I can’t pinpoint another group that could have done this musical transition this steadily. I’m still not going to run around and call this adequate, because in some ways, it isn’t. “Extinct” is music to cross-dress to while you prance around your room with your wang tucked in when your copy of Q Lazzarus’ “Goodbye Horses” begins to skip. Like the poetry of a teenager who insists he is dark at heart, mostly harmless stuff.

This review was written for: www.Thrashpit.com

The definition of gothic metal - 97%

kluseba, April 7th, 2015
Written based on this version: 2015, CD, Napalm Records

The Portuguese gothic metal quintet already comes around with its eleventh full length release entitled Extinct. Moonspell is one of the few bands of its genre that has survived the initital gothic metal trend in the mid and late nineties and which is still releasing high quality records which are selling well and they are still touring the world and will actually come to North America this spring with their Greek gothic and symphonic death metal colleagues Septicflesh and Swedish industrial gothic metal supergroup Deathstars. Septicflesh's bassist and vocalist Spiros Antoniou has also designed the three different cover artworks of Extinct. Despite their grizly looks, I really like the atmosphere they transmit even though Moonspell's new output is actually their catchiest and softest release in their long career.

Moonspell's last output was the highly recommandable double-album Alpha Noir / Omega White which is a perfect introduction to the band. The Alpha Noir section remembers the band's earlier records between occult gothic metal with occasional black, death and even folk metal influences. Omega White recalls the band's calmer and softer gothic rock side with a few experimental and progressive gimmicks reminiscent of their records of the late nineties and the early years of the new millennium. Extinct clearly follows the lighter style of Omega White. The record can be described as a calm, epic and hypnotizing gothic rock masterpiece with versatile vocals and guitar play and a clever use of symphonic elements, lounge sounds and occasional Middle Eastern folk elements accentuated by an organic yet fittingly mellow production.

This style works really well in the calmest and most relaxing tunes of the record featuring Middle Eastern folk elements. These influences are something new for the band. The dreamy and longing "Domina" can be described as a ballad where Fernando Ribeiro's clean vocals work best. The song features a versatile mystic guitar tone, gentle tribal drums and a few decently employed sound effects and soft choirs ressembling Middle Eastern folk elements and recalling bands such as Amaseffer, Myrath and Orphaned Land without copying them. This song makes me dream of walking through desert sands on my own and being at peace with the whole world. "Medusalem" accentuates these influences even further. Arabian folk chants start the track and some Middle Eastern folk sounds carried by the perfectly employed keyboards give the chorus an exotic touch of One Thousand and One Nights. Even Fernando Ribeiro imitates typical Arab vocal patterns and proves what a versatile vocalist he is. It would be a great idea for Moonspell to create an entire album in the style of "Medusalem" and "Domina". These two tracks have grown most on me as time went by.

The small experiments don't stop there. Both "Malignia" and "Funeral Bloom" feature more symphonic elements than ever and also decently employed lounge sounds from the keyboards which give the songs an appeasing, elegant and hypnotizing tone. The clean vocals run down like wild honey while the occasional growls are shaking the listener up without disturbing the overall mystic tone of the tunes. These songs prove that this record features Fernando Ribeiro's most diversified and technically skilled vocal performance ever, the best and strongest use of keyboards on any of the band's releases and also a versatile guitar play with harmonious acoustic guitar passages, appeasing and hypnotizing riffs and a few short but highly emotional solos.

"A Dying Breed" follows the same pattern but focuses even more on the symphonic elements giving the song an elegant and sophisticated touch. The ending is a litlle bit faster and heavier than usual and reminds us that Moonspell is supposed to be a metal band. "The Future Is Dark" rather accentuates the keyboard patterns and lounge sounds. The song is calm, dreamy and numbing and gives Fernando Ribeiro the occasion to shine once more with his versatile vocals while guitars and rhythm section are more in the background.

The surprises still don't stop there as the band closes the record with the somewhat creepy vintage chanson "La Baphomette" which is entirely sung in French. This slightly jazz inspired track could have been played a century ago at Grand Guignol and Moulin Rouge. What a brilliant way to end a brilliant record.

