Fernando Ribeiro (Lisbon, August 26, 1974) is a Portuguese singer, vocalist and lyricist for the Portuguese gothic metal band
Moonspell. In addition to this activity, he is also a writer and translator.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Life and career
Raised in
Brandoa, just outside of
Lisbon, Fernando Ribeiro formed Morbid God in 1989, which later changed its name to
Moonspell in 1992.[7] Concurrently with his musical endeavors, as a young adult, Ribeiro studied
philosophy at the
University of Lisbon for a period of time with the unfulfilled aim of becoming a high school philosophy teacher.[8][9] He has published three books of poetry, namely, Como Escavar um Abismo (2001), As Feridas Essenciais (2004), and Diálogo de Vultos (2007). He has also written a book of prose, Senhora Vingança (2011).[10]
He also took part in the project "A Sombra Sobre Lisboa -
Lovecraftian Tales in the City of Seven Hills". A literary work featuring several authors and invoking Lovecraft's worlds adapted to the city of Lisbon. He wrote the introductions to The Best Stories of
Howard Phillips Lovecraft, published in 2005, and translated the comic biography Lovecraft into Portuguese.[11]
He has also written regularly for the Portuguese metal magazine LOUD! in a monthly column entitled The Eternal Spectator.[12]
In 1998, he was also one of the founders of the Daemonarch music project.[13]
In 2009, he was part of the Amália Hoje project, which, together with Sónia Tavares,
Nuno Gonçalves and Paulo Praça, re-recorded some of
Amália Rodrigues' classics.[14] In the same year he also took part in a song by the band
Bizarra Locomotiva, called "Anjo Exilado" from the album Álbum Negro[15] and in the Orfeu Rebelde project, released by Optimus Discos.[16]
He has been married since 2017 to Sónia Tavares, lead singer of the band
The Gift. They have a son, Fausto, born in 2012, and live in
Alcobaça.[20][21] Ribeiro is a supporter of
FC Porto and attributes that personal preference to his father's influence since he was a fan of the northern sports club and was born in
Mondim de Basto, in
Vila Real District,
Northern Portugal.[22]