Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Single Review: Moonspell "All Or Nothing" (Napalm Records) by Dave Wolff

Band: Moonspell
Country: Portugal
Genre: Gothic metal
Single: All Or Nothing
From their upcoming album “Hermitage”, available on Napalm Records February 26, 2020
Release date: January 21, 2021
We’re getting older in what the Chinese might call “interesting times”. For some, it’s a time of introspection, for others to continue drawing from what ignited them in their youth. Filmed in an empty Portuguese theater, Moonspell’s video for “All Or Nothing” is a spark of solace and hope in the midst of darkness and solitude that settled over us in 2020. This is the third single from their next album “Hermitage” (following “The Greater Good” and “Common Prayers”), which will likely be the most important statement the band has made yet. Moonspell has released twelve albums since 1992, and “Hermitage” will resonate with approaching the conclusion of a long journey, one not quite over. The mournful melodies of “All Or Nothing” represent retaining exuberance and creativity in the midst of all emptiness. For those who relate to it, the song personalizes and manifests the joy and sorrow gothic metal celebrates, and sentience that will always persist no matter how deeply buried or thoroughly silent it seems to be. It curses the darkness by lighting a candle. The darker the darkness, the brighter the flame. Making no pretense of being young at heart, “All Or Nothing” is autobiographical and intimate, which makes it easy to speak to the listener on a deeply personal level. The song is morose and heart-rending in its depiction of entering the winter of life. But older is wiser if your life was full and you intended to leave your own mark on it. If you had something to say and the courage to say it, if you forgot conventionality and created for its own sake, and your creation is human, this brings joy, dignity, and meaning to your twilight years. If events of the past year left you disheartened and questioning the point of pursuing your bliss, this single will remind you what the underground is about and why an underground even exists. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:
Fernando Ribeiro: Vocals
Ricardo Amorim: Guitars
Pedro Paixão: Keyboards, samples, programming
Aires Pereira: Bass
Hugo Ribeiro: Drums

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