Now you might think that the other tracks aren't so great since I'm mentioning them last. That's wrong, I just kept the best for the end. The three tracks completing this album of the year candidate are actually the most accessible tracks on the release. The opener "Breathe (Until We Are No More)" starts with numbing vocals and guitar tones, evolves towards gloomy verses in the key of Sisters of the Mercy and erupts into a passionate and epic chorus with both clean vocals and powerful growls underlayered by elegant string passages. The atmospheric bridge features a hint at Middle Eastern folk passages. This track basically includes everything that makes this album so brilliant in only five and a half minutes. It's quite simple: If you like this song, you are going to adore the entire record. In my book, this is one of the very best openers if not the best opening track on a Moonspell album to date. The uplifting single "The Last Of Us" is an incredibly beautiful yet simple gothic rock track in the key of The 69 Eyes with dreamy guitar tones and atmospheric low vocals full of passion, sex appeal and soul. Even the rhythmic drum play convinces in this tune and fits with the rest. The last track to cover is the title song "Extinct" which has a slightly apocalyptic and dramatically epic feeling. It's maybe the heaviest song on the entire release. This is a song I immediately fell in love with and if I had to choose a favourite track on this quite perfect album, I would pick this one. From the pumping bass guitar and the vivid drum play over the emotional string passages and the outstanding extended guitar solo in the passionate middle section, I happen to admire each instrument in this song. From the bleak and heavy verses with emotional growls and low tuned instruments over the hopefully uplifting and darkly romantic chorus that makes you want to make love to the emotionally charged bridge, every song writing idea in this track perfectly works in compact four and a half minutes. Let's keep it short: If gothic metal always sounded like this, I wouldn't listen to anything else.

This record might take a few spins to grow on you. After two or three spins I thought the record was very good when the obvious hits didn't let me go. Two spins later I realized this album has a clear guiding line and style and is really brilliant. Two more spins and I came to the conclusion that this is my first serious candidate for the album of the year when I discovered all the harmonious details in each track and let the overall atmosphere work on my heart, mind and soul. If you close your eyes and listen to this release with your headphones on in the dark without any disturbances, this record feels as good as a weeklong vacation in Portugal. If you like gothic rock and metal, this is your new bible. In fact, if you like original rock music in general, do yourself a favor and buy this album now. I recommand the regular edition though as the four bonus tracks are only different mixes and less inspired rehashes of several album tracks that might only lessen the brilliant overall impression of the regular release.

Initially published on my personal blog: kluseba.eklablog.com

Extinct - 63%

GeorgeMFZB852, March 28th, 2015

Not to be confused with folk metallers Moonsorrow, Portuguese goth veterans Moonspell are now eleven albums into their career. Blending hard and heavy with soft and atmospheric on Extinct, the group's unique goth metal sound is interesting, but at times tedious. Noticeably taking a less aggressive approach overall, the album features more than a couple of songs that most would refuse to categorize under metal. However, the eerie synths and hard riffs remain to create an original dark rock vibe in places.

Moonspell are at their best when they are at their heaviest. This heaviness is often used to counteract their more calm side to mixed results. For example, the pop-bordering, monotone verses of opener 'Breathe (Until We Are No More)' may be a tad on the dull side, but the guttural growls that frontman Fernando Ribeiro employs on the heavy chorus are undeniably awesome. 'Dying Breed' and 'Malignia' follow a similar, somewhat standard Moonspell approach of soft chorus-heavy verse. With the latter introducing a doom metal-esque aura with some enthralling keys, but becoming a bit disjointed following a simply boring verse and some unbefitting screams on the chorus.

The infectious hooks and stunning solo of the title track make it one of the best, while lead-single 'The Last Of Us' is perhaps a bit too obvious of a commercial effort for a band that identifies itself with gothic metal. Nevertheless, it's rock riffs are catchy and reminiscent of the likes of HIM. Ultimately, while many moments on Extinct are well-written and irrefutably catchy, they rarely stick with you as epic. This is seen on 'Medusalem', a track that can be credited as having some great fast riffs, but not much more. Meanwhile, closer 'La Baphomette' - sung in what is presumably Portuguese - may as well not exist, as it's drab tune and irritatingly monotone vocals will most likely be forgotten anyway.

It's annoyingly hard to escape the fact - especially when looking at that album cover - that Extinct is essentially a goth rock-driven album posing as a metal release. When the metal is present, it's for the most part explosive and well-written, and the more rock-orientated moments are not all entirely poor. Yet, there are too many obvious attempts at catchy that end up at poppy and/or dreary.

originally posted on noisecannon.com

Keep your garlic handy - 75%

autothrall, March 15th, 2015
Written based on this version: 2015, CD, Napalm Records

Portugal's premiere metallic export seems to cycle through as many phases as their name would imply. The emphasis earlier this century was on returning to their harsher hitting, blacker roots, wrought in simpler, crushing riffs and vocals that took the primal essence of their first few albums into the meatpacking facility of contemporary production. Now, it seems as if they've wandered off that track yet again, changing with the tides, and are attempting to fully embrace the swooning Gothic metal that garnered them some international success and touring opportunities via Irreligious, Sin/Pecado and the more subtle, introspective Butterfly Effect. That's not such a bad thing in my eyes, since I enjoyed two of those discs quite a lot, and found Fernando Ribeiro's deep intonations an exotic Euro-alternative to Peter Steele's bass-baritone, far more versed in Anne Rice fiction and goofy vampiric sentimentality than his depressive American counterpart. You might think I mean that as some sort of insult, but I assure you, far from the case, it is one of the endearing qualities about Moonspell that insures I check out just about everything they release, and as with their prior double album Alpha Noir/Omega White, I'm generally not all that disappointed. They haven't been churning out masterworks this past decade, but the records are usually good enough that I'll keep them in rotation for a few months until a heap of better has come along...

