Moonspell β Irreligious
- intothewellsabyss
- Jul 29, 2023
- 3 min read
π πππ πππ ππππππ - πππππππππππ ππππ πππππ ππππππππ π’π§ ππ‘π πππππππ π¨πΒ ππππ ππππ & πππππ πππππβ¦
July 29, 1996 β Moonspell released their second full-length studio album, Irreligious via Century Media Records. (Apple Music or Spotify)
Personal Note:
This was the first release by Moonspell that I ever purchased, which was shortly after itβs release. A local neighborhood acquaintance of mine used to go to record stores every month and make bulk purchases of CDβs, mostly of bands that he was unfamiliar with, just to expose himself to new music. Whenever he bought something that he did not like, he would call me up on the phone and tell me to come pick out what I wanted. I must have purchased over 50 to 60 albums from him due to these bulk purchases. Needless to say, his loss was my gain. As for Irreligious; Boy, am I glad I picked up the phone on that day! I have been a die-hard fan of Moonspell ever since I blindly purchased this album! β E.N. Wells
Background:
For 1996's Irreligious, the band again recorded with producer Waldemar Sorychta. While the previous album was considered Black Metal, this one fell into the genre of Gothic Metal. The song Opium (Watch video) became the first Moonspell single. It quoted one of Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa's heteronyms, Γlvaro de Campos, on his poem OpiΓ‘rio. The album was promoted by the music video for Opium (the first Moonspell video), which contained imagery of a 19th-century-looking opium den. The music video featured the character of the poet writing in the βπππππ πππβ with the band playing. Along with the release of the album in a convent, the Convento do Beato, there were factors that helped the band sell 10,000 copies of the album in their homeland.
Irreligious features some of the best-known songs of the band, such as Opium, Ruin & Misery, Awake! and Full Moon Madness. The latter is usually the closing song during almost every Moonspell concert, which over time has become a characteristic of their concerts. Before the song begins, Fernando Ribeiro often makes the sign of the circle (symbolizing Moon) over the crowd. The third track, Awake!, features a recording of Aleister Crowley reading his poem The Poet.
Moonspell commented on their social media on July 19, 2022 in regards the day being the anniversary of the release of Irreligious. Here is what they had to sayβ¦
βπππ ππππππππ’ π πππππ πππ π ππ ππππππππ ππ πππππ’ (July 19, 2022) ππ πΈππππππππππ' πΈπΌππ πππππππππππ’ πππ π π ππππ ππππππ.
π° πππ ππ ππππππ π πππ π ππππππ πππ ππππ πππππ ππππ πππ. πΆπππ πππ πππ πππ ππ-ππ, π’ππ πππ ππππ πππππ ππππ ππ π πππππ πππππππ πππ ππ π π πππππ ππππ’ π πππ ππ πππππ πππππ ππππ πππ π π πππ πππππ ππππ ππππ πππππ πππ π πππππππ ππππππ π πππ ππ π ππ ππππππππππ’ ππππππππ ππππ ππ π·πΏπΏπΌ ππ πππ ππππ ππ πΆπππππ πΌππππ. β MOONSPELL
Fun facts from Moonspell about this album:
β’ It was supposed to be called Fullmoon Madness and not Irreligious.
β’ It was Ricardo's first studio album with us.
β’ It was Ares last album with us.
β’ We got to support the mighty Type O Negative for their October Rust tour in Europe.
β’ Raven Claws is not inspired by Harry Potter but by Jim Morrisonβs (The Doors) poetry "ππ ππππππ ππ πππππ ππππ π".
β’ Opium was a German Radio DJ's favorite and made it even into karaoke lists in pubs.
β’ We always hated the cover artwork but got used to it throughout the years.
(πππππππ πππππ πππ)
Critical Reception:
AllMusicβs Stephen Thomas Erlewine had this to say about Irreligious;
βπΌππππππππβπ πΈππππππππππ ππππππππ ππππ πππ πΏπππππππππ ππππ πππ π πππππ ππ ππππππ’, ππππππ πΌππππ πππ ππππ π πππ ππ ππππππ ππππππππππ, ππππππππ ππππππ. π·ππ ππππ, ππ ππππ ππππππ ππππ πππ πππππ ππ πππππ ππππππππππ ππ π ππππ πππππ πππ ππππ πππππππππ πππππ. πΉπππππ ππ ππππ πππππ, πΈππππππππππ ππ π πππ πππππ πππππ ππ ππππππππ πππ ππ, πππ ππ πππ πππππππ ππ πππ-ππππ πΌππππ ππππ π πππ ππππ πππ ππππππππ ππ ππππ πππππππ πππππ πππππ’, πππππππππ ππππππ.β
πΈππππππππππ ππ πΌππππππππβπ πΌπππππ ππ πΏππππππ β Miland "Mille" Petrozza, Kreator
Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. β E.N. Wells
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