Customer Reviews

Darkness & Hope

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

...or if you like your Hard Rock dark, melodramatic, romantic, vampiric... Look no further than the latest by Portugal's Children Of The Night, Moonspell. This album is a real breath of fresh air. So many Goth bands seem to avoid bringing a harder edge into their music, and so many "Goth/Metal" bands are simply not Goth, but Black Metal. Moonspell once again combine their traditional Heavy Metal influence with the brooding, romantic Goth rock which flourished in the underground during the 80's. This is, without a doubt their best album since Ireligeous. They'e toned down some of the over the top theatrics and campiness of that album, but still delivered one of the best Goth albums of 2001. I wasn't the least bit disappointed. Especially since their previous two albums just didn't grab me at all. On Darkness And Hope, Moonspell have brought back the Vampiric charm and wonderfully "witchy" vibes of their earlier sound. (Not when they were a black metal band) This time around however, their 80's Gothic Rock influence really shines through brightly (in a dark way of course). Fernando's rich baritone is stronger and more mature than ever. He still sounds like Dracula. The music, though catchier, is much darker in essence than their last two albums and that is something that I was very pleased with. And yes, they're still writing songs about Vampires, the Night, Goth Chicks, Love, Sorrow, etc.... Goth and proud of it! I can't wait to hear the next album. Oh, and their cover of Ozzy's Mr. Crowley blew me away. I don't see why people seem to dislike it. It rocks!

Driven by vocalist Fernando Ribeiro's haunting baritone and lathered with near-perfect production, Darkness and Hope is certainly the most accessible of Moonspell's releases; thankfully, it turns out to be one of the best, as well. If anything, Darkness and Hope is gloomier, darker, and (dare we say hopeless?) more melancholic than their previous releases. The album from start to finish fairly moans its anguish through the speakers as Ribeiro alternately sings and roars his increasingly tortured lyrics over the rumbling thunder of Ricardo Amorim's blackened guitars. The keyboards are omnipresent as would be expected from Moonspell, but they don't become the dominant instrument as the band often (sometimes unwittingly) makes them. Compared to other Moonspell albums, solos abound on Darkness and Hope, with "Nocturna" and the cadaverous cover of Ozzy's "Mr. Crowley" taking center stage with melodic and soulful wails. Beyond that, other songs of note include the driving "Firewalking," pop-influenced "Heartshaped Abyss," and the incredible, haunting masterpiece "Ghostsong." All in all, Darkness and Hope won't disappoint longtime Moonspell fans and beginners will find much to enjoy.

This a perfect album for you to get into Moonspell. For those of you who came all along here to read this review, if you are a beginer into Moonspell but have heard other similar bands, dont think twice this is a great album. If you have the previous Moonspell albums and are reading this to make sure you can buy it, yes this is a worthy buy. If you are a hardcore fan of Spell, like me, well, you got this album already then.

I personally love Irreligious in entirity, think that Sin/Pecado is their most creative and best and Butterfly Effect as a good experiment gone wrong but worth buying none the less. Darkness & hope (DH) is nothing compared to the previous one but is excellent. The lyrics are good/deep, voice is superb perhaps the best of Fernando, guitars crushing as always, drums powerful like a strom, bass subtle and keys creepy and beautiful. Initially I disliked this album but after 2-3 hearing, its awesome. 6 out of 11 track stand apart. The tittle song Darkness & hope has a killer guitar rhythm that will haunt you. The second one is Firewalkin which is one of the best in the CD and is heavy and thrashing (Like Pantera meets Tiamat). The third Nocturna is one of the career best songs of Moonspell and I just love it, its dark and haunting. Its mysterious and atmosperic. 5th track DEvilred is crushing and worth of a strong headbang, esp, the awesome double bass in the begining. 6th, Ghost song is my fav track of the CD, I heard the song in repeat mode for a eternity and I am up for it again, its too good. Hear it dont just take my words. 9th one is mysterious and powerful. Rest of the ones I dint mention are average, not bad songs. I did not like the cover song of Ozzy, Mr. Crowley, its boring and doesnt fit in with Moonspell's type of music. they must have covered Type O Negative or Paradise Lost or something. Anyway, this is a excellent album and you will sure enjoy it if you have ever liked Moonspell and if you havent heard them before, it's time!

