Ryan Murray | Co-Owner | Chief Editor | Contributor
r.m.music84@gmail.com
Dark Metal’s Moonspell are set to release their live album “From Down Below – 80 Meters Deep” on September 30th as a CD/DVD/Blue Ray and hearing the album is an absolutely great experience, but WATCHING the concert?! It absolutely adds an entirely different feel and dimension to it that’s honestly hard to put into words. It’s just something you need to see for yourself!
Having discovered Moonspell myself in 2001 with their album “Darkness and Hope”, I’ve always appreciated and really enjoyed the incredible diversity this band brings to metal.
With “From Down Below – 80 Meters Deep” having been recorded deep under ground at Grutas de Mira D’Aire, one of Portugal’s seventh wonders, this absolutely breathtaking cave made this concert/shoot an absolute memorable experience for the ones who were lucky enough to be present. While hearing Moonspell honor their 2021 release “Hermitage” in full live (including the vinyl bonus track “The Great Leap Forward”) is incredible in and of itself, the fact that it had been performed inside this awe-inspiring cave added the intense soundscape and visuals from the light show of the natural cave formations creating an unbelievable and unforgettable audible and visual show.
With just a masked production crew and a an intimate group of lucky, well masked fans, the band enters, as they walk down a dimly lit staircase into the open and rather beautiful cavernous area. The band walks through the crowd and approaches a small center area where they are setup to perform. With some fans on each side, the band is setup in such a way that everyone can see very well.
Hearing how well the sound naturally reverberates off the cave formations while just watching the show is an amazing experience in and of itself, but it leaves room for imagination for what the experience was like for those in attendance. It must’ve been absolutely amazing!
Seeing these songs performed in such a cavernous area, 80 meters down really gives a whole different view of these songs, kind of giving them new meaning. I’ve always enjoyed the band’s layering and instrumentation, but this show honestly creates an entirely new, and pleasantly surprising experience, whether it’s your first time hearing them or even for the seasoned fans, you have to experience it!
The album “Hermitage” has always been one of Moonspell’s heavier albums. Not just instrumentally, but heavier and deeper lyrically as well. Songs such as “Apophthegmata” fit so incredibly well with the landscape of this show. Each of these tracks are, in a way, hauntingly beautiful.
Creating an epic, never before seen or heard experience, Moonspell have truly and completely outdone themselves. Incredibly well directed by the amazing Guilherme Henrique, you absolutely won’t want to miss this!
Verdict: 5/5
Ethereal Metal Webzine 
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