WOLFHEART

Moonspell are a band that should surely be credited for adding something new to the goth genre. In spite the fact that many fans associate their name to black metal, in my opinion Moonspell are firstly related to gothic metal. Wolfheart, along with Cradle of Filth's The Principle of Evil Made Flesh have brought a more dynamic (death-black) approach to what Paradise Lost, Anathema and My Dying Bride had unleashed musically.

From this point of view, Wolfheart is a classic, one of the first gothic black metal albums. The nine tracks are all very elaborated and cover a wide range rock styles and not only: black metal, old school deathrock or folk. Along with the stylistic diversity come the compositions that prove the band's creativity and talent which is constantly fresh. There are no weak points on the album and all songs are highlights, this being a quality that few records have.

Another strong point of Wolfheart is it's capacity to target listeners of different tastes: from the 80's batcave goths, to the Norwegian church burners and the metalheads who are still riding dragons across the plains of Mordor who fight orcs and party while listening to medieval jams, Wolfheart is approachable as long as one tries to be a little open minded.

While stylistically the record is great, the technique of the musicians is not the greatest (not the one a PROGRESSIVE ROCK band should make proof of) although not contestable. They play okay just that at some point one gets the impression that the musical structures are average and can be found on any decent heavy metal record. But as I said, it's the constant shift of style that makes the music enjoyable.

Furthermore, I wouldn't give the thumbs up for the vocals. Nor the clean, neither the aggressive one are pertinent: there's no diction (probably due to the accent), not enough strength, not enough clarity.

To sum up, it's great.

[b]NOT PROG NOT PROG NOT PROG DĂĂĂĂĂĂĂĂĂ[/b]