Dark Moor began the recording sessions for their second album, The Hall of the Olden Dreams, in August 2000 at New Sin Studios with producer Luigi Stefanini. During these recording sessions, the band recorded their cover of "Halloween", which was included on the CD The Keepers of Jericho part I - A Tribute to Helloween (Arise Records).
Their E.P. The Fall of Melnibone was released in June 2001. This E.P was a limited edition; 1500 copies were released and only for the Spanish market.
Dark Moor began the recording of their third album, The Gates of Oblivion, in Autumn 2001 at New Sin Studios. Dark Moor signed with the major label JVC for the Asian release. The band played 18 gigs at festivals such as Rock Machina, Viña Rock and Nit De Reis. After the first part of the tour, keyboardist Roberto Peña left the band and they were forced to finish the tour with a guest musician.
In August 2003 Dark Moor recorded four new exclusive acoustic tracks along with a string quartet, to be included in Between Light and Darkness, which was released in April 2003. Due to differing points of view regarding the musical direction for the next Dark Moor album, vocalist Elisa Martin, guitarist Albert Maroto and drummer Jorge Sáez decided to leave Dark Moor to start a new band.
The two remaining members of the band decided to start a search for new members. After the auditions, they accepted vocalist Alfred Romero, guitarist Jose Garrido, and drummer Andy C.
In August 2003, the band started recording their fourth album, Dark Moor, at New Sin Studios in Italy. Following a month of recording sessions, the album was mastered by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios.
On 23 November 2006, the band announced the departure of their drummer on their official website, due to "incompatibility with his other musical projects." He would go on to play drums for Saratoga. His replacement, Roberto Cappa, was previously in the Spanish metal band Anima Sola.
In January 2009, their seventh album Autumnal was released.
The band made an announcement on their website, dated 4 June 2010, that their eighth album was in the works. It featured Berenice Musa as a guest vocalist. The album is titled Ancestral Romance and it was released in November 2010.
On 18 June 2013 the band released their ninth album Ars Musica, with the Japanese limited version including a bonus CD with five bonus tracks. They toured Mexico and Asia the same year, as well as few dates in Europe in 2014 to support the new album.
Dark Moor started recording their 10th studio album, Project X, on 27 July 2015 and released it in Europe on 6 November 2015 on Scarlet Records.
On 21 July 2018, Enrik Garcia, guitarist and founder of the band, announced via Facebook that their next album would be called Origins and that, after the parenthesis they did with ufology themes on Project X, they would return to their habitual themes; Origins will be about the celtic world, also adding celtic instruments on their new songs. This album has been released on 12 December 2018.
The Mysterious Maiden
Dark Moor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When road's lonely,
She came to me in the skyline,
Her look was divine
Her black hair
Danced with the wind,
And the cold air
Played with leaves while my soul skinned
Her eyes were my glare
Her sweet voice
Pronounced my name
My soul was a choice
She called me
While her white dress was my blame
She could be my dame
[Chorus]
Grey
Dusk is, over the way
White ghost,
In my heart,
My loving soul was hurt,
Dark hopes beyond my mind.
And so I resigned
All for her cold dream's love
I went there
Each evening
My only care,
Don't see her!
While my heart played in a swing
Falling in despair
Then I dreamed
With her sad death,
And my soul screamed
Harrowing
While she gave me her cold breath,
She kissed me
[Chorus]
But grey
Dusk is, over the way
White ghost,
In my heart, My loving soul was hurt,
Dark hopes beyond my mind.
And so I resigned
All for her cold dream's love
The lyrics of Dark Moor's song "The Mysterious Maiden" tell the story of the singer who meets a woman who captivates his attention, despite the loneliness of his journey. He describes her physical features through metaphors, with her black hair dancing with the wind and her look being divine. He feels a connection to her, almost as if she was meant for him, but he is also haunted by the darkness in his mind as he resigns himself to her "cold dream's love". His only care is to see her again, even though his heart is hurt from loving her, and he is fearful of her ghost-like presence as it causes him to fall into despair. The song's tragic ending is revealed as the singer dreams of her death, and she gives him her final, cold breath before kissing him goodbye.
The lyrics of the song are steeped in symbolism, with the woman representing an ideal of beauty and purity that the singer desires, but is ultimately unable to connect with. The use of metaphors and personification of Autumn and darkness lend the lyrics a surreal and almost otherworldly quality, in keeping with the gothic and symphonic metal genres that Dark Moor is known for. At its core, however, the song deals with the theme of unrequited love and the pain that comes with it. The singer's surrender to the "cold dream's love" of the mysterious maiden suggests a willingness to accept this pain, almost as if it is necessary for him to grow and come to understand his own emotional landscape.
Line by Line Meaning
Soul of mine,
The singer addresses their own soul.
When road's lonely,
They recall a time when they were alone on the road.
She came to me in the skyline,
The mysterious maiden appeared before them in the sky.
Her look was divine
The maiden had an angelic appearance.
Her black hair
The maiden had dark hair.
Danced with the wind,
Her hair moved gracefully in the wind.
And the cold air
It was chilly outside.
Of autumn
The season was probably autumn.
Played with leaves while my soul skinned
The leaves were rustling while the artist's inner self was exposed.
Her eyes were my glare
The artist was captivated by the maiden's gaze.
Her sweet voice
The maiden spoke with a pleasant tone.
Pronounced my name
She said the artist's name.
My soul was a choice
The singer's soul was offered a choice by the maiden.
She called me
The maiden summoned the singer.
While her white dress was my blame
The white dress symbolized something negative for the singer.
She could be my dame
The artist was considering making the maiden their lady.
Grey
The sky was gray.
Dusk is, over the way
The darkness of the evening has fallen over the surroundings.
White ghost,
The maiden is referred to as a ghost.
In my heart,
The artist feels something emotionally.
My loving soul was hurt,
The artist's feelings were painful.
Dark hopes beyond my mind.
The artist's desires were trying to break through their mind.
And so I resigned
The singer made a decision to give up or accept something.
All for her cold dream's love
The artist is giving up everything for the love of the maiden, even though it's not warm and loving.
I went there
The singer went back to the place where they met the maiden.
Each evening
The singer did this every night.
My only care,
The singer was focused solely on the maiden.
Don't see her!
The artist tries to avoid looking at the maiden.
While my heart played in a swing
The artist's emotions were going up-and-down like a swing.
Falling in despair
The singer was starting to feel hopeless.
Then I dreamed
The singer had a dream.
With her sad death,
The maiden died in the artist's dream.
And my soul screamed
The artist's soul was yelling in terror.
Harrowing
The artist experienced something extremely distressing.
While she gave me her cold breath,
The maiden breathed into the singer's mouth.
She kissed me
The maiden kissed the artist.
Contributed by Tristan R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.