|
PARADISE LOST ‘Paradise Lost’ Zomba Music(2005)
A few days ago, having returned back home after a relatively bad day at work, I found a small package waiting for me on my doorstep. When I realised that I had been sent the promo of the last Paradise Lost album, I became quite confused: surely there must be some mistake here, because I bought a copy of that album almost half a year ago...well, who cares anyway? I haven't done a review for a Paradise Lost album in quite a long time, so I decided to seize the opportunity.
"Paradise Lost" is the follow up to the band's 2002 release "Symbol of Life" - an album that I personally found quite enjoyable and friendly, but still less impressive and challenging than some of the band's classic releases such as "Gothic" (1991), "Shades of God" (1992) and "Icon" (1993). Yet, this release managed to bring back the attention of some of the band's older fans who became quite disheartened by efforts like "Host" (1999) and "Believe in Nothing" (2001), and most importantly, it gave them hope that the band might return back to heavier forms. Well, three year later, "Paradise Lost" has finally been released, but cannot claim to have satisfied these high expectations - is that so important, though?
Well, not really. Much as I love the band's first period, I believe that we must leave the past behind and start moving forwards, and this is what Paradise Lost have been doing in their last two releases - yet, in "Paradise Lost" they have proved that they also keep one eye in their glorious past by incorporating quite a few classic elements in their music. One thing that you will realise after the first couple of spins is that this is a pretty straightforward and quite emotional album, that will apply to a variety of different audiences, and that is one of its strongest selling points. On the other hand, just like "Symbol of Life" failed to do three years ago, it did not manage to sweep me off my feet, and that is something that I'm always looking for in a Paradise Lost release, so I really cannot praise nor condemn this release.
The opening track "Don't Belong" is definitely one of the catchiest compositions of the album. The quite discrete keyboard melodies in the background help create quite a moody atmosphere, and Greg Mackitosh's lead guitar melodies carry the typical Paradise Lost seal of approval. Both "Close Your Eyes" and "Grey" are nicely made compositions, with the former being probably the heaviest and most unusual song of the album, and the latter the most emotional, yet it is the following three compositions that I found to be the most interesting of the album. "Redshift" is a song based on a beautiful piano theme and has one of the most amazing riffs of the whole album, but it is "Forever After" that will attract most people's attention, seeing as it heavily influenced by the music of the Sisters of Mercy - the obvious choice for a single. Finally, the short but quite effective guitar work on "Sun Fading" will probably remind you all why you decided to become a Paradise Lost fan in the first place. The second half of the album consists of good songs, but was less effective, with the only exception of "Over the Madness" which is the doomiest of compositions, based on beautiful guitar melodies and proudly carrying one of the best solos of the album.
I have really enjoyed listening to "Paradise Lost" and I will definitely give it a few spins if I am in the right mood, but I have to admit that I expected more things from this release. I really don't care what musical direction this band will follow in the future, and I will always defend their right to do so, but as an old time fan of this great band, my only request/demand is to witness the birth of another killer Paradise Lost album, but I will have to wait for the band’s next release in order to see if that is to finally happen.
***½
Review by John Stefanis
|
