Moonspell "Irreligious" CD

Sophomore releases are always tricky as they tend to be the album judged the harshest. They always raise the questions; "Will they sound the same? Will they sellout? Will they progress? etc...” Perhaps there’s a little bit of everything in here as Moonspell took a drastic and well played Gothic shift on 'Irreligious'.
The production is alright, but it causes the guitars to sound thin in a few places. The guitars are midway between heavy and melodic. There are no solos but some interesting leads. The songs have a dark yet upbeat vibe to them. The over all feel is something epic and stylishly evil.
The bass does its own thing for the most part since there was only one guitarist on this album. He follows the drums but adds a sufficient flare to keep things interesting. The drums are creative and the beginnings of Miguel coming into his own. There are some underlying keyboards that are mostly used as background.
The vocals are brilliant and go from a low deathly growl to a more mid-high shriek. The cleans are the standard deep gothic-esq croon. There is also a female vocalist 'Raven Claws'.
The lyrics are poetic, introspective and expansive. When combined with the highly original music they create a moody, sexy atmosphere that works well. Moonspell certainly took a gambit with this release and it apparently paid off. This is a highly recommended album for All Goth Metal heads.

Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Official promo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...