It’s been five years since Moonspell released their previous record, Hermitage, but the Portuguese pioneers have finally returned, as Gothic and darkly romantic as ever. Encompassing themes such as Baudelairian love, guilt and redemption, the thirteenth studio album, Far From God (Napalm Records), is driven by shadowy figures such as vampires, werewolves and other such creatures of the night, not to mention a healthy measure of symbolism.
Despite being from London, Cold in Berlin once again lives up to their name, as it conjures, stark, wintry urban landscape at night. Wounds (New Heavy Sounds) finds the band going further down the path they wandered down on their previous album, which found them more fully committing to their crossover into doom. The opening track of their new album blurs the lines even further, carrying a darker, more pulsating beat. Vocalist Maya belts things out with the expected intensity of her aching alto. The hypnotic pulse of “12 Crosses” shares some common ground with grunge from the nineties, as more exotic flourishes of atmosphere are also employed. Continue reading
Back with their tenth full-length studio release (eleven if you include Comalies XX, the reworked version of their 2002 breakthrough album) Italian alt/goth metal act Lacuna Coil return with Sleepless Empire (Century Media Records), one of their strongest records in years. Continue reading