UNDER SATANAE

Ah, Moonspell...what an amazing thrill ride of a band.

Yea but Moonspell, yes, they really take the emotion of modern gothic metal and take it to the extremes. I think they have dabbled with nearlly everything, either that be industrual, symphonic or even black metal. But back in the early 90's, when darker forms of metal, like death and black metal were starting to attract an audience, Moonspell, were in a dark room somewhere, making early forms of these genres and even improving them. I was listening to the these re-recordings and just thinking, god Mayhem and Emperor were terrible compared to these guys.

Yes with more dark art related topics like Satanism, Lycanthropic monsters and black masses for sacrificing to different occult idols, e.g. Kali, Lilith, Belial, Baphomet, the list of these demons goes on. The lyrics are amazing and dark, and make early black metal scribblings look like a childs poem.

The music is next to nothing perfect, it sounds like if Genesis were made by Satan himself. It's dramatic, eventfull and dark as hell.

1. Halla Alle Halla Al Rabka Halla (Praeludium/Incantatum Solistitium) - An amazing intro with arabic vocals. A great start to an eary piece of music.

2. Tenebrarum Oratorium (Andamento I/Erudit Compendyum) - Probabbly my favourite Moonspell (it's up there with Finisterra & Alma Matter). I love the first line of the song "The majestic horns of Baphomet." The background vocals remind me of Celtic Frosts To Mega Therion, like Necromantical Screams & The Usurper. An amazing song. So many intresting parts to this song and the lyrics are amazing.

3. Interludium/Incantatum Oequinoctum - A beautiful instrumental, with some nice spanish acoustic guitar work. Reminds me of Battery or Fight Fire With Fire by Metallica...but better...cos Metallica suck.

4. Tenebrarum Oratorium (Andamento II/Erotic Compendyum) - This is the perfect example of a black metal Genesis. The lyrics are also amazing.

5. Opus Diabolicum (Andamento III/Instrumental Compendyum) - I love the intro. The sound of an orchestra tuning up always sends shivers up my spine. This is what black metal should sound like, with good song writing and maturity.

6. Chorai Lusitânia! (Epilogus/Incantatam Maresia) - An good ending to this piece. Some nice double stringed work.

7. Goat On Fire - God Moonspell were amazing 15 years ago. Great lyrics with some good occult references.

8. Ancient Winter Godess - The title sounds like an early Emperor song. It reminds me Darkthrone & early Dimmu Borgir. I loved the Bouree part. It fitted well in such a dark song.

9. Wolves From The Fog - The first mention of wolves which will soon become the image of the band. Great riffs and amazing drama.

10. Serpent Angel - The intro reminds me of something off Enthrone Darkness Triumphant. A great song. Very eerie ending as well.

CONCLUSION - If you didnt like Moonspells recent albums, then buy this one. Even though it's re recordings, it's still amazing. I don't know if i could call them Black Metal, but in the 90's, if Black Metal sounded like this, the world would be a better place.

I tend to be rather sceptical of metal bands making rerecordings, but I'd make Under Satanae by Moonspell a major exception to this. Since the original Anno Satanae and Under the Moonspell demos, which these songs had taken from, the sound of the band had radically transformed from a black metal-dominated sound (with influences of folk and gothic metal beginning to emerge on Under the Moonspell) to a much more predominantly gothic sound.

The genius move Moonspell make here is in not trying to recapture their early sound, but instead adapting these old songs to their new sound, slowing them down, teasing out the gothic and folk metal flourishes that had already been there, and adding further layers of gothic menace besides. The end result is a radical reinterpretation of the material in question which retains a little more black metal fury than was typical for Moonspell at this point in their career but at the same time presents a fresh and new look at these songs, so the rerecording does not feel redundant or unnecessary next to the originals. It's not quite an essential part of their discography, but only because the material they are building on here was when always rather rudimentary compared to their more developed works.

Memo to any other metal band contemplating a rerecording: don't bother unless it's at least a major departure from the original versions as this one is.