Extinct album reviews
Some reviews of Extinct Album:
Metal Injection
Extinct follows on the heels of 2012’s Alpha Noir double-album, which is a critical juncture for Moonspell for one very important reason. Whether you’re talking about their strangest moments, such as those on The Butterfly Effect (1999), their blackest moments like on Memorial (2006), or their lightest moments such as the wistful ‘Scorpion Flower’ off of 2008’s magisterial Night Eternal album, Moonspell has always been highly convincing in their delivery. Alpha Noir was the first time where (for this scribe anyway) it felt like the spell of the moon had at long last been broken. The songs were uninspiring, for the most part, almost trite and ordinary in their delivery. It ticked a lot of boxes, was highly competent and very well produced, but there was a certain magic lacking. What made this even more jarring was the fact it followed Night Eternal, arguably their best album since Sin/Pecado (1998).
Blabbermouth – 8/10
Portuguese goth-metal collective MOONSPELL are back with their eleventh album, the lush, tuneful and often beautifully constructed “Extinct”. By now, this band has figured out how to write catchy songs, and they hardly need barking vocal congestions to be effective, much less heavy. Unfortunately, those remain and intrude upon the otherwise substantial, rock-driven material MOONSPELL has to offer here.
SputnikMusic – 4/5
The album is very catchy, and almost every song has a prominent chorus and is backed with some orchestral arrangements, but the musicians avoid the self-indulgence for the most part, with one or two exceptions like the ballad the Last of Us, which didn´t seem really convincing. The production is great and the ordering of the songs is very nice, providing a good flow, making the album easy to listen, but also immersive. This is a work of maturity, and although the black metal influences are always well received in a Moonspell album, the less-metal oriented path that they started to follow again is promising. At the least their first step on it, without being earthshaking, helps them to stand as one of the most prominent gothic bands in the recent history. I dare to contradict them and say that their future is not dark, but if they need to believe it to keep making great music, we can only be thankful to that darkness as long as it can be a source of inspiration.
Angry Metal Guy – 3/5
Moonspell offers up a couple ballads here in the form of “Domina” and “The Future Is Dark.” Gothy, dark, depressing; these tracks have it all for fans looking to shed tears after a shitty day at work. The latter of the two is more effective in terms of current Moonspell ballads and is one of the highlights of the record. Other songs that fill up the dead spots include the bizarre, upbeat “The Last of Us” and the strange closer, “La Baphomette.” Starting with a riff taken straight from Volbeat, “The Last of Us” is an overly poppy ride that feels out of place on Extinct. On the other hand, the three-minute creeper that is “La Baphomette” consists of piano and some jazzy cymbal work, with Ribeiro giving it his best Tom Waits impression. After a catchy “la la la” chorus, this 45-minute journey comes to an end.
MetalUnderground – 3.5/5
There was a big question mark around this album after the focus shift on the previous full-length, especially when the first single released for “Extinct” was the head-scratching love ballad “The Last Of Us.” To set the record straight for anyone wondering, the era of “Night Eternal” and “Memorial” is long over, and its unlikely it will be coming back anytime soon. That being said, “Extinct” is still a solid album that stands on its own, and shows a much different side of Moonspell than has been seen in about a decade.