If I had to describe this album in one word it would be intense.

Moonspell are a band that have something to say and boy, do they say it!

Musically ‘Memorial’ might sound to some like a return to their roots, but I see it as a tribute to the many that have influenced the Portuguese along the years and it certainly isn’t ‘Wolfheart’ or ‘Irreligious’. This is Moonspell in 2006, with all the experience and maturity that more than a decade making music has given them.

Behind are left the more gentle gothic sounds and in are Fernando’s fabulous growling and passionate vocals (at last some real passion in the metal scene!), very heavy guitars and faster riffing, but they also maintain the use of keyboards and orchestration that make the songs as evocative or as intimate as you want them to be. Certainly some parts of the album may resemble black metal but the intensity, sensuality and emotion are 100% Moonspell and ‘Memorial’ is intoxicatingly melodic.

The lyrics, as its customary with the Portuguese, are deep, emotional, poetical while leaving room for the listener’s own interpretation, excellent!

A strong album to listen to in its entirety, but also with great tracks that stand on their own, a rare ability to find among bands these days that make Moonspell a classic and timeless band.

In the words of frontman Fernando Ribeiro ‘true love waits’ and this love will not disappoint you.