The band started out as folk-tinged black metal. In 1992, still under the name Morbid God, they released the promo track "Serpent Angel". In 1993, vocalist Fernando Ribeiro, drummer Mike Gaspar and bassist João Pedro released the demo Anno Satanæ under the name Moonspell, which caught the attention of French label Adipocere. It was for Adipocere that Moonspell released in 1994 a mini-album titled Under the Moonspell. The record was a considered a landmark in Portuguese metal and sold more than 5000 copies, becoming Adipocere's best-selling record at the time. Shortly after the release, they played with Cradle of Filth in a concert in Lisbon.
Breakthrough (1995-1997)
After the release of mini-album Under the Moonspell, Moonspell signed with Century Media for six CDs. Wolfheart was recorded in Germany with producer Waldemar Sorychta and was released in 1995 and was followed by a European tour. Although the album had little or no recognition at the beginning, it was later recognized as a "milestone" by heavy-metal reviews site Metal-Observer.com. During the tour, guitarist Mantus quit the band and was replaced by Ricardo Amorim.
Irreligious came out in 1996 and was recorded again with producer Waldemar Sorychta. While previous album was considered black metal, this one fell into the genre of gothic metal. 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 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 selling 10.000 copies of the album in their homeland.
After conflicts with the band involving lawsuits, bass player Ares left the band and was replaced by Sérgio Crestana.
Experimenting (1998-2000)
Sin/Pecado (Pecado means 'sin' in Portuguese) 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 Daemonarch album, Hermeticum. Daemonarch was a side project composed by all Moonspell members but drummer Mike Gaspar. The album was seen as a return to their black metal roots and its lyrics were all written by singer Fernando Ribeiro between the age of 14 and 16.
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.
"Darkness and Hope" and "The Antidote" (2001-2005)
Darkness and Hope was released in 2001 and was produced by Hiili Hiilesmaa, producer of Sentenced or 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. 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. 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. From this album on, the tours feature Aires Pereira on the bass.
In early 2004 the band recorded a cover of the jazz standard "I'll see you in my dreams" for the soundtrack of a Portuguese horror movie of the same name. There is an official music video of this song featuring footage from the film itself.
"Memorial", "Under Satanae" and "Night Eternal" (2006-present)
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 heavy 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.
On November 2, 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 June 26, 2007.
Recently, Moonspell released Under Satanæ, a re-recording of early songs.
The last album has been called "Night Eternal". It was released on May 16, 2008. Moonspell is slated to tour Danzig's 2008 incarnation of his Blackest of the Black tour.
After a lot of legal troubles, Moonspell released their first Dvd "Lusitanian Metal" on December 8, 2008 in 3 different versions. The most complete one is composed of 2 Dvds, a Cd and a small booklet with photographs and introduction to the footage written by some of the members of the band. The first Dvd contains a show they played in 2004 in Katowice, also recorded on the Cd, a collection of all their videos until "Everything Invaded" and an interwiew shot in a Graveyard. The second dvd presents some live footage took from different tours from 1992 to 2005.
Current members
Fernando Ribeiro - vocals (1989-present )
Mike Gaspar - drums (1992-present )
Ricardo Amorim - lead guitar (1995-present )
Pedro Paixão - keyboards / rhythm guitar (1994-present )
Aires Pereira - bass (2004-present )
Previous members
Baalberith - drums (1989-1992)
João Pedro (Ares / Tetragrammaton) - bass (1989-1997)
Luís Lamelas (Malah / Fenrir) - guitar (1992-1993)
J.M. (Tanngrisnir) - guitar (1993-1995)
Mantus/Duarte - guitar (1990-1995)
Sérgio Crestana - bass (1997-2003)
Discography:
1992 - Serpent Angel (demo)
1993 - Anno Satanae (demo)
1994 - Under the Moonspell
1995 - Wolfheart
1996 - Irreligious
1997 - 2econd Skin (disc 1) (Single w/ bonus live CD)
1997 - 2econd Skin (disc 2) (Single w/ bonus live CD)
1998 - Sin Pecado
1999 - The Butterfly Effect
2001 - Darkness and Hope
2003 - The Antidote
2006 - Memorial
2007 - The Great Silver Eye (Best Of)
2007 - Under Satanae (The first three releases re-recorded)
2008 - Night Eternal
2012 - Alpha Noir / Omega White
2015 - [algum artist=Moonspell]Extinct
Dvds
2008 - Lusitanian Metal
www.moonspell.com
Finisterra
Moonspell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Brought up a message from our dead
The ones you love the most
Are the ones you hurt as deep
The world has turned once more inside
Anchored into captivity
The ones you wanted the most
Exit wounds, water drums, dream the eternal return
Tree of life rotting inside, Autumn leaves, Winter white
A light at the end of the earth
Whole world a ghost shading inside
True love waits for the bless of death
The doubt that sets me free
Not to remember anything
Stillborn, blood let, die in our feet like the trees
Earth song, never land, let the blood have its way
A light at the end of the earth
Was it for this we sold our souls?
