We had the pleasure of interviewing Fernando Ribeiro, the frontman of Portugal’s biggest gothic metal band, Moonspell, ahead of their highly anticipated concert in Turkey this May. Moonspell has captivated audiences worldwide with their unique blend of gothic and metal music, and their Turkish fans are eagerly awaiting their return. In this interview, we aimed to convey the questions and curiosity of Moonspell’s passionate listeners in our country. Enjoy this exclusive insight into the world of Moonspell and Fernando Ribeiro’s thoughts on their upcoming performances!

Thanks to Moonspell, Orphaned Land and Amorphis, we witnessed the combination of Mümin Sesler and metal music, and they were loved by everyone.
We know that you like oriental tunes. So where does your interest in oriental melodies come from? As far as I know, there are other musicians you listen to in Turkey.
And is your relationship with Mümin Sesler String Group still continuing? Shall we expect to see such international collaboration again? 

That’s true. But the credit goes to Kobi from Orphaned Land who first discovered the maestro and also to Jens Bogren who was so keen in using his and his orchestras talents. I believe that my interest in Oriental music is a cultural one. Portugal was once a part of the Great Califate (before the Crusades) and the Muslim “occupation” shaped a lot of our culture, literature, music and why not spirit? People tend to see History between victors and vanquished, and sometimes they are unfortunately right, but there are cultural and ethnographic aspects which are much more important and that, in my humble opinion, can make the difference between being wise and fair, or ignorant and a racist.

So, to speak, our Muslim heritage, brought us mathematics, agricultural processes, architecture but also Art, poetry, and music. A lot of our traditional song, Fado, has, surely an ethnic Arabian mood, so does folklore and since the early days of Moonspell we have been fascinated by that exotic sound and speech and been incorporating it in our songs. Mind you, it’s not cultural appropriation, we do it out of respect and cultural influence. 

As we are a band that has this mania of not repeating ourselves, we never pursued any another collaboration with such amazing musicians, but I know, for many reasons, that we should. Maybe on a special show or something. 

True, I love Turkish and alike music and I can underline names like Mercan Dede, or other people like Susan Deyhim from Iran or Yeni Turku, for a more Pop approach and of course Pentagram for Metal! A true institution! Also I absolutely adore Dust, the album Peter Murphy, recorded in Istanbul with local musicians.

Do new collaborations appear on your agenda? The most striking announcements of the bands are usually in this way. You know, it is quite exciting to see two different musicians on a common ground for the first time. 

Yes, you’re right. But Moonspell is very picky and moody, and we are very selective in accepting or proposing collabs. I believe things should make sense and a difference and, most of the times, is just name dropping. Sharing your work with someone has to be truly special and that’s why we haven’t done it for a while as we feel we don’t have the right material or the opportunity for it. The level has to be as high as Mümin Sesler or Scorpion Flower with Anneke but, regardless, we are on the lookout all the time.

For instance we are now playing an award show in Lisbon and will share the stage with the amazing Dulce Pontes, a legendary singer from Portugal and one of our best.

Are there local bands in similar genres that you like to play with on stage? How is the metal scene in your country and the support for your band? 

I don’t think Moonspell never took off as musical influence in Portugal and it took quite a while to gain the respect of the scene. Even today, it’s, sometimes, love and hate. Even fellow musicians take to the social networks to offend, criticize, and minimize us, yet, the fact, is it doesn’t matter at all. Moonspell doesn’t fall, our haters never rise to being noticed. Other than that, there’s a lot of people who absolutely love us and the Portuguese crowd is   our “alma mater” and we’re quite the flag carriers of Portuguese Metal, like it or not. Others will come, surely.

Portuguese Metal was very attached, all the time, to foreign formulas, us too, yet most of the bands were happy to recycle Pantera, Slayer, Metallica and Sepultura and while they gained local following, it hasn’t stick outside. Others pursued another path and I have been always a fan of older bands like The Coven, Thormenthor, FNI, Decayed, Thragedium, Bizarra Locomotiva (for me the best band from Portugal) but there’s a more recent generation of bands like Gaerea, Okkultist, Process of Guilt, Analepsy, etc. that really make Portugal shine and so do bands which are more classic-minded like Dawnrider, Ironsword, Heavenwood or Inhuman. A lot of these bands are working with me on my record label Alma Mater Records and we are trying our best to showcase Portugal’s metal talent abroad.

What was the most surprising feedback you received from the impact you left on the metal music scene? (There may be situations such as a legendary and well-known musician reaching you or a concert offer from a country you never expected. It may even be a word that has an impact on you.) 

I live in a state of complete surprise of what happened with Moonspell as I never though we were any good when compared to many bands who actually love our sound. Now that we are celebrating 30 years as a band, I must say I do have a better notion of the amazing space and attention we generate on the Metal scene for quite a while. Maybe Moonspell never became the huge band it was supposed to be, judging by the success we had on the nineties, but that has to with the scene itself, musical decisions and of course the change in the taste of the fans. Bands like Sabaton, for example, wouldn’t have been so popular back then as they are now, because people were into bands like us, Tiamat, Samael, Paradise Lost and they loved bands who dared to experiment. That spirit was dead for a while, now it came back, fortunately, for bands such as Moonspell.

Having said that, I am humbled when musicians like Dani Filth, Mille Petrozza, Jarboe,Phil Anselmo, fellow artists, all kinds of fans, celebrities or not, celebrate our sound and quote us as an important band for them. My biggest impact was to get to know Quorthon from Bathory in 1990, I still didn’t have a proper band, but his words of trust and motivation still resonate in my mind until today.

