First up I'm going to tackle a band you might have missed: Paradise
Lost. I've been listening to these happy chaps since 1993 and I am hard
pressed to think of another artist or group who have experimented as fearlessly
with their sound. Bowie, Madonna, Metallica, U2, Dylan,
Marilyn Manson, Eels, Megadeth, The Beatles, Nick Cave, and even Kylie;
one common trait these disparate artists share is that they have all played with their image and sound, often to the consternation of their
fans and critics. In my (sexy and infallible) opinion, Paradise Lost underwent even more seismic shifts than any of the aforementioned.
So who are Paradise Lost, I assume you ask? Paradise Lost were formed in Halifax in 1988 and, while they never found major fame in their home country, they achieved massive success in mainland Europe. Often named ‘the godfathers of doom’ for their spearheading of the doom metal movement of the late 80s/early 90s (not to be confused with the fluffy-tickle-bee-bob-boogie-woggie movement of the mid-1840s), Paradise Lost abandoned this style as quickly as they perfected it. Over the course of their nigh on 30 year career they have morphed from death-doom to gothic to heavy metal to hard rock to alternative rock to synth-pop and (almost) all the way back again! Throughout they have maintained a consistent gothic sensibility, but I guarantee that if I played you a track from their debut album, Lost Paradise, and followed it with a track from their 7th album, Host, you would not believe it's the same band (I can't believe it's not guttural, if you will...).
At the heart of the group are Greg Mackintosh and Nick Holmes, the
former being the chief composer with Holmes, the vocalist, providing the
lyrics. For well over ten years Paradise Lost were one of my favourite bands,
and while my devotion has waned somewhat in recent years, my appreciation is
ever-present. What follows is a quick rundown of Paradise Lost’s musical history.
I hope it gives you some sort of guide as to where best to intersect with this
highly underrated band.
LOST PARADISE [1990]
Paradise Lost’s debut was one of the first ever death-doom metal albums. It earned them the
moniker ‘godfathers of doom’ but by the time of their sophomore effort just a year
later the band were already distancing themselves from this sound. In
fact PL have cut these songs entirely from their live sets. While Lost Paradise is not without its merits, it is not an album I have
ever gotten into. To its credit, it does what it does very well; it’s just not
my cup of baby blood. It evokes a palpable sense of doom, and there are flashes in the gloom of better things to come, but the guttural vocals are simply
not to my taste. I know this isn’t necessary a good start as recommendations go,
but bear with me, you pricks.
As the title suggests, Gothic
has a more ‘gothic’ sound, and it is from here that the sub-genre ‘gothic metal’
derives its name. In the space of two albums PL were instrumental in creating
two genres; not a bad start to a career! Gothic
retains the doom dirge and grunting vocal of its predecessor, but this time out Mackintosh has
layered more melody into his arrangements, using synths to create the epic
scope which defines the ‘gothic’ sound. At times the album trips itself up with the onslaught of riffs and time-changes, but the ambition is admirable, and though ill-disciplined in places there is a tangible air of raw creative energy. As
with Lost Paradise, Gothic is not an album to which I listen
a great deal, but it showed a marked progression in style and established PL as a band who were not afraid to mix things up.
SHADES OF GOD [1992]
Though they didn’t invent a new genre this time around neither did PL
continue with the full sweep of the gothic sound they had pioneered on their
previous release. While opaque shades of gothic metal prevail Shades of God places more emphasis on crafting songs than creating atmosphere.
Mackintosh foregoes the intricate synth-scapes of Gothic in favour of a more groove
oriented and direct approach. Shades of God is much more up-tempo than what came before and Holmes’
vocal, while still utilising his ‘death grunt’, is much cleaner now; the words are
actually discernable! While still far from mainstream, Shades
of God is much more accessible than its predecessors. This is a really solid metal album and is worth a
listen for As I Die if nothing else,
a song which is still a live staple to this day.
ICON [1993]
This is the point where I first discovered Paradise Lost, after catching
a live performance late one night on ITV. Icon saw PL take a giant leap into the mainstream whilst still remaining loyal to their gothic origins. Icon
is the pinnacle of this era in the band’s sound. In fact, it’s arguably the
pinnacle of gothic metal in general (I say this knowing fuck all about gothic metal in general, but I am fairly certain this is a widely held view amongst those in the know). Gothic
metal is about atmosphere and there are few albums which achieve this with the assurance of Icon. The balance
between mood and melody is realised with consummate clarity. Holmes is actually singing
now and the effortless invention of Mackintosh's composition is breath-taking. While more melodic offerings
were to follow, this is, for me, PL's most successfully realised work.
