Moonspell

The band began playing in Amadora, near Lisbon, in 1989 under the name Morbid God. In 1992, shortly after the promo track “Serpent Angel”, they became Moonspell, led by singer Fernando Ribeiro, who had founded the band with bassist João Pedro Escoval. The demo Anno Satanæ followed in February 1993, keyboardist Pedro Paixão joined that September, and the mini-album Under the Moonspell appeared in April 1994.

A deal with Century Media led to the debut Wolfheart, recorded in Germany with producer Waldemar Sorychta and released on 1 April 1995. Irreligious (1996), again produced by Sorychta, included the single “Opium”, which drew on the work of the poet Fernando Pessoa and was a big success in Portugal. Guitarist Ricardo Amorim joined in 1995 and bassist Aires Pereira, a touring member from 2004, became a full member in 2011.

The band kept a steady pace through the 2000s and 2010s, from The Antidote (2003) and Night Eternal (2008) to Extinct (2015). On 3 November 2017 they released 1755, a concept album about the Lisbon earthquake of that year, sung entirely in Portuguese apart from some Latin choirs. In July 2020 founding drummer Mike Gaspar left and Hugo Ribeiro took his place, and Hermitage followed on 26 February 2021.

The band recorded their next album in December 2025 with producer Jaime Gomez Arellano. Far from God, their thirteenth studio album, was released through Napalm Records on 3 July 2026, and Ribeiro has described it as a darker, gothic return to the spirit of Irreligious.

Current line-up: Fernando Ribeiro (vocals), Ricardo Amorim (guitar), Pedro Paixão (keyboards, guitar), Aires Pereira (bass), Hugo Ribeiro (drums).