Moonspell

The Antidote (Century Media)
by Martin Popoff

Maintaining their reputation as artists above category, Moonspell create an album that contains yet eludes comparison to their sprawling, panoramic body of work. Suffice to say that The Antidote is a record of high relief, offering crunching, sinister chords jarred by modern gloomy passages that recall the Paradise Lost albums of recent years. Two prominent characteristics occur, however. One is the warm, thick, high volume rhythm section of Mike Gaspar’s often tribal drums and the front-in-mix guest bass work of Amorphis’ Niclas Etelavuori. The second being Ribeiro’s array of vocal personalities, especially his oft-used and very intimate and resonant David Sylvian croon.

These idiosyncrasies manage to add dimension to songs that are melodic, complexly dark, and almost Anathema-like in their measured use of riff. And even if a pointed analysis finds major bouncing-around between all forms of Gothic music – every new wave variety and every metal variety – Moonspell’s reputation, as well as the band’s distinct performances, create a cohesion between all these subgenre-smashing ideas. In fact, the cohesion is so complete, I sometimes find myself viewing the album as a collection of 100 parts that could’ve been configured any which way. That’s both good and bad, I suppose, even if it makes for a record that forces you to let it play all the way through.
(2323 W. El Segundo Blvd. Hawthorne, CA 90250)