Portugal's masters of gothic and progressive death metal return with Memorial, a dark and atmospheric album that also really kicks some serious ass. The band has spent much of the last few years on the road touring with the likes of Opeth, Cradle of FIlth, Type O Negative, Kreator, Amophis, and Samael, but the extra mileage that the band has acquired seems to have invigorated them, as Memorial shows the band as powerful and creative as ever.
There's a bevy of solid tunes here, like the dense and epic death metal meets gothic rock of "Memento Mori", or the intense prog rock piece "Finisterra", complete with gothic keyboards and growling vocals. There's lots of keyboards on the album to go along with the crushing guitar work, as both Pedro Paixao and Ricardo Amorim tackle that department very well. Vocalist Fernando Ribeiro is very adept at switching from intense growls to smooth gothic crooning, in many cases he adds both techniques in the course of one song. A song like "Upon the Blood of Men" features strong keyboard orchestrations, sledgehammer guitars, manic drum work from Mike Gaspar, and gravelly vocals from Ribeiro, all combining to give the music a rich and epic feel. Much of the lyrical content on the album deals with Portuguese history and literature, as Ribeiro is a very big proponent of both and likes to incorporate them into the music of Moonspell. Other standout tracks include the crushing & symphonic "At the Images of Pain", the clasically inspired prog rock instrumentals "Proliferation", "Sons of Earth", and "Mare Nostrum", and the gothic doom of "Luna", the latter featuring some haunting keyboards, guest female vocals, and melodic clean vocals from Ribeiro.
Memorial is yet another strong album from these Portuguese masters, and will no doubt please their expanding fan base. Get ready to get caught under the spell of the moon.
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
14. Atlantic
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