Moonspell The Antidote
Released: October 21, 2003 Origination Year: 2003 Time: 54:34 Tracks: 10 Produced by: Hiili Hilesmaa & Moonspell Style: Studio Format: CD Enhancement: Interactive Digital Novel on disc Label: Century Media Records Website: www.moonspell.com
Track Listing In and Above Men From Lowering Skies Everything Invaded The Southern Deathstyle Antidote Capricorn at Her Feet Lunar Still A Walk on the Darkside Crystal Gazing As We Eternally Sleep On It
Moonspell Fernando Ribeiro: Vocals Ricardo Amorim: Guitars Pedro Paixao: Keyboards / Samplers / Guitars Mike Gaspar: Drums Niclas Etelavuori: Guest Bassist

Moonspell, those dark, foreboding metallers from Portugal are back with their sixth release through Century Media, titled The Antidote. The album, being heralded as “a return to form” features some of the most solid performances to date. However, while overall it is a pretty good collection of material that’s probably going to find a place in many metal-lovin’ hearts, there’s still something missing.

That was pretty much what I thought about this album when I sat down to write this review nearly a week ago. And I still stand by those statements, if only to a certain degree. You see, The Antidote, the album is only one half of the picture, and was the only half I had up to that point really paid attention to. The other half, the story fans can access on the computer from the CD is the other half. And only through experiencing both the album and the story is The Antidote truly complete.

But first, the album. This is MUSICtap after all. The Antidote continues to steer away from the hard rock ethos the band had seemingly established by their third release, Sin/Pecado in 1997. Where that one all but eliminated vocalist Fernando Ribeiro’s growls and dared to break out of the death metal mold with not only a heavier use of keyboards but even a little sampling here and there, the band’s last three albums have actually bucked the trend, opting to follow the opposite route.

The Antidote represents something of a melding of two eras: the “early period”, represented by the inclusion of producer Waldemar Sorychta (Tiamat, Lacuna Coil) – who manned the helm for the band’s first three albums – during pre-production and the “modern” period represented by the return of Finnish producer Hiili Hilesmaa (H.I.M., Theatre of Tragedy), from Moonspell’s previous release, Darkness and Hope (2001).

Irreligious, the band’s second album, in 1996, was arguably their breakout release. They were able to keep it heavy while incorporating stronger, more mature songwriting into the mix, which helped put them on the map. However, despite a similar sound between The Antidote and the bands earlier works, a number of tracks seem to lack the strong melodies much of Moonspell’s back catalog thrived upon. Don’t get me wrong, “Everything Invaded” and “Capricorn At Her Feet” are two really great songs with guitars that will stick in your head long after you’ve played through them, and “The Southern Deathstyle” is one hell of a “bang your head like an idiot” piece of metal, but conversely songs such as opener “In And Above Men” and “Lunar Still” plod through you like the thickest pine sap with little by way of memorable hook or catchy melody. To put it bluntly, they’re boring.

Maybe I’m in a minority here (in fact I’m almost certain this is the case), but one thing I certainly miss from The Antidote is the strong keyboard presence Paixao had on the last few albums. Yeah, they’re still there but fans will immediately notice they have been greatly drawn back into the mix. That, I feel is why much of the music on this album isn’t as melodic as it could be. It was the keys on such songs as “Dekadence” (Sin/Pecado) and “Nocturna” (Darkness and Hope) that made them stand out and shot them to the top of my faves list. Head banging and screaming is all well and good, but I don’t mind a little bob and weave as well. As they say, variety is the spice of something or another.

So, were I reviewing the album on its own, this would probably be about the time I’d sum all this up with a concluding paragraph. I’d probably give The Antidote a respectable three stars, hope that Moonspell does a little tweaking here and there and comes back with an even better, more diverse release next time around and that would be that. But, like I said, there’s two pieces to this puzzle. Now it’s time for the second half.

Antidote, the novel, written in conjunction to the album by Portuguese novelist Jose Luis Peixoto and excellently translated by Richard Zenith, tells the story of a male and female born around the same time in the same village, with greatly differing experiences from each other but whose lives are to ultimately intertwine. Told through the eyes of the male, the female and occasionally the omniscient narrator, the mood is solemn, sometimes despairingly so, but never morbid for the sake of being morbid; it simply tells a dark, compelling story about the breakdown of the human condition which begs the question, “why does everything exist to be negated?” Every track on The Antidote, the album, corresponds to a chapter in Antidote, the novel, resulting in a total of ten chapters. The interactive version found on the disc runs about 85 pages and can be read over a very brief session. Limited editions of the album feature a highly collectable, hardbound edition of the story as well.

So, after I had read and re-read the story, I went back and listened through the album again. And you know what, I like it a whole lot more! In connecting the novel with its musical interpretation, I finally got the complete picture and discovered what I felt had been missing from my initial listens.

Two things I strongly suggest: first of all, please read the story. Your enjoyment of the album will undoubtedly increase by at least double because of it, as mine certainly did. And two: be sure to read it again. While there are plenty of passages told in a very straightforward manner, some of it reads less like a novel and more like poetry. It needs to be dissected and digested. If you gloss over it, you’ll miss a lot.

So, while it might have taken longer than I expected, I’m not quite so down on this album after all. While I still contend that the band might have been trying a little too hard to “return to form” as well as there being a couple less desirable tracks in the bunch, the connection between music and literature is a daring attempt at merging the two art forms, enhancing my pleasure for both and in the end resulting in a very rewarding experience. Long time fans and newbies alike should not be disappointed.