Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Venue: Graz / P.P.C. / Austria
Concert date: October 25, 2015
Attendance: 400
Ticket price: €27.40
Moonspell, the long-running Portuguese extreme metallers, are known for an enviable discography with no dips in quality across their whole career, driven by constant artistic evolution and a totally distinctive voice, and they’re also considered outstanding stage performers. It’s no accident that the band’s name has the word »spell« in it.
This past March Moonspell released their 11th studio album, in the middle of summer they stopped by Slovenia’s Metaldays as part of their summer festival run, and right now they’re on the second leg of a European tour promoting the album »Extinct«. These guys are hard workers you can trust with anything!
If you’re looking for a convincing blend of avant-garde elements, progressive metal tinkering with gothic touches, plus the kind of elements that Celtic Frost defined way back when – dark metal elements, in other words – then you can’t get around the band’s first pillar, the iconic stage silhouette of the band, the exceptionally charismatic singer Fernando Ribeiro.
There’s one more big quality that defines Moonspell. Not a single two albums from their rich discography sound alike. On every one of them Moonspell have kept their unique artistic content, and with bold experimentation they haven’t just widened the horizons of their music, they’ve also managed to hold on to all the credibility of their past work, which puts them in a completely unique and singular spot in the metal universe.
In short, when Moonspell show up anywhere near where you live, it would be a sin to skip their show. So they came to Graz too, on October 25, 2015, and the evening was opened by two support acts: Greece’s Jaded Star, followed by France’s Dagoba. We sadly missed Jaded Star’s entire set because of an interview with Moonspell singer Fernando Ribeiro, but we watched Dagoba from start to finish. Modern death groove metal with strong melodic touches! The guys toiled and sweated buckets for 40 minutes trying to wake up the modest crowd, who, true to Austrian character, watched the show with great restraint. Only from a distance. Not a single person was right up front at the stage during the show, even though singer Shawter tried his hardest to lure someone closer. The band solidly presented their new album »Tales of the Black Down« (2015). Nice, confident playing for a band that’s been going for 15 years, but one that didn’t leave much of a deeper original impression. As if you’d already heard and tried the whole thing somewhere before.
Most of the crowd, though, came exclusively for Moonspell, even if it was a modest turnout of maybe 400 heads. Quite a few Slovenian souls showed up down front at the stage, which was nice to see. During the intro the guys slowly took their positions. The audience woke up from its numb slumber, and the stage was shrouded in fog you could have cut into thick slices. Finally the extremely charismatic figure of Fernando Ribeiro appeared, this time without the helmet on his head he wore on the previous tour. From the opening new song and single Breathe (Until we are no more) right through to the end of the show, Fernando held the audience firmly in his grip. As if the little devil himself, Old Nick, had descended to Earth. A phantom, gloomy silhouette wrapped in fog, furrowed brow, a grim stare beneath it. In harmony with brutal growls and his trademark stage presence! Once again Fernando fully enjoyed his role. And you can’t overlook the contribution of the rest of the band either. They played a top-notch show. Pedro played only keyboards this time. On the tour promoting the album Aplha Noir (2012) he combined guitar and keys during the shows.
The band put the album »Extinct« front and center. Of the new songs, which Mooonspell played six of in total, the highly atmospheric Medusalem with its oriental orchestrations was a particular treat, and the band also served up some sweet surprises from the classic repertoire, since this year they’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut »Wolfheart« (1995). So after the expected Alma Mater, which the guys used to close the regular set and which the entire crowd joined in on, they also played Wampiria and, right after it, Ataegina. The setlist changes at least minimally from show to show on the new tour. For the Graz show the band slipped the single Scorpion Flower back into the repertoire. On that occasion Jaded Star singer Maxi Nil joined Fernando on stage for the duet, and just before the end of the regular set, after loud enough demands from three women in the crowd, the band also added Domina back onto the setlist for the first time in a while.
An excellent setlist balanced between new material and old songs (especially from the albums »Wolfhear t« and »Irreligious«). An hour and a half of hypnosis. Like opium. A relentless, powerful hallucinogenic pill. The spell of the full moon shone over Graz long after the last notes of the closing Full Moon Madness had faded.
Moonspell are in excellent form. Not just artistically, but on stage too. Despite the show being marked by a poor turnout, they gave it everything. And visibly had a great time. And of course there were the usual anecdotes from drunk heads. From people in the front rows knocking over drinks, to demands that the band play songs they’d already played at that very same show half an hour earlier. The sound was good, only the keyboards up front were a bit less audible, but by the mixing desk at the back of the floor the sound was really nice. So Moonspell are a band that delivers the maximum. Perfectionists who are no strangers to a passionate approach. To everything they take on. They remain unique and unrepeatable on this planet. And the Graz stop of the current tour, the »Road to Extinction Tour«, confirmed that and then some.
Setlist
MOONSPELL:
1. La Baphomette (Intro)
2. Breathe (Until We Are No More)
3. Extinct
4. Night Eternal
5. Opium
6. Awake!
7. The Last of Us
8. Medusalem
9. Scorpion Flower
10. Malignia
11. Em Nome do Medo
12. Vampiria
13. Ataegina
14. Domina
15. Alma Mater
—encore—
16. Everything Invaded
17. The Future Is Dark
18. Full Moon Madness
Photo Gallery