So Extinct goes big with its flaring, accessible Gothic anthems that seem as much as ever like iron clad paeans to the sounds of bands like The Mission, Love Like Blood, Fields of the Nephilim and Sisters of Mercy and their ilk, no doubt inspirations upon these guys for many years running. To and extent, this rock fueled, post-Billy Idol momentum is reflective of the scene that exploded out of Finland 10-15 years ago by bands like H.I.M. and Charon, but rather than writing some of the most watered down, corny mascara-man-metal, there has always been a more philosophical bent, a poetic license taking with Moonspell's musings that places them somewhere closer to the source of those 'dark' feelings which made such an impact on the psyche of an entirely subcultural generation back in the 80s and earlier 90s. This isn't your femme fatale garden variety supernatural Romance shit, it's the World of fuckin' Darkness. Vampire the Fucking Masquerade, siphoned off into ballsy if obvious huge chord patterns that the Portuguese thankfully accent with tasteful melodic licks, total 80s Goth synthesizer lines which feel bright as streetlights as you're walking 13 city blocks to the closest trash dive bar that will play you Depeche Mode and David Bowie non-stop to the break of dawn. Not as gloomy, poignant and powerful perhaps as their stylistic neighbors Tiamat have become in their middle age. At least half a dozen times listening through this I caught nostalgia for rummaging through the bins for overpriced Cleopatra Records CDs back in my beloved early 20s.

The songs are not "Ruin & Misery" or "Opium"-level catchy, but they really strive for that on "Funeral Bloom" or "The Last of Us", some of my faves here. It's also not an all-out bust for those who want more metal with their Moonspell, because the title track is loaded with hooky floes of semi-black chords and more clinical, punchy licks alongside some of Fernando's more abusive and frankly hilarious demi-growls. The opener "Breathe (Until We Are No More)" also hits pretty hard, and the absurdly titled "Medusalem" has a little Middle Eastern vibe in the melodies it embeds into the chugging mid-paced leather and nail polish. As simple as a lot of the tracks feel, they're always just a layer or two beyond being dumbed down, and the superb production of the bass lines and drumming lends a credible punch to the gut to even those who find the sissy-isms of this style an alien tongue entirely. A handful of tunes like "The Future is Dark" obfuscate the metal elements completely, but still provide grooving, archaic, synth-syrup hooks that match pretty well with those deep vocals; and the album is backloaded with interesting departures like the mellower "Doomina" or the song in French, "La Baphomette", which at least worth a few genuine chuckles, which I'm sure is working just as intended. Love bites in general, but Moonspell does it on the neck.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

THE FUTURE IS DARK... AND GREAT - 85%

Demonon Vrosis, March 9th, 2015
Written based on this version: 2015, CD, Napalm Records

Moonspell are back! A lot of metal fans were expecting this release, and after singles and samples, we can finally listen to the complete result. So let’s see what we have here…

"Extinct" is Moonspell’s eleventh studio album, three years after their last great work, "Alpha Noir/Omega White". And as usual, a Moonspell album brings something new to the band’s sound. If we have a look on their discography, we can see that every album is different from the previous one. Fans often get disappointed when the bands change their style and roots. On the contrary, I like this and I believe that this is a great advantage in music, as it helps the artists and bands to evolve in time and not repeat themselves again and again. It’s not easy to say if “Extinct” sounds like one of Moonspell's previous albums. I would say that it’s a new approach, creating a new sound for the band. And it’s good.

“Extinct” contains ten songs, creating a 45-minute album. The album’s sound is less dark than some of their previous releases, like "Alpha Noir" or "Night Eternal". Fernando Ribeiro used mainly clean vocals for this album, so songs like “Domina” and “The Future is Dark” may remind us of "Omega White". However, on some of the songs, like “Extinct” and “Malignia”, we can find Fernando’s distinctive and powerful harsh vocals. The guitar parts of the album, riffs and solos, are really nice. In my opinion, "Extinct" contains some of the most melodic guitar solos the band has ever used on an album. This, in combination with the background keyboard melodies and the solid bass/drums, create a great result. "Extinct" also has a great sound quality, perhaps the best we can find on a Moonspell album. It was produced and mixed by Jens Bogren, who is known for his work with great bands, such as Rotting Christ, Opeth, Katatonia, Paradise Lost and many others. A beautiful work has also been done in the artwork by the Greek artist Seth Siro Anton (best known for his band Septicflesh).

As said before, Moonspell are one of the bands that love to change and evolve with every release. If you look for an album that sounds like Wolfheart or Irreligious, you will be probably not satisfied. But I guess you already know that Moonspell has changed a lot from that time anyway. However, if you are a Moonspell fan and you enjoy all their albums and their different styles all these years, you will definitely love "Extinct". Of course, that goes for every metal fan, in my opinion. Generally, it’s another good work from Moonspell and I believe that we have much more to wait from them in the future…