Moonspell
Godset, Kolding - 2019
Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen
So far, we’d gone across the country to a town and concert hall we’d never visited before. For our troubles, we’d had two excellent support shows, and now it was time for main act Moonspell to bring it home.
“Good evening Kolding, Denmark!”
- Fernando Ribeiro (vocals)
Moonspell was still touring for their 1755 album from two years ago, and thus it was a very similar set up that greeted us. The broken cathedral backdrop, the two large stone crosses (one toppled over, the other standing erect), and Pedro Paixão’s pipe-organ looking keyboard decoration. Nothing new, but still a nice and mood setting surrounding for the show to unravel in.
Out of the speakers tolled a lone church bell, and deep rumblings lay underneath. Paixão and Miguel Gaspar were ready by their respective instruments, and when they started playing the new version of Em Nome Do Medo, Ribeiro walked on in a dazed and confused way, holding a lantern up to see through the dark. Still a good and atmospheric way to open, and fitting for the theme of 1755.
Em Nome Do Medo turned out to be a half-breed bastardisation between the new 1755 version, and the original Alpha Noir version, as Ricardo Amorim and Aires Pereira joined the others on stage about halfway through, and amplified the track with some well-placed distorted amplification.
The title track, 1755, and In Tremor Dei quickly followed suit, and we could see that we were in safe hands and off to a good start. After setting down the lantern, Ribeiro continued with the theatrics by donning a plague-doctor mask for a song, and even after this, he left his performance be bigger than life - always moving, always being expressive in face and body.
Paixão seemed to be in an unusually good mood as well, as he smiled and danced behind his keyboard - this is the first time I believe I’ve seen him completely forsake the guitar though, focusing solely on his keyboards. This meant there was a bit of sampling going on of course, to fill in for the missing string instrument, yet while I’d have preferred to have it live, it was ok for the purpose.
Amorim was a ball of energy as always, rocking out wildly, while maintaining a good connection with the crowd all the while, and while being naturally busy during the songs, it was nice to see Gaspar stand up once or twice between songs, so he could have a better view of the crowd, and vice versa.
The only one looking a bit introverted was Amorim. He played well, and he was rocking along to the music, but only once did I see him fully look up, and take the crowd in. It would have been nice with a bit more connection from his side as well.
Godset was still as full as it had been for Rotting Christ, and people were enthusiastically cheering the band on between songs. There was some headbanging going as well, especially during the faster, harder tracks, but Moonspell is by nature calmer than Rotting Christ, and this was of course reflected in the response they got. I’m not saying the response was bad, but people had more of a tendency to stand and take the experience in now.
Still, Ribeiro was a good frontman, and held the crowd’s attention by being very talkative between songs. He only made one misstep, and that was in leading into the pre-encore break. Here, he made a joke about having to cut their set short, due to people needing to catch the last public transportation home after the show. Apparently, several people believed him, and when the band came back after the break to continue the set, less than half the crowd was still in the room with them. Ooops, is a term that comes to mind.
Moonspell were professional about it though, and didn’t let the decrease in fans faze them. They continued on with Todos Os Santos and ended the show in traditional stylish fashion with the evergreen Full Moon Madness.
Moonspell had brought it home, and together with Rotting Christ and Silver Dust, they had constructed and delivered one very impressive night of music. The only way possible process all this, was to try it out again, something we intended to do the very next night.
Setlist:
Em Nome Do Medo
1755
In Tremor Dei
Opium
Awake!
Night Eternal
Breathe (Until We Are No More)
Everything Invaded
Mephisto
Vampiria
Alma Mater
Todos Os Santos
Full Moon Madness
“Good evening Kolding, Denmark!”
- Fernando Ribeiro (vocals)
Moonspell was still touring for their 1755 album from two years ago, and thus it was a very similar set up that greeted us. The broken cathedral backdrop, the two large stone crosses (one toppled over, the other standing erect), and Pedro Paixão’s pipe-organ looking keyboard decoration. Nothing new, but still a nice and mood setting surrounding for the show to unravel in.
Out of the speakers tolled a lone church bell, and deep rumblings lay underneath. Paixão and Miguel Gaspar were ready by their respective instruments, and when they started playing the new version of Em Nome Do Medo, Ribeiro walked on in a dazed and confused way, holding a lantern up to see through the dark. Still a good and atmospheric way to open, and fitting for the theme of 1755.
Em Nome Do Medo turned out to be a half-breed bastardisation between the new 1755 version, and the original Alpha Noir version, as Ricardo Amorim and Aires Pereira joined the others on stage about halfway through, and amplified the track with some well-placed distorted amplification.
The title track, 1755, and In Tremor Dei quickly followed suit, and we could see that we were in safe hands and off to a good start. After setting down the lantern, Ribeiro continued with the theatrics by donning a plague-doctor mask for a song, and even after this, he left his performance be bigger than life - always moving, always being expressive in face and body.
Paixão seemed to be in an unusually good mood as well, as he smiled and danced behind his keyboard - this is the first time I believe I’ve seen him completely forsake the guitar though, focusing solely on his keyboards. This meant there was a bit of sampling going on of course, to fill in for the missing string instrument, yet while I’d have preferred to have it live, it was ok for the purpose.
Amorim was a ball of energy as always, rocking out wildly, while maintaining a good connection with the crowd all the while, and while being naturally busy during the songs, it was nice to see Gaspar stand up once or twice between songs, so he could have a better view of the crowd, and vice versa.
The only one looking a bit introverted was Amorim. He played well, and he was rocking along to the music, but only once did I see him fully look up, and take the crowd in. It would have been nice with a bit more connection from his side as well.
Godset was still as full as it had been for Rotting Christ, and people were enthusiastically cheering the band on between songs. There was some headbanging going as well, especially during the faster, harder tracks, but Moonspell is by nature calmer than Rotting Christ, and this was of course reflected in the response they got. I’m not saying the response was bad, but people had more of a tendency to stand and take the experience in now.
Still, Ribeiro was a good frontman, and held the crowd’s attention by being very talkative between songs. He only made one misstep, and that was in leading into the pre-encore break. Here, he made a joke about having to cut their set short, due to people needing to catch the last public transportation home after the show. Apparently, several people believed him, and when the band came back after the break to continue the set, less than half the crowd was still in the room with them. Ooops, is a term that comes to mind.
Moonspell were professional about it though, and didn’t let the decrease in fans faze them. They continued on with Todos Os Santos and ended the show in traditional stylish fashion with the evergreen Full Moon Madness.
Moonspell had brought it home, and together with Rotting Christ and Silver Dust, they had constructed and delivered one very impressive night of music. The only way possible process all this, was to try it out again, something we intended to do the very next night.
Setlist:
Em Nome Do Medo
1755
In Tremor Dei
Opium
Awake!
Night Eternal
Breathe (Until We Are No More)
Everything Invaded
Mephisto
Vampiria
Alma Mater
Todos Os Santos
Full Moon Madness
Moonspell
