Moonspell – Alpha Noir – Album Review

When a band have been around for 20 years, you can be pretty sure you’re going to hear a solid record. Portugal’s Moonspell are no exception to this rule with the release of Alpha Noir, a follow up to 2008′s Night Eternal.

The press release for the album emblazons the phrase ‘Dark Metal’ throughout. The atmosphere created on the album is very dark for the duration, showing that the frequent nods to ‘dark metal’ is no understatement. The vocals are well produced and sound rich, very heavy and backed by an incredibly experienced band, Moonspell have created a quality record.

Opening the album, a swirl of guitars can be heard before some break neck riffing and some hellish growls. The middle section of ‘Axis Mundi’ has a whiff of modern day Opeth; a delicate vocal and piano interlude provides a quieter moment before the onslaught continues. Other high points include the title track and ‘Em Nome Do Medo’, which are placed right in the middle of the album. Both provide pummelling, driving riffs with solid drumming, creating that all important aforementioned ‘dark sound’.

For all the positives in this album, of which there are many, I found myself feeling slightly (just slightly) underwhelmed at times. The songs build well, the riffs are solid and, as previously noted, the vocals are great. With the build I feel myself getting excited, wondering what is going to happen, but the pay off rarely happens. Some tracks seem to finish a little abruptly and they seem to lack that killer punch.

All in all, the record is solid, but without sounding too down on the album, it was just lacking that little something that could have made it great.

Track Listing

1. Axis Mundi (4:56)
2. Lickanthrope (3:49)
3. Versus (4:39)
4. Alpha Noir (4:30)
5. Em Nome Do Medo (4:27)
6. Opera Carne (3:52)
7. Love is Blasphemy (4:31)
8. Grandstand (4:53)
9. Sine Missione (4:57)