By 1998 the good gentlemen of Portugal's Moonspell had pretty much abandoned any black metal influence they once embraced. To some, their turn towards the more gothic and pop friendly sound was unfortunate. To others it was impressive to watch a versatile group of musicians morph into a new entity from album to album. But for all interested onlookers, it was a shocking twist in the story of Moonspell when they decided to reach deep into their dark past and create a one off side project under the moniker Daemonarch.Based upon the poetry of lead singer Fernando Ribeiro's teen years, who went under his old pseudonym of Langsuyar for this side project, Hermeticum is primal black metal with a serious occult vibe. Daemonarch, for the brief moment of their existence, consisted of all Moonspell's members at the time, sans drummer Miguel Gaspar. I once asked Miguel about Daemonarch and he informed me that he was not involved in the project. In turns out that all the drumming was programmed on a drum machine. We shared an awkward moment or two and I decided to bring my still infant interviewing career to an end. No one ever accused me of being smooth. Anyway, the stars of Daemonarch are easily the vocals and guitars. Fernando's (Langsuyar) vocals are explosive, vicious and inhuman throughout. The guitar work, while not overly complicated, is dramatic and creates a memorable atmosphere of horror. Even the sprinkling of keyboards serves the album well.
Daemonarch were more in the Mediterranean vein of black metal, think latter day Rotting Christ (with that heavy Septic Flesh influence) ...nothing Scandinavian here. But if you found yourself alienated by Moonspell's early musical shift, you may be pleased with what you find. It's a solid album and I for one am sad that it was just a brief stop for Moonspell. Maybe the future will bring about a second effort... maybe they'll even let Miguel in on the action this time...
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