The more-black-less-gothic approach works wonders this time, especially with the accentuation by some brilliant keyboard passages that enhance the music. "Night Eternal" and "Shadow Sun" are as aggressive as the opener. "Scorpion Flower" is another example of how Moonspell are equally comfortable nowadays with most elements of their past. Anneke van Giersbergen offers a deliciously erotic duet with Fernando on vocals, the likes of which one does not find very often, even in the duet-saturated genre of so-called gothic metal.

Nary a song is out of place. It looks like Moonspell have put a lot of effort in making _Night Eternal_ their most focused work to date. And not only that, but they successfully amalgamate the various different facets of their early career into a cohesive collection of songs. Regardless of whether you were a fan of _Sin / Pecado_ (I most definitely was) or _The Butterfly Effect_ (I was not), the lessons learned through the experience of their creation infuse what the band has become in the present. _Night Eternal_ is perhaps not daring, but it is a deep, mature, intelligent and, most of all, a very enjoyable album.