MOONSPELL - Far From God

The figure of the vampire, which has always influenced Moonspell's discography, returns to center stage after two albums ("1755" and "Hermitage") in which the Portuguese band had dealt with entirely different matters. Eggers' "Nosferatu", which met with mixed reception from audiences and critics alike, clearly stirred Fernando Ribeiro's imagination, drawing a parallel between the figure of the vampire and Nietzsche's philosophy. Far from God is the vampire who sets himself against the divine, no longer merely a gothic symbol or a horror icon, but a representation of man choosing to live far from God, fully embracing the weight of his own freedom, just as the Nietzschean superman takes shape after the death of God, autonomously building his own values. Thus the single "Far From God" uses the same lettering as Eggers' "Nosferatu", and the references become explicit.

Musically, the thirteenth album by these gothic metal standard-bearers represents a bold evolution that scales back the metal component to the bare minimum in order to heighten the atmosphere and bring out the decadent, romantic streak typical of nineteenth-century vampire literature. The opening track "Cross Your Heart", which begins with reverbed guitars firmly in post-rock territory, in the style of Mogwai, sounds like a revolution, an attempt to renew the usual metal clichés and push beyond them after thirty years of career.
"Far From God" picks back up the gothic rock style with the bass to the fore and slow, atmospheric guitars in the best dark tradition. Add to that Ribeiro's warm, powerful voice, and it's clear we're looking at one of the best dark tracks of the year. The fury of "Irreligious" is gone, but the ability to fuse music and literature - this time with clearly cinematic overtones - remains intact, without a trace of nostalgia for the Nineties.

Another track decidedly close to Mogwai's instrumental post-rock is "For The Love Of Mortals", slow and crepuscular, with pained lyrics that spell out the weight of the vampire's immortality, who ends up envying the mortality of men. "Our Freedom To Fall" is the only truly metal moment on the record, but slowed down to the point of bordering on doom. "Reconquista" closes the album with stretched-out, aggressive guitars, and the reconquest in question isn't Spain's historical one, but rather the reclaiming of freedom by that minority of men capable of turning away from God in order to draw closer to the truth.

We're in gothic metal territory here, but not the usual kind. An album that wants to surpass itself and become post. Post-gothic metal.

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01/08/2026