ALBUM REVIEW: From Down Below – Live 80 Meters Deep – Moonspell

Bands and artists undertaking live shows in unusual locations isn’t anything particularly new – METALLICA playing at an Antarctic base, THE DEFILED performing atop an iceberg and singer Katie Melua doing a set nearly a kilometre under the sea in the leg of an oil platform are just three examples – and now it’s the turn of Portuguese goth metallers MOONSPELL. In front of a select group of fans and production staff, the band, like Ms Melua, took their music below the Earth’s surface to Grutas de Mira D’aire, one of their home nation’s seven natural wonders to perform most recent studio album Hermitage in full, constructing a stage in one of the most impressive caves in Europe and allowing the natural acoustics to take effect on their songs. Now, that experience is available for everyone to enjoy with From Down Below – Live 80 Meters Deep, out on Friday September 23rd via Napalm Records.

Plenty were suitably impressed by Hermitage in studio form, with many heralding its emotion and vulnerability. This sense is heightened on From Down Below where the only audience interaction comes at the beginning and end of each song in the form of warm appreciation. In between, the music is allowed to breathe without restriction, the progressive chug of Common Prayers given full permission to emit its OPETH-leaning riffs across the room with ease, whilst the instrumental Solitarian floats around with its underpinning keys and synths.

Main album closer Without Rule, the longest here, channels PINK FLOYD so much it’s sometimes hard to differentiate between the two, the vocal lines particularly invoking Brain Damage from The Dark Side Of The Moon, and there’s even a bonus in the form of The Great Leap Forward, a track that was only present on the deluxe vinyl of the record and therefore does not appear anywhere else; indeed, this record marks its debut on a format to be heard elsewhere.

Of course, this is only taking into account the audio side of the album, and that in itself poses a problem. If this had been a special, intimate club show or taken place in another form of traditional venue, then whilst having a visual element to the music would have been welcome, it would have served mainly as an accomplice. MOONSPELL performing in a cave, however, is a different kettle of fish; as the footage of them performing the thunderous Entitlement shows, this is an album that goes up a gear when you can see how they adapted to unfamiliar surroundings to put on such a unique performance.

Without that around, From Down Below suffers and falls into the overflowing category of ‘well-produced and executed live album’. Even the fact that they’re playing their latest album in full and you’re hearing the live premieres of all but two of the tracks isn’t quite enough to cover the overriding fact that they’re playing underground in a cave and it needs to be seen as well as heard.

Musically, you can’t argue with From Down Below: a band as accomplished as MOONSPELL are always going to be sonically excellent no matter where you place them. However, if you really want to get the most out of this release, stick to the full visual and audial version, otherwise you’re only getting half the experience.

Rating: 6/10

From Down Below – Live 80 Meters Deep is set for release on September 23rd via Napalm Records.

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