Irreligious (album)

Irreligious
Studio album by Moonspell
Released	29 July 1996
Genre	Gothic metal doom metal
Length	42:35
Label	Century Media
Producer	Waldemar Sorychta
Moonspell chronology
Wolfheart (1995) Irreligious (1996) Sin/Pecado (1998)
Singles from Irreligious
"Opium" Released: 1 October 1996

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
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.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
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.