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Paradise Lost: In requiem
15/06/07 || Euthanatos
We all know, and most of us love, the Paradise Lost that molded doom and gothic metal in the early nineties, with gems like “Gothic” and “Icon”. Then, as we also all know, they went gay and released “Draconian Times”, and since then there are two groups of people, as far as the band goes; those who hate them for what they became, and those who still kept up with the group and enjoy the rainbow side of life, if you know what I mean.
I’ll fess up, I actually liked “Draconian Times” a lot, but totally lost interest after that. Sure, I’d always listen to what they were up to, but nothing stood out for me, and the years passed without giving it much thought.
Enter 2007, new album, “In Requiem”. Now, look, this isn’t a bad album, not at all. In fact, this might be their best effort since “Draconian Times” (Some people also highly regard “One Second” but meh, fuck them). A lot of things actually remind me of that album, the vocal harmonies, the melodies, the deep, somber tone of it all that doesn’t quite sound “metal”, but makes it gloomy enough to not feel commercial or mainstream.
Even though Nick Holmes will go back and forth with his James Hetfield impersonation, I actually think he has gotten a lot better, and his more “gothic” vocals are the better moments of this effort. “Ash & Debris” is a good sample of what I’m talking about here.
The heavier “The Enemy”, which starts out with female vocals that will entwine with heavier riffs later on, is also a highlight. “Praise Lamented Shade” is a really gay power ballad sort of thing, starting out soft and then getting heavier, then mellow again, you get the idea. And while “Requiem” sounds like something straight out of “Draconian Times” (Fuck, how many times have I mentioned this album? I swear I don’t like to take it up the ass), “Unreachable” is a faggot-fest with dancing beats all over the place.
Oh, hell, I’m not doing a track-by-track analysis here, to get to the point, there are some cool tracks that take us to better Paradise Lost days, and there are horrible tracks that should only be played in dance floors or whore houses.
It’s not going to make you cream your pants, it’s not going to make you hurl either (well…actually, it might). I’ll give a medium score, just because I’m a good sport and all. Now, let’s boogie.
The cover: Some gothic dude looking at his hands. Very… uh.. suicidal, I guess. So that works.
6 dancing goth emo harlots out of 10.
- Information
- Released: 2007
- Label: Century Media Records
- Website: www.paradiselost.co.uk
- Band
- Nick Holmes: vocals
- Greg Mackintosh: lead guitars
- Aaron Aedy: rhythm guitars
- Steve Edmondson: bass guitar
- Jeff Singer: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Never For The Damned
- 02. Ash & Debris
- 03. The Enemy
- 04. Praise Lamented Shade
- 05. Requiem
- 06. Unreachable
- 07. Prelude To Descent
- 08. Fallen Children
- 09. Beneath Black Skies
- 10. Sedative God
- 11. Your Own Reality
