FERNANDO RIBEIRO On Upcoming MOONSPELL Album: 'It's A Very Atmospheric, Very Gothic Metal' Record With 'Beautiful Songs' And 'Strong, Catchy Choruses'

In a recent interview with Poland's MetalSide, vocalist Fernando Ribeiro of Portuguese goth overlords MOONSPELL spoke about the band's upcoming follow-up to 2021's "Hermitage" album, tentatively due this summer via Napalm Records. Asked how many songs MOONSPELL was planning to record for the LP, Fernando said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I think we are going to make between eight or 10 songs. We don't want a very long album this time. I prefer quality over quantity."

As for the musical direction of the new MOONSPELL material, Fernando said: "It was the big question for us: Why should we do a new MOONSPELL album, with all the legacy that we've been talking about, and which direction should it be? Because it's a question for us too. And so we let all these years go by between 'Hermitage' and the new album. But I think, if I can describe it well, it's a very atmospheric, very gothic metal album. It's a very classical album from MOONSPELL. And also the lyrical side is very fantasy-like, very literature-oriented. That's what we needed as musicians, and that's also what we think — we might be wrong because it's always a challenge for us to know what the fans want — I think that's what the fans are looking for. It's beautiful songs, strong, catchy choruses, heaviness mixed with atmosphere."

He continued: "I wouldn't say it's our best album. I mean, I'm done with this conversation — best album, worst album. It really depends on the zeitgeist. I think 'Hermitage' is a great album — great reviews, great sales, but many also complaints with the fans, and many people loving it too. So I believe this will be a more consensual album, but what do I know? So I just say personally, from what I gather now, from everything we worked, from the project we did, the demo, et cetera, we are all very, very enthusiastic and very happy about the album. Let's see how it translates to the audience, but I think it's gonna be one of the best moments of MOONSPELL, yeah."

This past January, Fernando wrote in a social media post that the new MOONSPELL album "almost finished" and that he and his bandmates were putting the "finishing" touches on the mixes for the effort.

In a separate social media post, Fernando wrote: "This new MOONSPELL album was quite the ride yet now it's tracked and recorded and will enter a new phase, before public scrutiny in summer 2026.

"This time I thought we could never do new music again. I did it for many reasons I will explain more in detail. To cut a long sorry short, I'm just happy that we will now bring something new to our fans and that we could actually get together at least one more time to do so.

"When I say it's a do-or-die album [for MOONSPELL], I don't mean it's the last one we gonna do. But the special feeling that fuels this one has to be met with love, kindness and why not, worship by the people who follow us.

"I had enough of micromanagement, harsh criticism, gatekeeping or gaslighting. Sure it can go that way as it has been for most MOONSPELL released music but this one I'll fight for because it is indeed a jewel I've been keeping inside for many years."

Last October, Fernando told Denis Denisdriver about MOONSPELL's upcoming LP: "And what kind of music will it be? Our last album, full-length, it's from 2021, so it's gonna be five years since we released new music. But we had to prepare ourselves, too, and we had to prepare our audience. So we already wrote all the album. We're gonna record it in December. It's coming out in the summer of 2026. I think in March you can already see the first single and the first video clip that we are gonna [film], I think, in January."

Regarding the musical direction of the new MOONSPELL material, Fernando said: "We'd done so much and we had so much musical experience and extensions, et cetera, that we felt in our heart that we had to do a very classic album. So it's a gothic metal album. I don't know if it's 'Irreligious Part Two' or whatever — it's not the terms we are thinking — but it's beautiful songs, romantic songs, melancholic songs with great riffs, great solos, great atmosphere, lyrics about fiction and fantasy. So we are very, very happy with the result of the songwriting. Now we're going to record it, and we can't wait for our fans to discover new songs about MOONSPELL, because I think it's high time they do that. I'm curious about their reaction, as always, but I think we're gonna have a great time together when the new album is out and when we take it on the road and on the festivals."

Fernando went on to say that he and his MOONSPELL bandmates are "very lucky" to "still [have] the drive to do new music and to have such a beautiful past and such an unpredictable past because I never thought that the MOONSPELL could be a professional band and tour and have fans all around the world. It was too good to be true when we were starting off in Portugal — especially coming out of Portugal that nobody had ever done it before us."

In November 2024, Fernando told IMPACT Metal Channel that "Hermitage" was "a complicated album because it got swallowed by the pandemic. It had beautiful reviews. It sold quite a lot because people were at home, so they found that was the way of supporting the band. We were met with mixed feelings, which is not new for MOONSPELL. I have mixed feelings about our albums, too. But this album, it was [conceived] before the pandemic, but then it was really affected by the zeitgeist of the pandemic. Everybody thought it was a pandemic album, and that wasn't good for the album… 'Irreligious' is going to be 30 years in 2026, so we can make celebrations around it. But let's say the big issue here, it's the pertinence of the album, of making new music, that is not made to fulfill a cycle of an album, two years of touring, another album. I think that kind of kills the creativity, at least for MOONSPELL. And also we have to answer, with music, to the why of making a new album. 'Cause we have so many albums, so many musical avenues we've pursued that it's, for us, hard to pick which MOONSPELL is coming next. But I want an album that doesn't need to grow on people. I want an album that speaks volumes to the fans and that they probably will say, 'Well, that's it.' So, I think it's a very important album. That's why we are stalling it so much."

October 26, 2024 saw MOONSPELL perform its first-ever symphonic show, dubbed "Opus Diabolicum", at the MEO Arena in Lisbon, Portugal's capital city. The band made history at this unforgettable live event, adding another magnificent chapter to both metal music made in Portugal and their very own legacy. A year later — on October 31, 2025 — this monumental event was made available to view anytime, available in DVD/Blu-ray, two-CD, black and colored vinyl and digital formats via Napalm Records.

On "Opus Diabolicum", MOONSPELL revisited its classics and its bombastic album "1755" at a one-off, exclusive show and its biggest production to date. The heavy metallic power of the dark metal pioneers met the classical magnitude of the 45-piece Orquestra Sinfonietta de Lisboa (Lisbon Sinfonietta Orchestra) — one of Portugal's finest orchestras — conducted by maestro Vasco Pearce de Azevedo.

In September 2022, MOONSPELL released a very special Blu-ray/DVD and album, a live performance of their latest studio album, "Hermitage", with "From Down Below - Live 80 Meters Deep" via Napalm Records.

"Hermitage" was released in February 2021 via Napalm Records. The LP was recorded, mixed and mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano (PARADISE LOST, PRIMORDIAL, GHOST, SÓLSTAFIR) at the Orgone Studios in the U.K.

In 2020, MOONSPELL parted ways with original drummer Miguel "Mike" Gaspar and replaced him with Hugo Ribeiro (no relation to Fernando Ribeiro).

Press photo credit: Rui Vasco (courtesy of Jassy of Decibel Touring)