On February 26th, Portuguese dark metal godfathers Moonspell unleashed their 13th studio album, Hermitage, via Napalm Records. Following is an excerpt from the upcoming BraveWords feature on the new album, due to be published soon. 

Frontman Fernando Ribeiro comments on the musical direction of the album:

"I approached Pedro (Paixão / keyboards) and Ricardo (Amorim / guitars) about that, and I said I wanted a no-strings-attached album. I wanted it to be minimal, almost a Moonspell Redux (laughs); an album without the layering of Extinct (2015) or especially 1755 (2017), and without sounding like we're trying too hard. Nowaydays metal music... not everything, but the majority of bands are pushing the guitars and the drums in your face, the singers are always changing their vocals in the songs or just screaming, the songs are all played at 250 bpm. I wanted a musical album and at the end of the day that's what we did. It might be divisive, obviously, but that's nothing new for Moonspell. This is exactly what we needed to do."

Watch for the complete story, coming soon.

With Hermitage, Moonspell is not only approaching their 30th band anniversary more ambitiously and stronger than ever, but they take us on an entertaining and emotional ride through the darkest days of human existence. Moonspell’s forthcoming record is a wonderfully intuitive, yet epic masterpiece, and a testament to what the band has always loved the most: Honest metal that binds us even in these dark times.

Building upon its dark, revolutionary and sensitive facets, Moonspell’s new album is also epic as hell! Inspired by their metal roots and underground metal bands like Bathory, the final single to surface before Hermitage drops, “The Hermit Saints”, takes us on an epic trip to the heights of the world and the lows of the abysses. Accented by melodic groove and bombastic choruses, this track is sure to become a fan favorite.

“'The Hermit Saints' unveils even further secrets about our forthcoming album: Hermitage,” says Fernando about the track. “Make no mistake: this is a METAL song played according to Moonspell's own signature and rules. This song tells you about the holiness and unholiness of men, about the duality between saints and sinners. It tells of the fever that makes us cross into the desert of our own existences, perpetually looking out for the cure, that will never come until we change our ways. Many might go. Few will come back. Lock the gates, behold 'The Hermit Saints'!”

Hermitage was recorded, mixed and mastered this past summer by Jaime Gomez Arellano (Paradise Lost, Primordial, Ghost, Sólstafir & many more) at the Orgone Studios in the UK. Building upon the album’s dark, revolutionary and sensitive facets, it’s a wonderfully intuitive and epic ride by one of the most distinctive dark metal bands of all time, and a testament to what they’ve always loved the most: Honest, emotional metal that binds us even in the darkest times.

Hermitage will be available in several highly limited and collectible Deluxe and Die-Hard Editions, Mediabook, and Cassette (all of them including the Candlemass cover "Darkness In Paradise") but also in Jewelcase and Digital formats. The Deluxe Box will also include an etched 7’’ Vinyl with another special bonus track, “The Great Leap Forward", as well as much more exciting additional collectible items.

Pre-order here.

Hermitage tracklisting:

"The Greater Good"
"Common Prayers"
"All Or Nothing"
"Hermitage"
"Entitlement"
"Solitarian"
"The Hermit Saints"
"Apophthegmata"
"Without Rule"
"City Quitter" (Outro)

Bonus tracks:

"Darkness In Paradise" (Candlemass Cover – LP, Box, Cassette + Mediabook)
"The Great Leap Forward" (7" Vinyl – Deluxe Box)

"All Or Nothing" video:

"Common Prayers" video:

"The Greater Good" lyric video:

(Photo - Rui Vasco)