Darkness and Hope in Bloomington, MN

Moonspell
's sixth full-length release (and fifth effort for
Century Media
) again finds the long-running Portuguese quintet producing heavily atmospheric
metal
that owes as much to
Sisters of Mercy
as to
Black Sabbath
. The songs on
Darkness and Hope
generally emphasize the overall mood over songwriting hooks, but there are some memorable moments, such as the streamlined
"Devilred"
and the darkly metallic
"Rapaces."
Splitting the difference between
Type O Negative
and
Tiamat
,
achieves both threatening ferocity and stately grace. ~ Andy Hinds