written by Marko Jakob
Pix666: Hello Fernando. Thank you for your time. Are you well and are you healthy?
Fernando: No problem, my pleasure. I am doing fine, considering… Not well, not fine, lots of problems here in Portugal but trying to keep my head above the waters.
Pix666: At the beginning, let’s take a very brief look at the past. You’ve been with Moonspell for about 30 years now. Please tell the readers what were the best or craziest experiences with the band so far that you will never forget?
Fernando: Hard to say…I tend to move on from everything. To be in a band is to enjoy good and bad moments, yet I refuse to be stuck in any of those. Forward is the way! I remember such random things as a fan in Istanbul asking for my DNA, or getting away from a Mexican riot, but also to bring the news of his father’s death to our guitar player. It’s a rollercoaster, really.
Pix666: Your album ‘Extinct’ reached number 1 in the charts in Portugal in 2015. Was that also something very special for you and the band?
Fernando: Yes and no. The best moment ist hat when you finish your album and are happy with it. All rest is vanity and makes you crazy and self-indulgent. It just happened, sign of hard work and luck. Thanks to our Portuguese fans for that!
Pix666: The album ‘1755’ was sung entirely in Portuguese. How was this ‘experiment’ received by the fans?
Fernando: Better than what I expected! It was a very particular album that combined two of our passions: Heavy Metal music and Portuguese History. It worked really well but I was under the impression that only Portugal and Brasil would react more positively. Some peopel thought it was weird, but most embraced it, obrigado!
Pix666: Your last album ‘Lisboa Under the Spell’ is a live album, from my point of view a real ‘live monster’ with 3 complete albums in live versions. It’s obvious how much you love playing live. How much do you miss the stage?
Fernando: Right now, I don’t know. I believe all bands do missi it terribly yet I am ready for everything. Obviously, the stage is like an altar where everything happens, and thanks to touring hard we gained the majority of our fans, but a return to form will be hard and slow.
Pix666: Your 13th album “Hermitage” will be released on 26th February 2021 via Napalm Records – What story does the new album or the songs tell?
Fernando: The story of how far we took our egoism and how dangerous and unsustainable we made it. Not only nature, but also the city, our relationships, etc. Hermitage talkes about taking a break, change our perspective and live humbly but smartly. Musically, it’s a very in your heart album, from Moonspell to the fans, without many layers, guest singers, speed or tyring too hard to be „epic“. It’s one of the most if not the most musical album we did. Hope people like it.
Pix666: There are already 3 video clips released for the new album, super great clips in fantastic locations. One looks like in a cave, another like in an old theatre. When and where did you shoot the videos and did any kind of ‘Corona rules or restrictions’ affected the video shooting?
Fernando: We observed all rules that the National Health Authorities tell us to but many times they can’t make their minds up which is harmful to the working citizens. We shot Common Prayers at one of the seven natural wonders of Portugal, https://www.grutasmiradaire.com, Grutas de Mira D’Aire, 80 meters beyond ground. The other is Teatro Chaby Pinheiro, in Nazaré, a piscatory village near where I live. It’s an early 1900’s theatre, built at the image of La Scala, in Milano. Guilherme Henriques, is our video director, and he’s great. We are going to release another video still and it will have a lot of visual impact too.
Pix666: Many journalists try to sort bands, like yours, into categories and genres. How important is that for you? I think if a band has a plan and the fans are happy with the result, it doesn’t matter what the genre is called – as long as everyone involved has fun.
Fernando: Nothing is really important for me as far as those things are concerned. Also it’s not as simple as you put it, fans also give you a hard time sometimes with those labels and their wishes for harder or softer music. So, I don’t care, I just make music which in inspired by Heavy Metal, Gothic and darkness, you can call me whatever you like, as long as you pay for it 😉
Pix666: After being in the band for so long, how hungry do you feel to continue your music career for a long time?
Fernando: Not very hungry. We’re making 30 years as a band in 2022. It’s being harder than ever so I guess we are coming to an end, not a new beginning.
Pix666: You used to write books and poetry books, are you still active and creative in this direction?
Fernando: I still do! It keeps me balanced, to write and to read, especially reading. If all goes okay, I am going to release my first novel this next May, via Random House/Penguin Portugal.
Pix666: Are there any other current projects you would like to talk about briefly? Do you maybe have any interesting hobbies or did the pandemic and restrictions lead you to new hobbies?
Fernando: Things are so bad in Portugal that all hobbies are cancelled! It’s survival and listening ti music, reading and taking care of my boy is all I do. No time or wish to do anyhting else. I used to swim but pools have been closed during 2020, all year long.
Pix666: In Germany there is the next lockdown at the moment. What is the general mood in your country regarding the Corona crisis right now?
Fernando: Very bad. We are in between a very bad governmental managing, with poorly timed decisions and lack of criteria. Also, people are not being civil enough, a small majority is enough to create contagion. Only luck will save us. We will be in confinment until the end of March, at least.
Pix666: Thank you very much for the interesting answers – good luck with the new album and stay healthy!
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photos © by Rui Vasco
