MOONSPELL's FERNANDO RIBEIRO: 'We Never Expected To Have Any Kind Of Success'

In a recent interview with Finland's Rockin Häkissä, vocalist Fernando Ribeiro of Portuguese dark metal pioneers MOONSPELL spoke about the band's latest album, "Far From God", which was released on July 3 via Napalm Records. Asked if there were any "challenges" during the making of the record, Fernando said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think it's always challenging for a band that is going to be 35 years next year to make new music. You always wonder if there is room for our new music because we have such great albums in the past and such a legacy and such great memories with the fans, starting from 'Wolfheart' up to 'Hermitage'. So it took us a while from the last album that was out in 2021, even though we recorded in 2020, so it's, like, five, six years, to understand what kind of music, what kind of style would MOONSPELL want to pursue because we have a lot of musical different proposals in the albums. But once we got ourselves into, 'Let's make a gothic metal album,' very simple, very laid back, very atmospheric, very melodic, we started writing very fast. So even though there's five years [between] the release of the last album, 'Hermitage', to 'Far From God', we were quite busy touring. We did an album with the symphonic orchestra as well. We did all kinds of stuff. But all of those were also steps to make 'Far From God' into an album that we are very proud of, an album of its time, an album that sounds really much like MOONSPELL, that has our signature all over it, and also an album that is getting a great response from the fans because they identify more MOONSPELL with this kind of music than probably when we experiment."

Fernando added: "I think there's room for everything, and I think we're very happy about this album. It's a solid album — eight songs, and they all sound powerful. They all sound legit. So far so good. I mean, we're very thankful. It's our fourteenth studio album, so we don't take anything for granted. But the response is massive."

After the interviewer noted that it must be "hard" trying to come up with new music for a fourteenth studio album that doesn't sound like a rehash of the material that MOONSPELL has already released, Fernando concurred. "I think that's the tricky part for every band," he explained. "But you have to love it, and you have to do it with proximity. MOONSPELL is very old school when writing. We don't write remotely. We have all to be — the three, and then the five of us, plus the producer — on the room to make the so-called magic happen. I think first you have to have a curious mind, listening to music, reading books, paying attention to what happens in the world, what happens with people, what happens with love, death, all these big themes from heavy metal and gothic culture. Then you really have to set yourself in a mood to make it happen, in a way.

"I don't think there is a formula or a secret," he continued. "I think one thing that helps with MOONSPELL is that we don't do an album just to go on the road. We try to avoid that agenda that kind of grinds the creativity of bands, which is two years on tour, one album, two years on tour, and that didn't happen with MOONSPELL. It was a hard process because, of course, we are a professional band. We have to keep on the road. We have to keep releasing new stuff. But our label, Napalm Records, they were very understanding. I told them, 'I know this is not very up to date,' because bands just go and probably they just do an album without being ready. But for us it's very important to bide the time and also to be ready. I think that brought a lot of good things about 'Far From God'. But music is no secret. You have to love it. You have to love it, and when you love it, you will find the way. We had a lot of doubts about this album, and all the doubts we had, they were answered by music itself, not by agendas or plans or record labels. It just happens, in a way. But for us, what makes the difference is when we are together in the room. I think that's where the music happens."

"Music is a collective thing," Fernando added. "I don't believe very much in doing it solo or doing it without the band. That wouldn't be something I would see for myself. Music is a big process. It's a simple thing, but it's also complex because you have to think about a lot of stuff. But when you overthink it — you have to do it to a certain limit. When you overthink it, it's already being bad to you, so you have to come back and do the feeling.

"We come from Portugal. We never expected to have any kind of success, so we have a different feeling about being in a band than many bands, like, for instance, from Finland or Sweden where there are so many successful bands. For us it's a big privilege. It's a big honor, and we have to do stuff with a lot of quality because people will not look to Portugal, unfortunately, for metal or for rock music. They will look to other countries. So when they contact with the Portuguese bands such as MOONSPELL or other bands, you really have to be really good at what you do. Otherwise they will just discard you."

"Far From God" was produced by Jaime Gomez Arellano, who has previously worked with PARADISE LOST, GHOST and SÓLSTAFIR.

Arellano initially worked with MOONSPELL in the band's own studio before moving on to his Orgone Studios for the actual "Far From God" recording.

Photo credit: Chantik Photography by Sonja Schuringa