As forerunners of doom/death metal, UK’s Paradise Lost have hewn their reputation from the same stone as other legends in heavy metal music, leaving an unmistakable and distinct mark on the foundation of extreme metal. From their start as an incredibly raw and primitive band who blended the brutality of death metal with the thick atmosphere of gothic rock, Paradise Lost soon blossomed into a potent yet accessible outfit with the likes of the classic Draconian Times, the shadow of which they never quite escaped until about a decade ago. Even their worst career missteps – namely 1999’s Host, which detoured into Depeche Mode-esque synthpop/goth rock and was supposedly manipulated by producers and powers that be at EMI Music – were still decent. Paradise Lost were, to borrow a phrase from countless press releases, “the masters of melancholy.” Few bands were able to so effectively combine the grandeur of gothic rock, the bombast of heavy metal, and accessibility of rock-based song structures with anthemic choruses and driving rhythms. Unlike some of their contemporaries who uprooted themselves entirely from the tropes of metal music, Paradise Lost always had their feet firmly planted in a guitar-driven, heavily rhythmic tradition. With 2005’s self-titled album marking the beginning of a return to form, Paradise Lost started a relentless rhythm of writing and recording that showed a band who, with some stumbling blocks well behind them, seemed to thrive on recovering their identity as the original masters of all things slow and gloomy in the metal world. The past three albums – 2007’s In Requiem, 2009’s Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us, and 2012’s Tragic Idol have all been incredibly solid if not some of the best works of their career. It’s no surprise, then, that their newest, The Plague Within, is not only another incredibly strong effort, but certainly their heaviest – a full return to their death metal roots complete with vocalist Nick Holmes’ raspy growls – and potentially the most memorable of their career. It wraps up the band’s past 15 years into one beast of an album.
The Plague Within begins with “No Hope in Sight,” which sets the tone with epic, morose guitar leads and Holmes’ clear, raspy growls cutting through like a proclamation of judgment at the end of time. The phrasing and vocal melodies in the verses and chorus complement the simple but effective guitar rhythms, and the main riff serves as a great anchor for propelling the song forward. It comes off as a more focused, riff-oriented version of the best parts of In Requiem and is one of the most balanced cuts on the entire album. The succeeding track “Terminal” highlights Adrian Erlandsson’s pummeling drumwork, his double bass rhythms laying a foundation for harmonized tremolo picking and Holmes’ ever-present roars over a memorable chorus. While the side projects of Paradise Lost’s members (Bloodbath and Vallenfyre) hinted at the sophisticated battering they were capable of, “Terminal” and the monstrous “Flesh From Bone” lay any doubts to rest. On the opposite side of the tempo spectrum, the album’s single “Beneath Broken Earth” (can we talk about these insanely good song titles, please?!) scorches other death/doom outfits with its grim atmosphere and shows them for the carbon copies that they are. The whole first half of the album sees the masters rightly ascending to their place; 25 years after their genesis, Paradise Lost are at their prime and can write engaging albums that cover a gamut of styles while shaming most other bands in the “low & slow” niche of metal music.
Especially interesting is the sequence of tracks here: On the first half of The Plague Within , the orchestra-driven melancholy of “An Eternity of Lies” directly precedes the traditional doom stomp of “Punishment Through Time,” which sees the band drawing on its love of outfits like Candlemass and Celtic Frost while still sounding exactly like themselves. The second half houses the doom/death ripper “Flesh From Bone,” which is sandwiched in between the introspective lyrics of “Victim of the Past” (which, musically, sort of reminds me of a doom/death version of Cradle of Filth) and the Cathedral-esque groove of “Cry Out.”
Such variety of styles on a single album is nearly unprecedented for a band of Paradise Lost’s age, but it works grandly here. Nothing feels out of place and everything fits the mold of the gloomy yet regal atmosphere of the album; Paradise Lost have proven themselves to be masters of all the varieties of doom and have no issue with displaying such prowess across the span ofT he Plague Within. For a band who are nearly three decades into their career, the band sounds not merely confident in themselves but in their abilities to try some new things and not lose their identity in the process. Nick Holmes’ command of lyrics and vocal phrasing keep listeners engaged at every turn as Greg Mackintosh continues to churn out majestic leads that scream over top of earth-shattering riffs and colossal drumwork. Structurally, the band tend to stick with variations on the verse/chorus structure with many of the songs here, but for the admirable variety of riffs, moods, and textures in the songs, at no point does anything begin to sound dull and predictable. Even cuts that sound similar to each other on first listen begin to distinguish their own identities on further listens, and the replay value for the album as a whole is unrivaled for any other albums I’ve listened to this year.
With strong, memorable songwriting and the band’s unwavering dedication to recovering their heavier roots aided by a warm, suitably massive production complete with full orchestra and even choirs on closing cut “Return to the Sun,” (which I’m sure will find its way into the band’s live sets for its pure bombast), The Plague Within is not just the strongest Paradise Lost album in the past 15 years, but it is one of the first truly great metal albums of 2015.
Standout tracks: “An Eternity of Lies,” “Sacrifice the Flame,” “Return to the Sun” (in fairness, all the tracks here are magnificent)
Rating: 5/5
The Plague Within will be released through Century Media Records on June 2 in North America (June 1 in Europe). It is available for pre-order on vinyl and CD. Follow Paradise Lost on Facebook and Twitter.
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