Do your songs have hidden meanings? Or, while writing your songs, do you add small details or surprises that we are not aware of while listening? (it could be something about your own life and memories, a unique thought that you only know as a band, or maybe some ideas you want to impose) 

Yes, there are many private things in music but it’s hard to bring them into the light as they are, sometimes, hard to convey and to explain. My accent in some songs, a happy accident in the studio, a solo that wasn’t perfect, yet it was full of feeling, music is made from these idiosyncrasies, and they attest to the authenticity of what you are doing. I hate perfect, clean, know it all albums and bands, well, it’s not hate, but it does get on my nerves the perfect production, the compressed sound, people wearing rubber ducks customs on stage. With all due respect, that’s not for me.

Music and lyrics have always, at least in our case, a message with an auto-biographical sense. It’s not that I want to impose or to enlighten. I rather reach out to an alike curious mind, because I have learnt and found so much through music, that if someone learns a thing or two by listening to us, I guess that’s the best compliment.

Have you ever dealt with performance anxiety since 1989? (for example, there may be a big project that you are very excited about or possible fears at the beginning of your career) 

I am a professional “failer” (yes, it’s a new word), I lost all fear of failing as we can’t really control that. I am not a talented singer or front-man, but I have a talent for deceit, so I can conjure an image and a voice where there is not one. Believe me. Also, when I am on stage, I am at one of the best places I ever can aspire to be. There are no phone calls, no requests, no whining, and if there is a rumor, I am totally oblivious to it because I am focused, or rather, encapsulated by time, lights, decibels, words. So, no, not at all, I am quite the cold-blooded type and in control and not to be so hard on myself when I do fail. That doesn’t mean I don’t leave my skin on stage or try to improve every night, it inspires, and fuels progress the fact I think I am so flawed as a musician.

Can you give some examples of your favorite metal bands? Which ones have a great influence on the creation of your style? Which bands had the greatest influence on your music career? 

My favorite Metal bands are Bathory and Celtic Frost, bands who created legacies yet were no strangers to innovation. Those too are my main Metal influences. Then, I discovered Type O Negative, that were coming more from American Gothic and Punk and we were so overwhelmed by them, that we largely paid tribute to their sound in our own music. Those three were the most influential for the creation of the so called Moonspell sound, there’s no doubt about it. 

After the perfection of the ‘Extinct’, we hear some criticisms that the last 3 albums take a backseat to the ‘Extinct’ album. What is your opinion on this matter?
Can you say that you are extremely satisfied with the work you have done after ‘Extinct’? 

If I had a penny for every time people told me we took a back seat after the album they most liked, I’d be rich, and, well, I wouldn’t be answering these kinds of biased questions. I was never extremely satisfied with any Moonspell album, nor was I ever extremely satisfied with myself or anything I did. Of that I am completely sure. 

The ‘Antidote’ album was not released on vinyl format after the year it was released. Will the album be re-released on vinyl? Or is there a possibility that a box set version of the entire discography will go on sale? 

The Antidote is going to get the same treatment as all the other back catalogue for its 20^th anniversary in 2023. We are still defining formats and timings but as we love that album and has been sold out and out of print for ages, we are coming up with ideas that can please fans, and collectors so stay tuned. That’s a great idea but it would cost a fortune to produce and to buy, but why not? We printed an Irreligious 25^th anniversary deluxe box and it sold out in the blink of an eye. We are now working in such a deluxe, limited box for Wolfheart.

How was the transition from the folk-black/death/doom mixed sound in the ‘Anno Satanae’ demo to the nearly 30-year-old gothic sound that started with ‘Wolfheart’? 

Painful, hopeful, full of near misses, things we got right, things we haven’t, reminds me of life actually 😉

With the increasing streaming platforms, we see that bands are releasing their old demos again. Why were the songs in the ‘Anno Satanae’ not re-released at a later date? 

We did it in 2012 but it’s long sold out as it was limited and exclusive. We are working now with Nergal’s label, Artifacts to re-release it on a deluxe edition for Moonspell’s 30^th anniversary.

What do you think about ‘The Butterfly Effect’? To us, it is the most distinctive album in your discography. We can’t see any track from this album in your concert setlists. Will we listen to tracks from The Butterfly Effect in the future? 

I think it’s a crazy album, but I love it anyway just like you love a crazy relative. I have great memories of making it and playing it! Since one or two years we’ve added Soulsick and the title song to our setlist so yes it’s happening!

Do you have a plan to arrange other album concerts such as the concepted ‘Irreligious’ concert you gave in Istanbul? In particular, there is an audience who loves your ‘Sin/Pecado’ album. 

It wasn’t that great…the club was very small and people had a hard time watching us…but yes we are open to the idea of maybe fly there and have a special gig with Mumin Sesler orchestra for example, and why not perform Sin/Pecado songs, let us see, I would surely love to do it!

There are three Moonspell concerts planned to be held in Turkey by Vera Music. What are your expectations from the audience and cities? 

Last time we were in Istanbul due to a poor decision from our (ex) agents we were in a bad place after more than 8 hours at the Greek-Turkish border. It was a nice show, some problems due to our late arrival , and I take the chance to publicly apologize to Vera Muzik and to the fans if I was rude or cold to them. I see this as a chance to have fun, to join the ritual that is to be under the spell, and I expect nothing but joy, music, comradeship, and magic. See you very soon, love from Portugal! 

Fernando Ribeiro

Click here to read the interview in Turkish.