MOONSPELL — Under Satanæ (review)

MOONSPELL — Under Satanæ album cover Album · 2007 · Gothic Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
Warthur
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.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Colossal Oppressor Sludge Metal
TEN TON SLUG
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tribus Rattus Mortuus Atmospheric Sludge Metal
TRAP RATT
Buy this album from MMA partners
Chrome Sludge Metal
CHROME
Buy this album from MMA partners
Pile Of Bones Sludge Metal
SLOW DRAWL
Buy this album from MMA partners
Chemical Makeup EP Sludge Metal
HAG BASTARD
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Lost In Exile - INCHES (Official Video)
LOST IN EXILE
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Shining - Inga Broar Kvar Att Bränna
SHINING
UMUR· 1 day ago
Shining - Jag Är Din Fiende (official premiere)
SHINING
UMUR· 1 day ago
SHINING - Avsändare Okänd (Official Lyric Video) | Napalm Records
SHINING
UMUR· 1 day ago
Agremorta - Adrocitas (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 7 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed