Paradise Lost - The Plague Within

"Cold embrace is the saviour in disguise
Through old age, only danger never dies"

When gothic metal trailblazers Paradise Lost released Tragic Idol three years ago, who would've thought their next album would bring them even closer to their roots? Even though Greg Mackintosh was already playing death metal with his other band Vallenfyre, hardly anyone seriously expected Paradise Lost to bring back the extreme elements of their early albums. However, once the band had re-recorded a couple of old songs for the Tragic Illusion 25 (2013) compilation and Nick Holmes had been announced as the new vocalist of Bloodbath, the idea didn't feel too far-fetched anymore. On The Plague Within Paradise Lost embrace their death/doom past without making it sound forced or abandoning what they've learned over the years.

The strength of The Plague Within lies in its diversity: it includes songs in different tempos with a variety of vocals and moods. On top of that, the production sounds very organic, which is a great thing in the modern world of overprocessed and plastic-sounding metal records. According to Mackintosh, the video track "Beneath Broken Earth" is the slowest PL song ever, while the death metal explosion "Flesh from Bone" is the fastest. The rest of the material ranges between these two extremes, but the doomy elements prevail.

Nick Holmes unleashes his guttural death growl for the first time since 1991's genre-defining Gothic. In fact, there are three(!) songs without melodic vocals and only one without growls, and even that one ("Punishment Through Time") is far from a ballad, relying on sludge metal riffing and Holmes' trademark rasp instead. The rest of the songs combine singing with growling. Ironically Paradise Lost never did this before, although they were an influence on numerous bands that employed both vocal styles.

"No Hope in Sight" is a strong and catchy opener, showcasing the album well. "Terminal" includes some fierce drum fills from Adrian Erlandsson, who is at home playing this kind of music, having been a member of bands like At the Gates and Cradle of Filth. My personal favorite song "An Eternity of Lies" brings female vocals and piano back into the mix. There are also string arrangements in this song, as well as "Victim of the Past" and "Sacrifice the Flame", which reminds me of the classic Draconian Times (1995) track "Forever Failure". "Cry Out" is a stoner rock song in vein of "Cardinal Zero", and "Return to the Sun" is a climactic closer, just like "The Glorious End" was on the last album.

The deluxe box set looks gorgeous and includes the album on vinyl, an art book with Nick Holmes' explanations of each song's lyrics, as well as a bonus CD with three bonus tracks. Out of these three, "Fear of Silence" is a mellow, somber song that would probably have been a little too soft for the actual album. "Never Look Away", on the other hand, is full of fantastic guitarwork, and I wish it would've been included onto the album. The live version of "Victim of the Past" from last year's orchestral show in Bulgaria is a cool addition, although it will also appear on the upcoming live DVD. All in all, this set is definitely worth your money - the only little complaint I can think of are the various typos in the artbook ("a slave of lasting cry's" - really?), but I guess they appear in the standard CD booklet too.

I'm not crazy about Paradise Lost's first two albums, as I prefer their later stuff, and even the controversial synth pop records from the late 90s are great to my ears. For that reason I wish this album had a little bit more of their melodic side - for example "Cry Out" would work even better without the grunts. However, The Plague Within is a more than worthy addition to the Paradise Lost discography, and very few bands manage to release albums as fresh as this over 25 years into their careers. The band shows that an old dog can feel young again and learn a few new tricks at the same time.

Rating: 4/5

Classic Album Anniversary: Paradise Lost - Draconian Times (1995)

"Time may heal all troubles, is that what I've found?
Joy entices all until death's lonely shroud

But I know it's forever..."

The first album to receive the honor of being reviewed by me is one of my all-time favorite releases and one of the greatest classics of gothic metal; Draconian Times by Paradise Lost. This album was released on June 12, 1995, so today marks its 20th anniversary. Prepare for a lot of album anniversary posts in this blog!