Was it for this we missed our chance
Of leaving?
(For) a lie at the end of the earth
The song "Finisterra" by Moonspell is a poignant reflection on the cyclical nature of life and death. The opening lines suggest that the world has completed another turn on its axis, and in doing so, has brought up a message from those who have passed away. The following lines reveal the painful truth that those we love the most are often the ones we hurt the deepest. The theme of hurt and pain continues in the next stanza, where the image of being anchored in captivity and burying loved ones under the sea reiterate the intense and inescapable nature of grief.
The chorus speaks of a light at the end of the earth, which may signify hope or salvation. However, the verse that follows reflects on the ghostly nature of the world and the inevitability of death. Despite this, the singer finds solace in the notion that forgetting is a form of freedom. The closing lines repeat the question of whether it was worth trading their souls for a lie at the end of the earth.
Overall, "Finisterra" is a beautiful and haunting tribute to the fleeting nature of human life and the pain of loss.
Line by Line Meaning
The world has turned once more inside
The world has gone through another cycle of change
Brought up a message from our dead
A message has been delivered from the deceased
The ones you love the most
Your closest loved ones
Are the ones you hurt as deep
Are the ones that cause the most painful wounds
Anchored into captivity
Trapped and unable to escape
The ones you wanted the most
The ones you desired above all else
The ones you buried under sea
The ones you have laid to rest in the ocean
Exit wounds, water drums, dream the eternal return
Wounds that never fully heal, drums that signify life, and a dream of repeated cycles
Tree of life rotting inside, Autumn leaves, Winter white
The symbol of life decaying, leaves falling indicating death, and the color white that signifies the winter of life
A light at the end of the earth
A beacon of hope that guides the way forward
Whole world a ghost shading inside
The world appearing like a shadow of its former self
True love waits for the bless of death
Real love endures until the end of life
The doubt that sets me free
Uncertainty providing freedom from the past and the present
Not to remember anything
To forget everything and start anew
Stillborn, blood let, die in our feet like the trees
Dead on arrival, blood being spilled, like the trees dying from their roots
Earth song, never land, let the blood have its way
A song of the earth, never finding a home, and allowing fate to take its course
Was it for this we sold our souls?
Did we make a deal with the devil for this outcome?
Was it for this we missed our chance
Did we squander our opportunity for something better?
Of leaving?
Of escaping our current predicament?
(For) a lie at the end of the earth
For a false hope at the end of the world
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: FERNANDO RIBEIRO, MIGUEL GASPAR, MIGUEL TEIXEIRA GASPAR, PEDRO TELHADA, RICARDO AMORIM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Henrique Ramos
"Finisterra"
The world has turned once more inside
Brought up a message from our dead
The ones you love the most
Are the ones you hurt as deep
The world has turned once more inside
Anchored into captivity
The ones you wanted the most
The ones you buried under sea
Exit wounds, water drums, dream the eternal return
Tree of life rotting, inside, autumn leaves winter white
A light at the end of the earth
Whole world a ghost shading inside
True love waits for the bless of death
The doubt that sets me free
Not to remember anything
Stillborn, blood let, die in our feet like the trees
Earth song, Neverland, let the blood have it's way
Alight at the end of the earth
Was it for this we sold our souls?
Was it for this we missed our chance
Of leaving?
For a lie at the end of the earth!
marcio fernandes
Puta sonzera!
Moonspell é foda!😈👊
Best from Versity Official
This song deserves at least 10 million views.
Rempseä Heinämies
Make it 10 billion even when it is far from their best.
Nick N
One of the first gothic metal bands I've first listened to. Still kicks ass
mpexus
Lucky they seem to have abandon that Gothic shit and got back to their Roots.
Henrique Ramos
"Finisterra"
The world has turned once more inside
Brought up a message from our dead
The ones you love the most
Are the ones you hurt as deep
The world has turned once more inside
Anchored into captivity
The ones you wanted the most
The ones you buried under sea
Exit wounds, water drums, dream the eternal return
Tree of life rotting, inside, autumn leaves winter white
A light at the end of the earth
Whole world a ghost shading inside
True love waits for the bless of death
The doubt that sets me free
Not to remember anything
Stillborn, blood let, die in our feet like the trees
Earth song, Neverland, let the blood have it's way
Alight at the end of the earth
Was it for this we sold our souls?
Was it for this we missed our chance
Of leaving?
For a lie at the end of the earth!
blackMesmer
Well, it's hard to describe Moonspell's music. In every album they sound different. But Memorial is really black/gothic metal.
andrea braga
Parabéns ao Fernando Ribeiro e ao Moonspell,única música de verdade de Portugal ! Yeahhh! \m/
dougman999
Best concert in retrospect, had Moonspell opening, then Children of Bodom, then Nevermore, and Dimmu Borgir was headlining. I would kill to go back to 2003? for that again. Damn.
Macka Markovic
Eu amo essa banda, muito! I fell in love with them on first listening. Lather I discovered that they were from Portugal. Congratulations Portugal, well done! Obeisance of Belgrade