Thoughts: Darkness and Hope is a bit of a reset for Moonspell. For years they had been experimenting with various electronic elements and odd song structures. Both Sin/Pecado and The Butterfly Effect were good albums in their own rights, but many people who were fans of the older material lamented the major change in style. Darkness and Hope was a step in the right direction even if a flawed one.
The electronic elements have been stripped way back. The main focus here is Fernando's voice and thick meaty riffs. In terms of song structure the band has adopted a verse/chorus structure. For the most part it works well for the songs, but it feels like a step back compared to some of the more adventurous songs on the previous albums.
What the band does well here though is tap into a deep sense of atmosphere, especially on songs like When we Became Fire and Nocturna. These songs are the clear highlight of the album and are the primary reason why I come back to it from time to time. Overall it's a bit of a transition album with the band trying to define their sound once again.
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