Paradise Lost was an innovative and unique band right from the beginning, when their music was still death/doom metal with slow tempos and growled vocals. However, with each album their music got more melodic and accessible, and album #5, Draconian Times, was the peak of that development. After that Paradise Lost would move completely away from metal in a more poppy and synth-driven direction, only to return to their heavy roots some ten years later. Their latest album The Plague Within was released two weeks ago, but I'll tell you my thoughts on that record later on in a separate post.

Opener "Enchantment" could be considered the key track of the album: it starts with a beautiful piano intro before the heavy guitars and drums kick in. Structurally the song is a little different compared to the rest of the album, being 6 minutes long and not having a proper chorus, but it's one of the definitive Paradise Lost classics with its gloomy vibe and has been played live more often than any other song on the album. When I saw PL live two years ago, they opened with "Enchantment" - it's a great moodsetter, both in concert and on the album. Frontman and lyricist Nick Holmes has joked that the lyrics are about masturbation: "Reverse the frown and let the power surge / But when alone you cannot resist the urge" Whether that's the song's actual topic depends on your interpretation, but I'm more inclined to believe it's about something way more depressive like the rest of the album.

The songs on Draconian Times vary between catchy rockers like "Hallowed Land" and "The Last Time", and more atmospheric and moody pieces, such as "Elusive Cure" and the ballad "Forever Failure", which includes samples of notorious serial killer Charles Manson speaking about how he "do[es]n't really know what sorry means". Depressive stuff, but perfect for haunting music like this! "Once Solemn" is an atypically fast, perhaps even slightly punky song. Slow songs like "Jaded" on the other hand revisit Paradise Lost's doom metal roots, despite being very melodic and including no growls.

Speaking of vocals, Nick Holmes sings most of the album in a raspy tone reminiscent of James Hetfield, which was probably the main reason why Paradise Lost was called "the next Metallica" around the time the record came out. Holmes also uses his gothic crooning voice for the less aggressive sections, and overall his vocals are more diverse than on the earlier albums. The only complaint I have about his singing is that while he had learned to stay in tune better since the previous album Icon (1993), he still sings slightly off-key in the verses of "The Last Time", which is a little distracting. Nevertheless, his performance on the album is great, considering that Autotune and other helpful studio programs weren't around back then and he sings a lot of the album in a higher register than usually on PL's releases.

Main songwriter Greg Mackintosh's wailing lead guitar is one of the most recognizable elements of the Paradise Lost sound, and he is firing on all cylinders on Draconian Times, playing infectious melodies and tasteful solos all over the album, perhaps most notably on my favorite song "Yearn for Change". However, the rest of the band isn't sloppy either, and funnily enough this is the only PL album to include musical contributions from other members than Holmes and Mackintosh. Aaron Aedy is one of the tightest rhythm guitarists in the business, and the rhythm section of bassist Steve Edmondson and drummer Lee Morris lays a solid foundation for the songs. Morris was the newbie of the band at the time, having joined just before the recording sessions, and his playing was a massive improvement over original skinsman Matthew Archer. He plays impressive fills and patterns, but never once reaching the point where his playing is flashy for the sake of it and doesn't serve the song.

Greg Mackintosh has said he considers Draconian Times merely "a polished version of Icon". While the albums are similar and I love both of them, I find the former an improvement in every way: the songwriting is more solid and diverse, the performances are tighter and the crystal clear production sounds great to this day. The album's legacy also speaks for itself, as it remains Paradise Lost's best-selling and most acclaimed release. It was also played in full live in 2011, and the DVD filmed on that tour, Draconian Times MMXI, is one of the greatest live videos I've ever seen. Draconian Times paved the way for numerous new bands, including HIM and Lacuna Coil. It's a timeless release that came out at the right time and has had a huge impact even on listeners like me who only discovered the band within the past five years.

Rating: 5/5

EDIT: I think I'll add some official YouTube videos to the end of each review to give you some idea of what the music sounds like. However, single/video tracks are rarely among my absolute favorite songs, and some of you may even want to hear the whole album, so I'm also adding a Spotify Play Button: