Though Portuguese goth-metallers Moonspell are approaching almost 30 years of service, they've clearly got plenty of creativity left in the tank.
On their 13th studio album Hermitage – which dropped last month via Napalm Records – the five-piece condenses all the hallmarks of their eclectic signature sound into one LP, taking listeners on an immersive sonic voyage, steered chiefly by the stellar guitar work of Ricardo Amorim and Pedro Paixão.
Amorim joins us today for a Guitar World exclusive playthrough of the record's third track, All or Nothing. Wielding his Fender American Elite Telecaster, he navigates the track's abundant selection of solos with ease. For the acoustic guitar parts, he uses a Walden Supranatura single cutaway model.
His electric guitar runs through a Kemper amp modeler and TC Electronic Mimiq doubler pedal. Profile-wise, Amorim uses a Fender Pro Reverb emulation for the clean sections, a Plexi recreation for the overdriven parts, and a Marshall JMV profile for the heavier passages.
“All or Nothing is a song that ventures on territory that hasn’t been much explored by Moonspell when it comes to songwriting,” Amorim says.
“It’s basically an emotional bluesy song, that talks about our currents life as a band going through lockdown, being uncertain of what lies ahead and how much of a future there is still left for live music and other art forms.
“The minor pentatonic blues scale and the Dorian mode are the main flavors here. There’s chord substitutions in the progression used on the choruses and they really enhance the emotional content and add more intensity to the vocals. The tuning I’m playing is drop D.”