I loved Illreligous, and very much dislike this one. It's not bad but what it does have is certain boredom. All the songs sound the same. No high points, no low points. Sounds like a rushed album and shows in the songwritting. I wish to get other Moonspell albums..hopefully not as bad as this one.

Having been a fan of goth-type metal for years and Moonspell imparticular since "Irreligious" i find each Moonspell album becoming more distinctive and independent from the labels and trends out there. Moonspell came into their own on the "Sin/Pecado" album and continue to do so. They truly have their own sound. This album is hypnotically spooky and hauntingly atmospheric as Moonspell have always been. Once again the guitars are more up front as they were on their last effort "The Butterfly Effect" and the the keyboards give the songs that edge which transcends them to excellent pieces of music. Fernando's vocals are as powerful as ever as well, ever so dark and honest, and quite clearer than on the last cd. There is a lot of spirituality here and the title says it all. Among the darkness there lies a strong sense of hope, and it totally shines throughout the whole cd. Fans of Moonspell should love it and for non-fans it is a strong introduction for a truly magnificent group.

If Moonspell keep recording CDs like this their next album could very well appear on a major label. While this may not be their absolute best album (which is either "Sin/Pacado" or "Wolfheart")
"Darkness & Hope" is easily their most accesible. It combines the dark heavy rock of early Danzig and the Goth of the later Damned.
Best moments: "devil red" (which deffenately recalls Danzig) and "sepants hands". Interesting that two of the best albums of 2001, this & the Damned's "Grave Disorder", sound alike!

This CD rocks. The guitar style blends together a very wide range of influence, from thrash to goth to industrial, and the synthesizers are done just right. Moonspell makes Type O Negative sound like cutout-bin material. The vocals are great for the most part; they're weak in some places, but I like the mix of deep clean vocals and mucusy death throes. Best song would have to be "Nocturna" although there are no weak ones. The Ozzy cover rocks too, I don't know why people keep complaining about it. Moonspell's vocalist (sorry, too lazy to go get the insert booklet) is better than Ozzy anyway. Drumming and bass are nothing to brag about, but they get the job done. Enjoyable, even if you're not one of those weirdos that wear all black...

The second track, "Firewalking," is an instant classic Moonspell rocker. If you are a fan of "Opium" and wouldn't mind a bit more uptempo version of it with traditional clean goth Moonspell vocals, you cannot go wrong with this song. The lyrics have a tempting idea, one which is even more enjoyable when you see that the band comes back to it again and again within other songs, notably "heartshaped abyss".

Perhaps the most addicting guitar riff is found within the opening verse of "Devilred" ... Has moonspell finally figured out how to make their goth/rock have a groove to it with this song?

However, beyond, "firewalking" and "devilred," guitarwork is good, but nothing that you will see yourself playing air-guitar to. Strangely, the appearance of double-bass drumwork makes its most proliferic appearances in these two songs...too bad it didn't make it to any of the others; they do it so well!

The lyrics never get bad, but then again besides a few of the opening tracks and the interesting lines of the "rapaces" chorus, lyrics remain at the good level; great to sing along to but nothing to make you think 50 times about.

Moonspell seems to have a bit more of a pop/rock attitude in this disc, especially if you look at their previous work, which included the unbelievable song "soulsick" as the opening track. I can't imagine this disc becoming a fan-favorite very often when you compare it to "butterfly effect" and my personal favorite, "Irreligious."

However, you can't expect a band to put out a masterpiece with each release, and the disc very rarely veers off the traditional Moonspell path, save the disc's pop/rock sensibility. So, if you enjoy their masterpiece Irreligious, this should certainly be a part of your CD library! and besides, some of the textual comments on their website have given me alot of respect for this band, which is by far the best metal band i've heard from Portugal to this point!! 4 stars.

~eternal fear oct.06.2001~

Totally boring album. Its gothic i know but its too boring this album. Wolfheart and Butterfly effect are better albums. And i prefer to listen Typo o negative than Moonspell. The songs are all the same and there in no <> or any moment that make me like this album.

Hey it's a theatrical and [somewhat] dark album. The only reason I give this 4 out of 5 is because almost all of the songs on here COULD be better. Most of the songs on this album are what you would call "corprate" or "cookie-cutter rock". It wouldn't surprise me if this album went 2 or 3x Platinum [for being underground, this one has too much "hope"]. I rest my case.