Portuguese metallers MOONSPELL are gearing up for the release of their upcoming album, Alpha Noir/Omega White, due out via their new deal with Napalm Records on April 27th. The band have just conducted a Q&A; with fans that can be read at this location. A few escorts follow:

Q: The last couple of years many metal greats have passed away. How did this influence your decision to make a double album, and will there be noticeable tributes in its sound?

Fernando Ribeiro: "The death toll in Metal was quite high these past few years. Besides the physical death of some friends in the scene, Peter Steele (TYPE O NEGATIVE) on top of the list, what is more painful is the notion that their legacy can go unnoticed by the future generations who are drowned everyday with product bands, with invented sub-styles and simply by people with no talent the labels and managers tell you to respect and kiss ass with just because they sell more than what you do in the US. The death of those greats, as you so nicely put it, brought a void and a certain dry winter to the music we like. Moonspell feels its is our duty, as a nineties band, to carry the torch even if we burn our fingers. Alpha Noir and Omega White are records that also portray a certain way of being in music that involves certain characteristics fans sometimes opt not to understand. Omega White is especially fertile in an honest tribute to the bands that influenced us. Listen to a song called 'New Tears Eve' from Omega and you will get my point."

Q: how would you describe the development of your voice during the years in Moonspell?

Fernando Ribeiro: "I think my voice grown and changed as I was growing and changing as a person as well, it was quite natural. Remember I was just 18 when we recorded the Anno Satanae demo and 20 when we did Wolfheart. I was born in August, 1974. So I was just coming out of my teens and my voice would have changed anyway. After I started touring thus singing more I also had to learn how to keep the vocal stamina up in an intense and sometimes chaotic tour schedule. I remember I did, and so did the singers on the other bands, almost 40 dates in a row, no days-off, on the tour with Samael and Rotting Christ back in 1996. That’s why I started taking lessons with Brigit Zacher, a German singer who also features in many of our albums. She was great and I learnt almost everything with her. The rest is no big secret, really. I like to party buy I like more to have a nice, heartfelt and professional performance on stage. People do not buy tickets to put up with my hangover ‘s shortcomings. So it’s all a matter of practicing a lot to keep the endurance and quality of the vocal, to open it, especially in the days before a show. Also I drink 3 to 5 Liters of water per day, maybe more in a show day. Hydration is essential to a good vocal apparatus. I checked my vocal cords in a specialist a couple of months ago and we were both amazed that they were clean, white, pristine and healthy. After so many years of abuse it seems I am handling them the right way and it was a relief to know that everything is still solid and strong and that I can scream my lungs out for the years to come."

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The song 'Lickanthrope' will be the first video clip to come out of the Alpha Noir album. It was directed by Filipe Melo, who worked with the band on the 'I Will See You In My Dreams' video clip, film ten years ago. The shoot occurred in Nandufe, Tondela, in the central region of Portugal.

Check out a teaser below:

The synopsis by the director, Filipe Melo:

"Little red riding hood enters a bar,in an abandoned house amidst the woods. In this bar, the regulars are not your average kind of people- it's a place of vice, where a pack of wolves and other unearthly creatures find solace. Moonspell are just another part of the varied local entertainment. However when things go wild we will see that the band isn't just what meets the eye. In a cross between the pagan Portuguese folklore and a tribute to the classic Hammer movies this videoclip will bring out not only the ferocious intensity of this song but will have its place in Portuguese Film history as the first werewolf transformation ever made in Portugal. The video clip features also several local Theatre and cultural groups, Portuguese actors and a special appearance by the very own Suicide Girls Portugal, in a task force which will blow your mind. Beware the wolves at night, beware the lunar light!"

Alpha Noir will be available in a strictly limited edition deluxe box set, containing the limited-edition double album mediabook, including two album covers, and Alpha Noir's counterpart, Omega White, and an exclusive Moonspell logo pendant. First orders will receive a free exclusive poster. Orders can be placed at this location.

Alpha Noir deluxe box set tracklisting:

CD 1:

'Axis Mundi'

'Lickanthrope'

'Versus'

'Alpha Noir'

'En Nome Do Medo'

'Opera Carne'

'Love is Blasphemy'

'Grand Stand'

'Sine Missione'

CD 2:

'White Omega'

'White Skies'

'Fireseason'

'New Tears Eve'

'Herodisiac'

'Incantatrix'

'Sacrificial'

'A Greater Darkness'