Moonspell

Born in Amadora, on the outskirts of Lisbon, Moonspell first appeared under the name Morbid God in the late 1980s before adopting its current identity in 1992. The Portuguese band started from a black metal base, quickly enriched with gothic, dark metal and atmospheric elements, with a writing that blends heavy riffs, keyboards, deep vocal lines and more extreme passages. Moonspell drew attention with the EP Under the Moonspell in 1994, then with the albums Wolfheart in 1995 and Irreligious in 1996, which firmly established its dark and melodic aesthetic on European metal stages. Around singer Fernando Ribeiro, Pedro Paixão and guitarist Ricardo Amorim, Moonspell later evolved its formula by incorporating, according to periods, more experimental, industrial or progressive touches, notably on Sin/Pecado in 1998 and The Butterfly Effect in 1999, before returning to a more direct gothic metal with The Antidote in 2003, Memorial in 2006, Night Eternal in 2008 and Extinct in 2015. The group has also developed a strong link with the Portuguese language and history, particularly on 1755 in 2017, fully sung in Portuguese and centered on the Lisbon earthquake. Still active with Hermitage in 2021, Moonspell has for more than three decades pursued a trajectory marked by international tours, regular festival presence and an identity immediately associated with the Portuguese scene.