Daemonarch - Hermeticum (1998)

Daemonarch was a one and done side-project from Moonspell members Ricardo Amorim (guitars), Pedro Paixao (keyboards), Sérgio Crestana (bass), Fernando "Langsuyar" Ribeiro (vocals) and curiously not Miguel Gaspara, but a drum machine in his steed. The project was born from the ritual poetry, epic tales, studies of the Occult and Satanic philosophies and arts that Fernando wrote between the ages of 14 and 16.

Many have always made the connection that 'Hermeticum' sounds akin to the pre-Wolfheart Moonspell era, and while I sort of agree, their demo 'Anno Satanæ' was quite raw and immature while the following EP, 'Under the Moonspell' wasn't too far off from Wolfheart, although there were female vocals and weird Arabic nonsense all over it. Therefore, I personally see this album as a thing of its own. Curiously yet again, in 2007 Moonspell would re-record all of their early material, but that's another story entirely.

The blood of my world awaits in your grace

'Hermeticum' falls into the melodic black metal category, though this hardly Swedish or Dissection influenced in any way and just simply does sound like a blacker version of Moonspell, faster and more visceral with simplistic, but memorable guitar melodies a few clever solos, tons of atmospheric flashiness and the diverse vocal output from Fernando.

'Corpus Hermeticum' has always been one of my favorites with an insanely catchy keyboard melody, good driving energy, a great solo near the end and both creepy semi-clear vocals and admirable growly shrieks that outshine all extreme vocal performance that Fernando's put on display both before and after. 'Call from the Grave' is a Bathory cover and of course I'll always appreciate the original more so, but Daemonarch added so much depth and diversity to it that an unknowing metalhead might as well not even take notice of the fact that its a cover, while 'Nine Angels' is one that's largely more mid-paced and ripe with atmosphere, but it still has some aggressive parts to be had. 'Incubus' is also admirable with bombastic parts but also ghostly hostility that's hard to resist and 'The Seventh Daemonarch,' is spot on similar to 'Wolfshade (A Werewolf Masquerade)' from 'Wolfheart.' All nine songs may not be dramatic highlights, but nothing on the album is bad or out of place at all in my honest opinion making it an enjoyable listen every time.

I've always, ALWAYSS wondered why this just wasn't released under the Moonspell monicker. I mean, I get it, with 'Irreligious' they became Gothic metal and by the time they did 'Sin / Pecado' they were barely even metal any more, and both are great albums if you ask me, but you have to consider the fact that in 1999 they released 'The Butterfly Effect,' which is absolutely the worst material under the Moonspell banner. While they could have likely killed off their new found Gothic crowd with 'Hermeticum' they could have also completely reestablished themselves within the metal underground and made Moonspell a credible name again (since I'm sure some had said they sold out), but instead they tarnished it with 'The Butterfly Effect.' Just poor thinking, really.