Every album that Moonspell releases explores a different facet of their Gothic Metal style, sometimes responding to the one before it in a constant tug-o-war between darkness and light. Their thirteenth album, Hermitage (Napalm Records), is no exception. In contrast to the grandiose symphonics of 2018’s 1755, the band opts for a scaled-back, atmospheric approach with more Prog influence thrown in than usual. It seems to invoke the band’s early vibe without going full throwback and also reminds me of Tiamat or Opeth in spots.

 The band takes to the adjustment well, for the most part, putting in more grounded performances compared to their last couple of efforts. It’s nice to see the clean vocals return to prominence after being largely absent on 1755, phasing out the signature vampire croons for a more pleasant, introspective demeanor. From there, the keyboards and guitars shape the atmosphere with the latter in particular circling between dreamlike leads and acoustic strums along with the expected heaviness. The band’s penchant for letting their rhythm section shine is also on full display with the bass putting in as much power as the guitars and the drums rolling with the more abstract rhythms and structures.

Going along with that, the songwriting is some of their most abstract since the days of The Butterfly Effect. Unfortunately, this means there is considerably less emphasis on the hooks that made recent albums like Extinct and Alpha Noir so enjoyable. This isn’t necessarily a concern in itself, but the rather uniform mood can make the songs less memorable, particularly during the first half.

Fortunately, things do pick up during the second half. I give props to the instrumentals ‘Solitarian’ and ‘City Quitter (Outro)’ for completely giving way to the atmospherics and ‘Apophthegmata’ and ‘Without Rule’ for putting more subtle, electronic-oriented arrangements. ‘The Hermit Saints’ also features some solid vocal layers, even if the pacing is rather lethargic.

While Hermitage doesn’t reach the heights of Moonspell’s strongest works, it is nice to see them put in an adventurous late-era effort. The mix of Gothic Metal and Prog Rock is always nice to see and true to the band’s eclectic nature, they know how to get some solid textures out of it. As much as I would like to see some more immediate songwriting attached, it’s also clear that this is meant to be a grower with multiple listens. One can imagine it getting better but at least it makes for some pleasant listening in the meantime.

Buy the album here:  https://smarturl.it/Hermitage

7 / 10

CHRIS LATTA