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
The Hanged Man
Moonspell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
just like a pathetic lace of death
displays like a tarot deck
I am the card of the hanged man
and here I stand
with a flame on my hand
do you understand?
If there is hope for me
she is flirting with the breeze
on a peculiar choreography
with the dead arms of some old southern tree
silently, lips sealed against me
silently, want to walk with me?
And it makes you want to know
if in all the stories the truth is really told
And it makes you want to reborn
and like a snake crawl every warm season
Into a different form
Put your lace around my face
just like a fairytale
through the blank of my closed eyes
you can foresee the rope within
And it makes you want to know
how deep have you truly flown
And it makes you want to ride
through the fake suicide of someone
already dead inside
And it makes you want to disclaim
something you had really never learnt
And it makes you want to stay
forever tangled in the pale arms of some hanged man
Here I stand. To understand.
Violently. I have you with me.
The lyrics of Moonspell's song "The Hanged Man" are dark and mysterious, evoking the imagery of tarot cards and death. The song begins with the singer asking someone to put their arms around his neck, but he describes it as a "pathetic lace of death" which could suggest that the person holding him is as dangerous as a noose. He then compares himself to the hanged man in a tarot deck, which is typically seen as a symbol of sacrifice or surrender. The hanged man's pose is also associated with a reversed perspective, as if he is seeing the world in a different way or from a different angle.
The chorus of the song is a repetition of two phrases: "And it makes you want to know" and "And it makes you want to". These phrases suggest a feeling of curiosity or desire that is being awakened in the listener or singer. The lyrics describe seeing hope in a breeze, dancing with dead arms, and crawling like a snake into a new form. The second verse introduces the image of a "fairytale" lace and a "rope within", which could represent the danger and allure of a seductive partner or situation.
Overall, "The Hanged Man" seems to be a song about temptation, transformation, and the dangers of surrendering oneself to darkness or death. The poetic lyrics and haunting melody create a sense of unease and intrigue that draws the listener deeper into the song's mystical world.
Line by Line Meaning
Put your arms around my neck
I want you to hold me close.
just like a pathetic lace of death
As if I'm doomed to die and this is our last embrace.
displays like a tarot deck
Our relationship is fated, like the cards of a tarot deck.
I am the card of the hanged man
I feel like a martyr, hung out to dry and waiting to be saved.
and here I stand
Despite my predicament, I am still standing.
with a flame on my hand
I hold a torch of hope, even in the darkness.
do you understand?
Do you comprehend what I'm going through and how I feel?
If there is hope for me
I cling to the possibility of redemption and rebirth.
she is flirting with the breeze
Hope is like the wind, fleeting and unpredictable.
on a peculiar choreography
Hope moves in mysterious and unexpected ways.
with the dead arms of some old southern tree
Hope seems to cling to life, even in the most desolate of places.
silently, lips sealed against me
I feel isolated and alone, as if no one can truly understand my pain.
silently, want to walk with me?
Yet I still yearn for companionship, for someone to share my burden.
And it makes you want to know
My suffering is so profound that it makes you curious and contemplative.
if in all the stories the truth is really told
You wonder if the tales of pain and redemption you've heard are really accurate.
And it makes you want to reborn
The desire for rebirth and renewal stirs within you as you contemplate my plight.
and like a snake crawl every warm season
You long to shed your old skin and start anew, just like a snake.
Into a different form
You yearn to transform yourself into something better and more beautiful.
Put your lace around my face
You want to envelop me in your love and protection.
just like a fairytale
As if our love story is something miraculous and enchanted.
through the blank of my closed eyes
Even when I'm blind to my own salvation, you can see the way forward.
you can foresee the rope within
You know the danger and the risk in loving me, yet you still choose to stay.
how deep have you truly flown
You question the extent of your own love and devotion.
And it makes you want to ride
My suffering galvanizes you to action and inspires you to change.
through the fake suicide of someone
You want to expose the lies and hypocrisies of those around you.
already dead inside
People who are unwilling to change, even if it means sacrificing their own happiness.
And it makes you want to disclaim
You feel compelled to reject what you've been taught and seek your own truth.
something you had really never learnt
You realize that you must unlearn old habits and attitudes in order to grow.
And it makes you want to stay
Despite the danger and the pain, you want to stay with me and offer me comfort.
forever tangled in the pale arms of some hanged man
You are willing to stay with me through all my trials and tribulations, even if it means risking your own life.
Here I stand. To understand.
I am determined to comprehend the truth of my own existence, no matter what the cost.
Violently. I have you with me.
Despite the violence and the turmoil, you are still by my side, offering your love and your support.
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Hypernl
Sin/Pecado is a truly wonderful album.
TheKuroiSheep
I don't understand why people discredit Sin / Pecado so much. This is one of their best albums, by far.
Fabricio de Castro
Pra mim esse é um dos melhores discos do Moonspell. As letras são extremamente profundas e bem escritas,.
insidethefall78
I remember hating this CD when I first bought it, now I think it's one of their best. I wish they would start making brilliant music again - Although not bad, I haven't been 100% convinced in their latest few albums.
AGatheringFan
alot of their bass lines are sooo fruckin hypnotic!!! excellent song, and album!
bollosgratis
I agree, this is definitely the best Moonspell's song!
Ni ls
This is one auf the beautyfullest songs i`ve ever heared. The Guitarsolo is the greatest i`ve ever heared, and i heared alot of guitarsolos. Bass sounds also very well!
axeofgod72
he can croon, whisper, or roar... i love that... can't tell if it's death-metal or gothic-romance... HAIL MOONSPELL.
Svendar
The song that I've found interesting at the first listening and that I worshipped at my fift listening. Just amazing...
WithLove
Such a beautiful song