MOONSPELL vocalist Fernando Ribeiro has spoken about the long road to "Far From God," the Portuguese band's fourteenth studio album, released July 3 via Napalm Records.
Asked by Finland's Rockin Häkissä about the challenges of the record, Ribeiro started with the obvious one: legacy. "It's always challenging for a band that is going to be 35 years next year to make new music," he said. "You always wonder if there is room for our new music, because we have such great albums in the past and such a legacy and such great memories with the fans, starting from 'Wolfheart' up to 'Hermitage.'"
The gap between albums — five years since 2021's "Hermitage" — came down to deciding what MOONSPELL wanted to be this time. Once they settled the question, the writing broke open. "Once we got ourselves into, 'Let's make a gothic metal album,' very simple, very laid back, very atmospheric, very melodic, we started writing very fast," Ribeiro said. In the meantime the band toured heavily and recorded an album with a symphony orchestra, all of which he frames as steps toward the new record rather than detours from it.
"It's our fourteenth studio album, so we don't take anything for granted," he added. "But the response is massive."
Ribeiro was equally clear about how the band works: in a room, together, the old way. "MOONSPELL is very old school when writing. We don't write remotely. We have all to be — the three, and then the five of us, plus the producer — in the room to make the so-called magic happen." Beyond that, he says, there is no formula: "You have to have a curious mind, listening to music, reading books, paying attention to what happens in the world, what happens with people, what happens with love, death, all these big themes from heavy metal and gothic culture."
He credits Napalm Records with resisting the industry's standard cycle. "We don't do an album just to go on the road. We try to avoid that agenda that kind of grinds the creativity of bands, which is two years on tour, one album, two years on tour," he said. "I told them, 'I know this is not very up to date'… But for us it's very important to bide the time and also to be ready."
Then came the line that explains a great deal about the band's 35-year work ethic. "We come from Portugal. We never expected to have any kind of success, so we have a different feeling about being in a band than many bands, like, for instance, from Finland or Sweden where there are so many successful bands," Ribeiro said. "For us it's a big privilege. It's a big honor, and we have to do stuff with a lot of quality, because people will not look to Portugal, unfortunately, for metal. So when they contact the Portuguese bands such as MOONSPELL or other bands, you really have to be really good at what you do. Otherwise they will just discard you."
"Far From God" was produced by Jaime Gomez Arellano, whose credits include PARADISE LOST, GHOST and SÓLSTAFIR. He began working with MOONSPELL at the band's own studio before moving the sessions to his Orgone Studios.