DRACONIAN TIMES [1995]
Draconian Times was the band's
breakthrough album. It is (to the best of my knowledge) their biggest
commercial hit and it is certainly their most critically acclaimed. This is PL’s Black album, in that
it is their most commercially successful, but also, in terms of
categorising its sound on the heavy-metal-spectrum (a dour rainbow, it must be said), Metallica’s 1991
behemoth is a good benchmark. Every self-respecting metaller should have
this in their collection. From the haunting opening piano to the resonance of the final guitar, the musicianship and production are superlative. Though
Icon edges it for me personally, if you
like your guitar riffs complex and your solos ripped n' shredded, then this is the PL album for you. If you don't like this album, you're either deaf or my mother.
ONE SECOND [1997]
Depending on your tastes, this could be where PL continue their fine
tradition of experimentation, or where they’ll have you throwing your hands in
the air decrying: “What the fuck, PL? Where’s the beef (by beef I mean metal)?” One Second saw their sound take a vast
shift in tone due to Mackintosh removing several layers of guitar and replacing them with pulsing synths. While
there are still plenty of heavy melodies, this is squarely an alternative rock record, something which, quite frankly, you're just going to have to deal with. It even dallies into synth-pop (Sisters of Mercy and Depeche Mode are big influences on PL and it
really begins to show here). One Second
is certainly a brave record and if you like what's come before then this
is a must. The production has dated a little, and I find it thematically incohesive in places, but when it does, eh, co-heave(?), it delivers some of the best songs the band have ever written.
HOST [1999]
If you thought PL had wandered off the reservation with One Second then this is
where they become specks on the horizon! Had you fallen in love with their rich
and complex guitar riffage? Well, you can forget about that, mister, 'cause
you’ll hear nary a guitar on here, and what guitar you do hear is so heavily
processed that it might as well be a synth. Host is by far the biggest divergence
in PL’s varied discography and it sees the band once again inventing a new genre; people, I give you “doom pop”! Host was a huge creative risk and I for one am
delighted they took it as this is possibly my favourite PL album! Fuck judging albums
on the expectation of what a band should
do; they should be judged on the merits of the songs alone, and in this regard Host excels. Host’s greatest strength is that it is clearly the album the band
wanted to make because no one - NO ONE! - would ever have suggested that they
go in this direction. Yet as radically different as it is to what came before, it's actually the same thing they've being doing all along; creating an
atmosphere. They are simply using a different palate this time. This is PL’s Load or
their Pop, and as those albums were
for Metallica and U2, this was the album against which the critics and fans lashed
back, and from which the band’s sound never quiet recovered its inventiveness.
BELIEVE IN NOTHING [2001]
The backlash against Host saw
PL seek a return to their former guitar sound. Such an abrupt about-face in
style is no easy task, and while Believe
In Nothing is cut from the same cloth as Host (it is basically Host-with-guitars), it sounds like a band struggling with their identity. There are some decent
tracks here and the album has a very radio-friendly hard-rock vibe, but something
is just off. The biggest problem is
the over-slick production, which completely voids the guitars of their energy. Though
there are flourishes of brilliance, Believe
In Nothing is probably PL’s weakest album. While I listen to it more than I
do Lost Paradise or Gothic, those
albums are far more successful in achieving their objective.
SYMBOL OF LIFE [2002]
This is the album Believe In
Nothing was striving to be. The production issues of its predecessor have been solved and Symbol of Life
has a full and muscular sound (it's really buff). Here PL take the electronic experimentation of Host and successfully meld it with heavy
guitars to create what is probably best classified as an industrial metal sound.
There are even hints of krautrock, and the Sisters of Mercy
influence shines through distinctly in places. Re-listening to Symbol of Life for this blog, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it held up. I remember being a little disappointed when it first came out, as
it was clear that PL were trying to return to their former sound instead of
continuing with their wild experimentation. Hindsight has given me a different
perspective, and though it is an uneven album overall, there really are some strong tunes on here. The truth
is that, after an album like Host, regardless of whether
the media and fans had accepted it or not, where else could the band have
taken their sound?
