Irreligious (album)

Irreligious
Studio album by
Moonspell
Released29 July 1996
Genre
Length42:35
LabelCentury Media
ProducerWaldemar Sorychta
Moonspell chronology
Wolfheart
(1995) 		Irreligious
(1996) 		Sin/Pecado
(1998)
Singles from Irreligious
  1. "Opium"
    Released: 1 October 1996
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Irreligious is the second studio album by Portuguese gothic metal band Moonspell, released in 1996. It features some of the best-known songs of the band, such as "Opium", "Ruin & Misery", "Awake!" and "Full Moon Madness". The latter is usually the closing song during almost every Moonspell concert, which over time has become a characteristic of their concerts. Before the song begins, Fernando Ribeiro often makes the sign of the circle (symbolizing Moon) over the crowd. The third track, "Awake!", features a recording of Aleister Crowley reading his poem "The Poet".

The album was promoted by the first Moonspell music video "Opium", which contained imagery of 19th-century-looking opium den.

Track listing

Irreligious track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Perverse... Almost Religious"1:07
2."Opium"2:48
3."Awake!"3:04
4."For a Taste of Eternity"3:53
5."Ruin & Misery"3:49
6."A Poisoned Gift"5:35
7."Subversion"2:44
8."Raven Claws"3:16
9."Mephisto"4:58
10."Herr Spiegelmann"4:35
11."Full Moon Madness"6:46
Total length:42:35
Digipak release bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Opium" (radio edit)2:48
Total length:45:23

Personnel

  • Fernando Ribeiro – vocals
  • Ricardo Amorim – guitars
  • João Pedro Escoval (Ares) – bass
  • Pedro Paixão – keyboards, samples
  • Miguel Gaspar (Mike) – drums

Guest musicians

  • Markus Freiwald – percussion on "For a Taste of Eternity"
  • Birgit Zacher – vocals on "Raven Claws"

Production

  • Rolf Brenner – photography
  • Siggi Bemm – engineering
  • Waldemar Sorychta – producer, mixing

Charts

Chart performance for Irreligious
Chart (1996) Peak
position
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[2] 30
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[3] 93
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[4] 55
2023 chart performance for Irreligious
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[5] 50

References

  1. ^ "AllMusic review".
  2. ^ "Moonspell: Irreligious" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Moonspell – Irreligious" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  4. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Moonspell – Irreligious" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Moonspell – Irreligious". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 October 2023.