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
Sanguine
Moonspell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In the night I will be waiting under
Remember how cold the touch
When you fall with another
Approaching the eternal day
The everlasting nothing between us
Returning in your other shape
At midnight the failing wonder
Remember there can be only one
We the trophy of each other
Sanguine - your love comes to me in oceans of blood
Find me with the howling
In the night I am going under
Remember how cold the touch
You have fallen with another
Leave me by the fading
Silenced in the trust
Remember how cold the truth
When we breed one another
Sanguine - your love comes to me in oceans of blood
The everlasting ignorance around us, Forever living sickness inside us,
The silence still not finished with us, the Madness breeding when we do.
For you I will cut my veins open and let you hide on them
For you I will cut my veins open, let you live freely on them
Sanguine - your love comes to me in oceans of blood
The lyrics of Moonspell's song, "Sanguine," are filled with dark imagery and speak to the theme of eternal and forbidden love. The repetition of the phrase "remember how cold the touch" signifies the painful separation between two entities who are drawn to each other. The "eternal nothing between us" and "around us" further amplifies the feelings of loneliness and isolation that both parties feel, despite their intense attraction.
As the lyrics progress, the concept of metamorphosis is introduced. The phrase "returning in your other shape" suggests that the relationship between the two is constantly changing and transforming. They both acknowledge that while they may fall for others, they will always end up coming back to each other. The use of the word "trophy" is interesting as it creates an element of competition, suggesting that their love is a chase and a game to be won.
The final stanza of the song is perhaps the most poignant. The singer declares their willingness to do whatever it takes to keep this forbidden love alive, even if it means cutting their veins open so that the other can live freely on them. The last line, "Sanguine - your love comes to me in oceans of blood" is a reference to the color of blood, which is symbolic of love and passion in many cultures.
Line by Line Meaning
Find me with the howling
Come find me while howling together, signaling our connection in the night.
In the night I will be waiting under
I will be seeking you out in the darkness, even if hidden under something.
Remember how cold the touch
Recall the freezing feeling you experienced when we last touched.
When you fall with another
When you are with someone else, deceived and betrayed by them.
Approaching the eternal day
The endless dawn is almost upon us, suggesting a new beginning.
The everlasting nothing between us
There is an eternal void separating us, where we may never meet.
The everlasting nothing around us
The emptiness encircling us seems to go on forever and it's frightening.
Returning in your other shape
Coming back with a different form, as if transformed or altered by your experiences.
At midnight the failing wonder
The brief excitement or curiosity we feel when nightfall arrives and quickly fades.
Remember there can be only one
Remember that we cannot continue living as before, we need to choose one path.
We the trophy of each other
We are both what the other desires most, like prizes or awards.
Sanguine - your love comes to me in oceans of blood
Your love is overwhelming and intense, but it's also violent and painful like spilling blood.
Leave me by the fading
Leave me as things start to disappear, as if you are abandoning me when things get tough.
Silenced in the trust
We're both quiet and reserved when we trust each other, as if we're hiding emotions and secrets.
Remember how cold the truth
Remember how the truth can sting just as bad as the coldness of our touch.
When we breed one another
When we come together in a passionate way, it's as if we're reproducing offspring.
The everlasting ignorance around us, Forever living sickness inside us, The silence still not finished with us, the Madness breeding when we do.
We're surrounded by endless ignorance, and it seems that we'll never be free from the constant illness inside. Our silence hasn't ended yet, and it seems to be driving us insane.
For you I will cut my veins open and let you hide on them
I'm willing to do anything for you, even if it means physically harming myself. I'll provide a temporary shelter for you in my veins.
For you I will cut my veins open, let you live freely on them
I am willing to go through great pain to give you a home, to let you live on my veins without any constraints.
Sanguine - your love comes to me in oceans of blood
Your love may be painful and overwhelming, but it's all that matters to me, even if it equates to oceans of blood.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: FERNANDO RIBEIRO, MIGUEL TEIXEIRA GASPAR, PEDRO TELHADA, RICARDO AMORIM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Filipa Ferreira
Oh God!!!!...When the song changes at 03:52...IT'S JUST PERFECT...
Robert M. Johnson, Jr.
Yes it is!
Youssef Zaghloul
best song I've heard in a while .. So good.
Aleks Sason
We know and love this album in Ukraine! \m/
Olivier Nogré
@Aleks Sason do you know Saturnus ?
Deniz
Kitaptaki bir cümle beni nasıl buralara kadar getirebilir! Allahım bu nasıl bir şey fırtına öncesi sessizlik gibi aniden ruhun derinliklerine işliyor iyi ki buradayım...
dgh
Woooh that voice gives me a goose bumb. XD
Dvajst Devet
exilirated
Stray Wolf
SANDWICH!
File Scout
Morrigan Aensland Nice one