Когда я слышу песню Moonspell "Dying Breed" с их крайнего альбома "Extinct" всегда понимаю как же все-таки прав Фернандо в этом тексте. Мы, человечество, действительно вымирающий вид. Ведь если посмотреть по внимательней не трудно будет заметить, что большая часть всего того, что мы делаем направлена на уничтожение, как прямое, так опосредованное и не явное, в первую очередь нас самих. Примеров навалом. Не буду здесь их приводить. Их легко найти, просто задумавшись над этим вопросом. Но, что самое страшное, физическое уничтожение предвосхищается уничтожением духовным. Хотел написать, что люди перестают быть людьми и становятся зверьми, но потом вспомнил один эпизод из Рязановского фильма "Гараж" и собственные познания в зоологии и привлек, и понял, что звери практически никогда не поступают с себе подобными так, как делает это человек. А ведь человек отличается от зверя в том числе и способностью мыслить! По крайней мере должен, но я все чаще и чаще в этом сомневаюсь. Мне кажется, что ученым, изучающим эволюцию, пора признать, что вид современного человека - человек уничтожающий (лат. homo perdit). И, в конце концов, человек уничтожающий добьется своего и сотрет свой вид, а возможно и все, что его окружает, с лица Земли, не оставив от себя даже следа на песке...
А закончить данный поток мыслей хотел бы выдержкой из одного интервью Фернанду на тему вымирания.
MD: I gather the ‘Extinct’ title, which is a central theme of the album, points towards extinction in a literal, biological sense as well as emotional loss and the mourning of that loss… can you explain what led you towards this theme?
FERNANDO: Well, I started simple. I started in order to find a word that carried a bigger concept that could describe so many times of my life and also some things I was going through - making my fortieth birthday and understanding, also, being a father - entering a different stage and process in my life. So all these events were definitely key to find out these words… you know, obviously the words of my kid, which is something made of light and happy. But also, not only that, there’s also the greater power, greater responsibility thing and, also, an aspect of extinction. Because, when I spoke with the teachers and authors about extinction – before humanity got in as a player, and as a player who doesn’t play by the rules of nature when it comes to extinction, I realised that even for these more academic people that try to deal with preserving the species and everything, there’s a lot of emotional loss and a void that can definitely be applied, also, to stuff that we lose ourselves because we have to be better caretakers for our children, for instance. And, also, for instance, the death of Peter Steele which is something that left a void that cannot be replaced, in a way. Also, when we evolve and all the connections we can make with the biotic extinction in the sense of a personal loss, I also understand that extinction is not only about things that have become extinct but it’s also about the fight to fill that void. It’s something that, sometimes, we just want to contemplate and be poetic and just talk about the black wall in the case of extinction but, sometimes, it’s much more natural that we try to climb that wall; we try to bang our head or try to break it. And I think the album has a lot to do, also, with surviving and adapting. I think all we’ve talked about, these things are very hard… when you have an album called ‘Extinct’, it really is about everything. You know, it’s about a permanent end but it’s also about the fight to avoid it. It’s about a void but also all the little things you do to fill that void. I was born in ’74 and much of the world is extinct… [Laughs]
FERNANDO: I think we’ve all been through certain extinction experiences. At least, I have that feeling when I cross the place where I used to hang out – my favourite bar is now a parking lot! That’s a form of extinction as well… also of the lifestyle, and a lot of the lyrics deal about it as well.
MD: Of course, yeah, it takes many forms. I was going to say, as well, on the surface a lot of the tracks have a fairly uplifting, kind of optimistic feeling through many of the melodies, although there’s also a more subtle layer of darkness in the music. So is the overall message of the album one of hope, despite the darker themes?
FERNANDO: Well, I think there’s no other option. I think it was Churchill who said that, that there’s no other option than optimism. [Laughs]
FERNANDO: I find myself, very much, a person who likes to get in touch with dark and deep subjects and, also, I studied philosophy for four years at university. So, no, it’s not a bleak, misanthropic darkness as many bands put it, but it’s a more natural flow. It’s like when you take a picture with an iPhone and if there’s light and texture involved, you ‘ll never take the same picture - there’s always gradings of light; there’s always shadows. I think Moonspell works much more on that material. For instance, the black metal bands where everything is really going to hell… [Laughs] … and everything is torture. No, that’s not the kind of world we think about. It’s definitely a world… like we said in an old album of Moonspell, it’s definitely a world of darkness but also of hope, in a way, and I can’t shake the feeling, at least not from myself, that we should not go without a fight. Even the animals that are endangered, they put up a fight. Even the polar bears, they jump and it’s sad to watch that. They jump and if there is just the tiniest place of ice, they will get there and they will try to survive. I think, sometimes, it’s too easy, you know, when we are in the comfort of our homes declaring nihilism, misanthropy and black metal anarchy… I definitely like the Moonspell lyrics and the music to be a little bit more hopeful than that, because that’s more human. I don’t want to speak just about the lunar side, even though the band is called Moonspell! It’s the contrast that really fascinates me as a writer. I would never write a book about a monster that wouldn’t have these human things to make me think about it. You know, it’s like reading ‘Frankenstein’ or Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ and you do not understand what lies beneath the brutality.