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
Than The Serpents In My Hands
Moonspell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
dorme no mar dos sargaços
que mais vale o mar a pino
que as serpentes nos meus braços”
-Mário Cesáriny
And when all life as you know it
-fails
-same
What better comfort can you find
Than the serpents in my arms
Sleep, sleep now my child
In the sea of crystal Trouble
For better is the violent sigh
Than all that you leave behind
In your eyes a dark so subtle
Tells you walk, but never fly
To leave us all behind
And when all life as you know it
-fails
all ghostlike lips taste just the
-same
What better comfort can you find
Than the serpents in my arms
Down, down terrible child
To look at it is a sin
For better is to hold that smile
Than all that you leave behind
In your eyes a mark so subtle
Tells you walk, but never fly
To leave us all behind
And when all life as you know it
-fails
all ghostlike lips taste just the
-same
What better comfort can you find
Than the serpents in my arms
The lyrics of "Than The Serpents In My Hands" by Moonspell begin with a quote from Mário Cesáriny, a surrealist Portuguese poet. The quote is in Portuguese and translates to "Sleep, sleep now my child in the sea of the sargasso / For better is the sea at its height than the serpents in my arms." The metaphor is that the sea, with all its dangers, is still a preferable place to sleep than being held by poisonous snakes. The first verse of the song adapts this quote into a lullaby-like melody, adding a sense of comfort and safety despite the impending danger.
The rest of the song continues with themes of death and the afterlife. The chorus repeats the lines "And when all life as you know it fails / All ghostlike lips taste just the same / What better comfort can you find / Than the serpents in my arms." The idea is that when life fails, death becomes a comfort, even if it means being held by serpents, representing evil or temptation. The song's bridge suggests that it's better to hold on to a smile in the face of death than to dwell on what is lost or left behind.
Overall, the lyrics of "Than The Serpents In My Hands" are a reflection on death and the comfort that can be found in it, even if it means giving in to darker forces. The use of dark metaphors and images, as well as the lullaby-like melody, adds a haunting quality to the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Dorme, dorme meu menino
Sleep, sleep now my child
dorme no mar dos sargaços
In the sea of crystal Trouble
que mais vale o mar a pino
For better is the violent sigh
que as serpentes nos meus braços”
Than all that you leave behind
And when all life as you know it
And when all life as you know it
-fails
-fails
all ghostlike lips taste just the
all ghostlike lips taste just the
-same
-same
What better comfort can you find
What better comfort can you find
Than the serpents in my arms
Than the serpents in my arms
In your eyes a dark so subtle
In your eyes a dark so subtle
Tells you walk, but never fly
Tells you walk, but never fly
To leave us all behind
To leave us all behind
Down, down terrible child
Down, down terrible child
To look at it is a sin
To look at it is a sin
For better is to hold that smile
For better is to hold that smile
Than all that you leave behind
Than all that you leave behind
And when all life as you know it
And when all life as you know it
-fails
-fails
all ghostlike lips taste just the
all ghostlike lips taste just the
-same
-same
What better comfort can you find
What better comfort can you find
Than the serpents in my arms
Than the serpents in my arms
Lyrics © Rossio Music Publishing
Written by: FERNANDO RIBEIRO, MIKE GASPAR, PEDRO PAIXAO, RICARDO AMORIM, SERGIO CRESTANA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind