I’m so thankful this day has come. After receiving the 2021 promo for Hermitage, Moonspell dropped cryptic hints of their possible retirement. Maybe that was from the exhaustion and depression that most felt during those days of COVID. Thankfully, this ominous possibility has not yet come true. Instead, after nearly 35 years in the business, these sexy Portuguese bois are dropping their fourteenth full-length album, Far from God. Typically, a wildly prolific band, this album and its predecessor developed over years instead of the mere one-to-two-year window we usually see. While Hermitage didn’t fare as well as I’d hoped, we did see a significant shift back to clear-cut songwriting, dropping the orchestral bloating, reminiscent of albums like Night Eternal and 1755. Apparently, that was only phase one of their quest to strip their music of the thick symphonics in favor of their older, straightforward gothic approach, because I haven’t heard anything like this in a long time.
No one likes to hear from a reviewer that a band has returned to their roots only to be disappointed by how utterly false that is. I won’t do that today. But, I will say, Far from God is the closest the band has come to sounding like their earlier selves. Back in the day, when vampire and werewolf love was sexy as hell, and I only needed one bone in my body to be rigid. Those days when less was moar, and not even the worst of moods could lower the moisture saturating the air. While I scoffed at the promotional materials calling this new record the “Irreligious of the 21st century,” the description ain’t that far off. No, it’s not Irreligious, nor will it ever be, but one would be hard-pressed to ignore the back-to-basics attitude the record emits.
“Cross Your Heart” displays this reversion to 1990s Moonspell nicely. With a slick groove draped in a melodic, key atmosphere, the opener sets the mood for the rest of the record. Ribeiro’s classic, gothic croons haven’t felt this right in some time, and the ascent to the chorus is calm, simplistic, and utterly Moonspell. It restrains itself from being over-the-top and never overshares, regardless of the number of spins. It also has an uplifting quality that leaves you smiling even after it concludes. On the flip side, you have “Biblical,” with its infectious chorus and silly attitude. Silly because the lovey-dovey vocals are just siwwy. You’ll also notice the massive bass presence on this song. Hold on tight, this is only the beginning.
For those who love the hopeless romantic side of Moonspell, go no further than “Your Promise of Light.” Call these sappy, gothic passion pieces lame all you want, but Moonspell (and Type O Negative) is a master of it. The drums propel this song through a nifty guitar lick before the super-soft vocals arrive. The moment you think you can’t chill even more, the chorus hits and cripples you in the best way possible—just an absolutely gorgeous piece.
What you’ll notice as you progress is that the guitars aren’t as riffy as on previous records. The guitars are there, obviously, but they are more surgical, adding depth to the song’s ambiance than anything. Which is as old-school as it gets when you truly explore the band’s debut work. But that all changes with the back-to-back “Our Freedom to Fall” and “Reconguista.” Both are heavy motherfuckers. The first has that addictive Type O Negative chug they made so famous, and the first full chorus of harsh vocals. The instrumentation starts to make a turn into balls-to-the-walls territories that hammer away at the back-end of the album. But the closing “Reconquista” is an epic bruiser. Wrapped in atmospheric beauty, Ribeiro adds a new dynamic to his voice: sitting somewhere between his cleans and his harsh ones that makes him sound bullying and tough.
Between the closers, we have an album climax I don’t think I’ve ever heard from Moonspell. As a whole, this album is a journey with a strong beginning, a body of mood exploration, and a conclusion that etches all those emotions into stone. The master sounds good, the bass is magnificent, and Ribeiro sounds better than he has in years. But the toughest part about this review is scoring it. This album grows stronger with each listen—specifically the guitar nuances you miss on the first spin. While Far from God is not at the same tier as many great highlights in Moonspell’s career, it’s high enough to prove the band still has it.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: Steamy | Format Reviewed: Streamy
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: moonspell.bandcamp.com | moonspell.com | facebook.com/moonspellband
Releases Worldwide: July 3rd, 2026
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