Line-up

Headliner
Moonspell Last time in Leiria: 15 years ago

Venue

Leiria, Portugal

Moonspell biography

Portuguese goth-metal stalwarts, Moonspell, have risen to become the biggest metal act of their home nation, as well as breaking into the charts of other European countries.

Featuring Fernando Ribeiro (vocals), Ricardo Amorim (guitars), Pedro Paixão (keyboards/programming), Sérgio Crestana (bass) and Mike Gaspar (drums), the band initially came together in 1989 under the moniker, Morbid God, before changing to Moonspell in 1992. After a unsuccessful debut in 1994, Moonspell signed with Century Media shortly after, greatly benefiting from doing a lager label with their next releases.

In 1995, “Wolfheart” arrived, with the album slowly building in its reception, bolstered by an extensive European tour. A year later, they were back with “Irreligious,” which moved away from black metal to a more gothic sound. They had begun to find a winning formula, selling 10,000 copies in Portugal.

Further experimenting with their sound, “Sin/Pecado” in 1998 displayed a more expansive noise, with this trend continuing with 1999’s “Butterfly Effect,” adding haunting synthesiser textures which made the band sound refreshing. “Darkness and Hope” built on this success, leading to the concept album, “The Antidote,” in 2003, a collaboration with author José Luís Peixoto, a narrative album that was accompanied by a book of the same name.

In 2006, they moved to SPV Steamhammer for “Memorial,” which topped the Portuguese charts, eventually selling Gold, with Moonspell being the first Portuguese metal band to do so. In Germany, they were also becoming a commercial hit, with their albums breaking into the Top 100. After 2008’s “Night Eternal,” Moonspell moved to Napalm Records in 2011, before then releasing their tenth record, “Alpha Noir/Omega White.” Moonspell were again topping the charts in 2015, with “Extinct,” which also faired well in Germany, Finland, Austria and Belgium.

Live reviews

Of course listening to recordings of heavy metal is incredible, but seeing them perform live is what it’s all about. The theatricality of the lighting, the costumes, and the performance that they bring to the stage is simply incredible. At the Moonspell show, the lights were dark for well over a minute with the crowd cheering like mad before the feedback from the monitor rang over the auditorium and a red wash came over the stage. The opening chords of Scorpion Flower crashed out across the massive venue and they launched straight into the track.

Right from the start the band were giving it their all, with Miguel Gaspar absolutely smashing it on the drums, and all of the other band members running and dancing around the stage, playing their hearts out all the while. They were great at hyping up the audience, and Fernando Ribeiro, the lead singer, was screaming for everyone to sing along which was awesome.

They played an incredible selection of songs, focusing on all of the hits over the years, even dating back to some of their really early tracks from Wolfheart, their debut album. Each instrumentalist had the chance to play a solo, and they were all incredible, and totally dedicated to their music.

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