Comments:
Out of all the bands you'd think would have the talent to "save"
the extreme direction metal is moving to, it'd be Portugal's Moonspell.
Since 1994's Under the Moonspell, the band has unabashedly
gone their own direction, mixing gothic and industrial sounds with
ambient keyboards, almost black metal vocals with low, Peter Steele
Type O'Negative vocal poetry, and they were their own animal. Say
goodbye to those days. Moonspell is now just the flavor of the week,
and Memorial serves as their funeral hymm …
The
first disheartening track, "Finisterra," sounds like about
4,204 other bands out there today. Shouting death vocals over a somewhat
interesting song just lumps them in with the crowd. What is going
on?
At
least the next song, "Memento Mori," changes paces at times
and reminds you of the Moonspell of old. The problem is, you can't
tell this song from the first song; they bleed into each other as
in the first stages of livoris mortis, just coagulating blood
pooling on the nadir of the CD.
Musically,
you can't really knock the band. The guitars on "Blood Tells!"
is what you'd expect from Moonspell. Tight, fast and pure riffing
stands out on this CD, when they are not covered by the keyboards.
Drummer Mike Gaspar is in a frenzy on this track, making it probably
the best composition on the CD. The question remains though: What
happened to vocalist Fernando Ribeiro?
They
close the album with the track, "Best Forgotten." Enough
said.
This
review could go on and on, but won't. Like Ill Nino and a lot of popular
and once innovative metal bands, Moonspell has decided to cater to
the masses and become something they are not and never should be -
a vocally inept band. This new, unimproved sound will surely drive
immediate sales, but it will also drive away the diehards.
For
some reason, Moonspell
has decided to just be the flavor of the week instead of doing what
they are capable of doing … becoming the flavor of the decade.
Track
listing:
1. In Memoriam (Intro)
2. Finisterra
3. Memento Mori
4. Sons Of Earth
5. Blood Tells!
6. Upon The Blood Of Men
7. At The Image Of Pain
8. Sanguine
9. Proliferation
10. Once It Was Ours!
11. Mare Nostrum
12. Luna
13. Best Forgotten
HRH
Rating: 4/10
Advertisements:
