First and foremost, a necessary premise and reflection must be made regarding this "Under Satanæ". Indeed, throughout its duration and for all the songs comprising it, it is what filmmakers call a "Remake". A remake of songs that Moonspell had already released in 1992 concerning "Serpent Angel", which was, for those who don't know, the very first cry of a band, Morbid God, which then, through alchemical magic, became one of the most original and followed bands, for better or for worse, of the worldwide Gothic Metal scene with a different nomenclature, logically, and a wholly original and breathtaking attitude (at least for those times, one understands). As for the tracks that follow, they are composed of the content of the first demo tape printed in 1993 "Anno Satanæ", when they were already called Moonspell, and the subsequent mini-album "Under the Moonspell". So, nothing new under the sky, and purely for clarification.
The reflection, instead, is inherent in the fact that today, unfortunately for Moonspell, but also for us fans who have loved and followed them from the beginning, fifteen years have passed since those beginnings, and times have changed, for, there are those who say "credit", there are those who say "discredit" of the band itself that, almost with every release has lashed the listeners by taking a different artistic direction.
Beyond the fact that this can be at least disorienting, it takes nothing away from the merit of Moonspell in having innovated or invented a genre strand that many have appreciated and still appreciate (and I am among the latter), but at least one must be objective and recognize that recently, and I speak of this year that is passing, the band's creative streak is inexorably drying up.
It pains me to make this argument, but for honesty and logic, I come to no other conclusion. Otherwise, what sense would it make to release within a few months a collection of tracks ("The Silver Eye") that added absolutely nothing to their valuable discography, and that did not contain any new or interesting tracks that were not already published, and then a reissue of the very first songs, those, just to be clear, preceding "Wolfheart"?
Certainly, speaking of "Under Satanæ", the tracks have been remixed with today's technology, which Moonspell has drawn on plentifully, naturally being able to afford it, and they all sound gritty and pumped up, but the suspicion that Ribeiro and company want to blissfully and openly take us for a ride trying to squeeze a few extra bucks out of us remains, and cannot help but influence the judgment of those who listen to them or write about them. This is the classic album to download rather than buy in original, dedicated more to long-time enthusiasts than to those who met Moonspell with "Sin/Pecado" or, more recently, with "Memorial". And perhaps it was precisely the success of the latter that pushed the band to, as they say, "ride the wave", since Moonspell themselves and even more so their record label, will have noticed that the public follows them with greater passion and numbers when they interpret the hardest and darkest moments of their being, which then, to put it all, since we are in the mood for outbursts, are also the most inspired and full of charm.
Having made this long and perilous premise, let's move on to the contents. About these, no one disputes: the songs, for those who have never listened to them in the original, are all imbued with a style, of morbid and animalistic passion, which makes each more splendid than the last. No synthesizers placed at will to replace the harmonic sections, no twilight derived from today's living, just pure and "simple" gothic style drawing from multiple influences: from nordic-rooted Black Metal ("Serpent Angel"), to the tribal Mediterranean folklore, warm and sensual of Portugal, which can be found, for instance, in the prologue "Halla Alle Halla Al Rabka Halla (Praeludium/Incantatum Solistitium)", or in "Chorai Lusitânia! (Epilogus/Incantatam Maresia)", the only acoustic interlude, perhaps the most successful in Moonspell's career, of the whole album. The lapping of the sea, a guitar echoing lost and distant, a progression that becomes steadily sustained in its simplicity. And that's already all said.
There is still room for the band's more uncompromising and furious side, with tracks that closely resemble what Moonspell will be with "Wolfheart" and "Irreligious": a blasphemous and virile entity, endowed with such great talent as to be able to tune concepts that in their songs become synonyms for each other. So much so that death, satanism, sex, and lust, accompanied by nostalgia and pain make one, and they do it in a way that knows well how to fascinate and that can only leave one in awe.
These things are, naturally, part of the band's background but are a clear sign, thinking back to those times, of how much their versatility and their genius were a starting signal for other bands that then in the subsequent years made a big splash. And it is no joke. The class oozes from every note, from every passage in the songs, passing through the brutal and uncompromising mood of episodes like "Tenebrarum Oratorium (Andamento I/Erudit Compendyum)" or like "Tenebrarum Oratorium (Andamento II/Erotic Compendyum)", to finely chiseled moments of sensuality and hinted-at lust, as in "Opus Diabolicum (Andamento III/Instrumental Compendyum)", one of the most beautiful songs that Moonspell has ever composed, with an epic cadence as never before and a rhythm, towards the beginning, almost thrash-like.
Episodes. Stories that begin and end within a few minutes, and that tell of lovers lost in the dark, of ravenous wolves hunting their prey in paths with a misty and wind-swept atmosphere, of Hells opening in the sun-baked land of Portugal, terrible and never imaginable in those places. Stories that tell of many things. Original, fascinating, alluring, yet always with one foot firmly planted in a somber and blasphemous, rocky gothic style and well-aimed, which surely gives a superlative value to the band's predominant legacy. It is another example of this is "Goat of Fire", perhaps the best track of the lot, which is the summary and at the same time the culmination of the wonderful succession of atmospheres that pass here.
Decide for yourself. Certainly, fans will appreciate this work, and many, I'm willing to bet, will staunchly defend it, emphasizing the sublime quality of the content. Others instead, will turn their face and tell Moonspell all sorts of things, and they can't really be blamed, at least in this context. For my part, I appreciate it, but allow me not to share. I would have had more pleasure in listening to something new than something already heard and digested, but there it is. Even my rating reflects my opinion, as I imagine is fair. And this hurts me a lot, I confess. But don't be misled, it remains still a great performance, and I'm sure there will be someone who will appreciate it and see it differently than I do. I will be infinitely happy.
Tracklist and Lyrics
07 Goat on Fire (06:34)
'It is the dawn of a new morning at the Mountains of Silver
and I would rather live in the ice than in the middle of
the modern virtue and other southern winds'
(Friedrich Nietzsche)
When the cold winds blows the fog away
releasing dark shining shapes of a mystic forest.
I embrace the Nightfall
Old voices from ancient Witches announce
the gathering of thee
...The ones of a thousand young.
Here in the North... where We come forth to assemble.
Where I Knee unto thee...
Four times one and one are all.
The four crowned Princes of Hell.
The ones with the Sygil of Evil...
Witness... the Goat on Fire. Who feed my desire.
The Goat on Fire.
A goat with the Northern Ice.
A goat with the Southern Fire.
Rex Tenebrarum! The crow over my soul.
Tremendae Majestatis. The raven inside my Heart...
Four times one and one are all.
The four crowned princes of Hell
The ones with the Sygil of Evil...
Goat on Fire... Come feed my desire.
08 Ancient Winter Goddess (06:08)
A pure veil of darkness.
A mysterious fog.
The Moon is full.
And the Wolves you call.
Red as my blood it is the sky above us.
As I witness the arrival of the Winter Solstice.
And I cry from the abyss with the legions of Lilith.
Who grant me, son of Goat, the virtues of the black oath.
And I clime upon the Raven Mountain and yell.
Oh! Thunders of light and pyres of flames
- Fire is my domain -
Oh! Freezing breezes, rain and snow
- Winter is my domain -
Oh! White Whale, Leviathan
-Water is my domain-
Oh! Most beatiful moutains and forests
-The Earth and Air are my domain-
So I invocate: Eaaaaaaa! Winter rise!...
and the Ancient Winter Goddess rises
and sits in her throne of snow and stone.
Soon red will be the colour of the snow under us because
She have sent Her angels and the fury of Winter.
A cold morning will born and white is the sky above us.
And by the powers of Winter
Die!
09 Wolves From the Fog (07:03)
Hear the howling...
Narration:
As the light falls and darkness paints the sky in black, a cold Moon shines
And the red somber eyes awake, the forest whispers... Oh! Whispers my
Unholy name
From a frozen Mist I rise, I, Wolf, rise!
And my brothers will attack under this blood sign...
Wolves from the fog will join in a nocturnal operetta
When the wind sounds bohemia and the trumpets loud bacanal
Oh! Fausts and ninfs the joy of Nahima, Mistress of the Sabbat
Soon we'll be embraced by our father - the one with horns
Satan is rejoicing in pleasure destroying the shapes of flesh
...And once again from the fog, with horns on head came the Wolf
Carrying in is shoulder the sacrifice, a beauty to this Walpurgis Eve
As, to the somber image of our God, the Wolf with Horns I walk!
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Other reviews
By RobyMichieletto
It is distinctly perceived how black metal was projected beyond the teachings of the Scandinavian school, to embrace avant-garde metal, unconventional folk (with ethnic origins), and orchestral/symphonic influences.
‘Under Satanæ’ should be considered a tasteful tribute, capable of satisfying the morbid sound cravings of Moonspell’s followers while they await their next studio work.
By _Ozzy
This album, sadly, marks the end of my relationship with Moonspell.
Fernando Ribeiro, always the true star, is undeniably the focus of the album and it hurts to hear him sing bland and senseless melodies.