Redcarmoose
Headphoneus Supremus
So 2015 has been a Moonspell kind of year. Fairly early in the year the little known by some, gothic metal band released the 2015 album named Extinct. They have a long history and many held over goth fans from the 1990s are still admiring the genre style.
I write the above because I don't think you would consider this band mainstream by current modern musical standards? Still their pure force and single mindedness launch the early 1990s sound into our 2015 musical mindset. How many gothic bands are left over? They say only the strongest survive.
Review of the 2012 double set CD Alpha Noir/Omega White:
This double set has a nice clear production with few tricks to distract our minds. The audio treatments are natural and sparse adding depth when needed. The whole spectrum of tones are represented here. Extinct which came out this year, takes more chances with production filters and backseat driving. Still Extinct ends up as a more commercial and accessible release. We have a cult release here. A release for the fans still around to hold and love.
The main disk/CD was Alpha Noir but a special edition gave the fans an extra complete masterpiece album. You know how special fan editions will have extra songs that don't really go with the album flow? This band released an entire extra fan album with it's own original sound and feel. Two labels released the single CD Alpha Noir and one very special label released this double CD set to the world.
I purchased Alpha Noir in 2012 and it was my first exposure to Moonspell. The production is noted as an experience in the aggressive extreme metal sound of the band Moonspell. After the cathartic sonic storm, we find a calm tranquil contemplating Omega White as the come down. Maybe the best result here is the band has decidedly split the musical ideas into two groups. This adds a spectacular flow to both albums. I can only imagine other musical groups doing this but shelving songs that do not choose to join the album aesthetic only to be released in a future album release.
Years ago musicians would complement bands by calling them tight. The term goes to explain how good the musicians play, how much they know each other and how much they practice to become a singular musical statement. Obviously simple songs are easy to become tight. Still even impromptu jam-outs can be described as tight at times.
Moonspell knows each other and the music just flows with a natural feel.
No Gothic jam-outs here, unless you go think giant cinematic orchestra themes are jam-outs. The sound of Alpha Noir is intense and extreme metal. We do have some soft vocals but only to accent and add contrast to the 90% growls. We are locked down to a 1990s syncopation ala Ultravox at times. Still the first noticed quality is profound drum and bass guitar interplay. The music is hard and stripped down with only the last song on Alpha Noir giving us any cinematic moods. Maybe my favorite add is a big effected guitar lead wash behind everything just washing and sweeping and sounding close to a synth. Again maybe no one knows this style anymore which makes the music unique and a novelty in today's music market. I could go onto point out old music that sounds like this but it's really unneeded as we all know the gothic sound and this IS an example of the definitive sound with a push forward making it current fresh and new.
Omega White is morning music, the kind you have with coffee and the mood it generates stays with-you throughout the rest of the day.
Starting Omega White we are greeted by some very faint musical sparkles, kind of letting know of the brightness to come. Instantly the contemplating vocals breaking off into big ballad territory like a ship upon the sea. Now we can understand all the words and realize it's poetry for us and our souls. Memorable catchy melodies and fun which some groupies like more than the original release. This is still fully gothic rock/metal and the openness of it all makes for an audiophile listen. If only this style of music could have come out in the day? Still you have to realize that maybe it's a maturity of style and still a strange music out of time. Three fourths of the way through we are greeted with piano keys and we come to realize this album flows better and contains consistency better than the main release. Just as the two albums balance each other every song on Omega White has a perfection of sorts. There is an un-pushed naturalness to the music like when a relationship is real. Fernando Ribeiro is multi-tracking his vocals singing along with himself as a choir. If you think this album is a fast cheap after thought, think again. This may actually be the main album here, hidden away from the consumer numbers, only to be found and heard by the few and worthy?
As listers we are surprised to find and adore our trip back in this audio time machine? If you think these tunes sound old and tired think again. This ends up being the definition of elite coolness, if only the musical masses were onto our cult of 1990s vocals and instumentation? This becomes our personal secret haven of sonics and full explanation of why this band has a small serious following or sorts. I'm now a loyal fan also, where is my long black coat, eye liner and big hair?
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