Sadly, we’d been less than impressed by Moonspell when they played Metal Hammer Paradise the day before, but when they’re kind enough to visit our hometown of Copenhagen, you can be sure we’ll be there to see them.
The question was, how were they going to fare here..?

“It’s great to be back in Copenhagen! Here night is eternal!”
- Fernando Ribeiro (vocals)

Already when the band entered the stage, there was a loud cheer coming from the crowd. Copenhagen was obviously ready for Moonspell, and despite a somewhat generically sounding comment to the affect, Moonspell looked genuinely happy to be here. Fernando Ribeiro even took down a short tour of memory lane, going back to their first visit here back in 1995, supporting Morbid Angel. Apparently, there were two in the crowd tonight that had also seen them at that show, and no, it wasn’t me, as my first encounter with the band was at the 1998 Roskilde Festival. But that’s neither here nor there.
Not only did Moonspell seem to be happy to be here, they also looked like they were enjoying performing again, and that was great to see! Especially Aires Pereira had livened up a lot, and was using the entirety of the stage, not just his little corner of it. In general, they all looked a lot more into it this night, and Ribeiro was more relaxed and talkative.

The enthusiasm kept being mirrored in the crowd as well, as the fans were happy to be led by Ribeiro into raising their fists and voices, something we were invited to do already in opening song Opium, but again several times during the set.
The set itself was a little surprising - not so different from the day before, but still - with the weight of the songs coming from Irreligious and Extinct, and entirely skipping several albums and live staples. I always have a soft spot for Finisterra, but The Future Is Dark being one of the less played choices fit well in as well and allowed for a good sing along, and it was of course fun that the breathing theme carried over to Breathe (Until We Are No More) which came straight after.
The sing along was of course strongest in the two classic closing tracks, Alma Mater and Full Moon Madness - Alma Mater being dedicated to the above mentioned two fans from days long past, and Full Moon Madness dedicated to the other bands on the tour. Given that these were the last songs, the band truly went all in here, with Hugo Ribeiro standing up while playing the drums, and Fernando Ribeiro joining him on crashing some cymbals in the latter song.
The show was rounded off in style with Pereira enthusiastically handing out plectres and setlists to anyone he could reach.

Given all this, it’s safe to say that Moonspell fared pretty damned well here in Copenhagen. They actually managed to blow us away, taking us completely by surprise with how much better this show was than the one the day before. This is exactly how we like Moonspell, and we were happy to see them giving it their all again.

Setlist:

Opium
Awake!
Extinct
Night Eternal
Finisterra
Everything Invaded
The Future Is Dark
Breathe (Until We Are No More)
Alma Mater
Full Moon Madness