PARADISE LOST [2005]
PL’s self-titled tenth album
finds them still yearning for their old sound and, it must be conceded, making
a damn good stab at it. In many ways this is the logical next step from Draconian Times. One Second was a big leap (some might argue too much) whereas this
album feels like a natural segue from that sound. There are parts here that
sound straight outta Compton – I mean, Draconian
Times - but with more added synth. With Paradise Lost the band found their stride and it is their strongest record in years (it would be even stronger if it didn’t outstay its welcome by at least three songs). It falls short of their best, but that they were still crafting albums of this quality almost 20 years into their career is no mean feat. At the time I had feared that this was PL
finding a style that would dominate the rest of their career, a good clean
melding of their love for heaviness and electronica, but I should really have known better.
IN REQUIEM [2007]
It’s never been PL’s modus
operandi to rest on their laurels so, true to form, they immediately abandoned
the sound of Paradise Lost. With In Requiem they moved even further back towards their gothic roots and while it is by no means a bad record, it's just not an album I warmed to. I was much more in tune with the band when their sound was moving
forward, but moving back just didn’t resonate with me as much. But to judge the album on its merits, PL have once again crafted an elegant atmosphere, drawing in the dark clouds to deliver a solid mix of
oppressive gloom and balls out metallers. It’s well worth a listen, especially if you’re into this style. It just isn’t a sound that appeals to me as
much anymore.
FAITH DIVIDES US – DEATH UNITES US [2009]
Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us (or FaDU-DhUU as no one calls it) picked up the baton from In Requiem and ran with it (well, funeral marched with it). FaDU-DhUU is gloomier again and is probably the closest PL have gotten to
their doom laden debut. The band have learned a huge amount in the intervening 20 years
and they bring all of that experience to bear on the genre they helped to
forge. Holmes resurrects his death grunt vocal here, but uses it for effect as
opposed to as his sole instrument. This is not an entirely successful endeavour, as the shifts between growls and clean vocal have something of a Jekyll and
Hyde effect, rendering some of the tracks a little tonally uneven. This is the
only PL release since I became a fan that I didn’t purchase (I stole it from an orphanage instead). As with In Requiem, this is not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination; it's just not to my tastes. I feel bad saying that, as it’s always a sad day when you must cast aside your
idols. How tragic! Which brings us nicely to…
TRAGIC IDOL [2012]
Though I don’t follow PL as enthusiastically anymore, I am always
curious to see what direction they take next. While their previous two albums hearkened back to their earliest work, Tragic
Idol fixed its sights firmly on the band’s heyday. What could so easily
have been folly – after all, how many bands have we seen fail to recapture
their glory days? - has resulted in PL’s best realised and most consistent album in years! Holmes
has finally figured out how to unite the warring sides of his vocal. The solution
was simple; he sings like he did on Icon
and Draconian Times! Mackintosh too (not to be confused with a popular computer from the 1980s) is channelling his former self. If I was told that Tragic Idol was comprised of left-over songs from the Icon era, I could easily believe it, and this I consider high praise indeed! Tragic
Idol is a triumphant return to form and if you’re a fan of what is
generally considered the golden era of PL’s career, then this is a must.
FURTHER LISTENING
Seriously; 13 albums and you want more? You fucking pigs! Well as it happens, PL have an extensive collection of B-Side and rarities on which you're more than welcome to gorge yourself. In 2013 they released a collection of B-sides, unreleased tracks, and covers songs called Tragic Illusion 25. That's just the tip of the iceberg though, and there is plenty more to explore besides. They have included numerous bonus tracks on the special editions of their albums and on their single releases. Given their varied musical history it should come as no surprise that they have an eclectic selection of cover songs: The Smiths, Venom, Everything But The Girl, Nightfall, Sisters of Mercy, and Bronski Beat, to list but as many as I'm bothered to name.
So there you have it: Paradise Lost! I hope this whets your appetite for the band. I would recommend starting with their metal stuff and then journeying into the more experimental territory. I began my journey with Icon and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better album in their catalogue, but Draconian Times would be an equally great starting point. As much as I love Host, it is simply not a good indication of the bands overall style, so don't begin there (unless you don't like metal, of course, in which case, you suck). Whatever you decide, enjoy (though enjoyment probably isn’t the bands intent)!
Paradise Lost are currently working on their 14th studio album which will most likely see the
dark of day (see what I did there?) some time next year. As always, I will be
keeping an ear out to see (apparently I'm a bat) what they try next. Part of me will always wonder what trajectory their career might have taken had Host
been more of a hit, but alas, that wasn’t to be. I do hope that they still have
a few surprises up their sleeve. Maybe we as a species are finally ready for the world's first gothic-folk-disco record; roll on Mumford &
The Rotting Corpse Sons of Saturday Night Fever!
