PARADISE LOST - Medusa
Nuclear Blast
Can I just say this is better than the last two albums they put out this decade? Ah I guess not, alright then I'll start out by saying something you don't normally see. I am not a huge fan of PARADISE LOST. Hey over their long career (what is it like thirty years now?) they've put out some great albums. They've also put out some mediocre ones and some crap. I only like the albums that are actually metal sounding and I think I'm in the majority on this topic.
Be that as it may, I think Medusa is a great album which is about fuckin time. I'm thinking Gregor Mackintosh's work in his old school death metal side project, VALLENFYRE, has finally made these guys kick it up a notch. This is death doom but not in the sorrowful sense of "oh look it's raining out. I'm so sad." No this is death doom as in two red eyes staring at you from the darkness.
Medusa is an evil sounding album. Nick Holmes has his growling voice back better than what's been done previously in recent years. Sure he's clean speaking/singing too but that's a gimme. The guitar tones are dense and crushing. The way the album starts off giving you three heavy upbeat cuts: "Fearless Sky", "Gods Of Ancient" and "From The Gallows" is a benefit in my not so fuckin humble opinion. Aggression and anger is alive in this band's belly.
The really epic cuts, which remind ya of the past, come in at the mid point on "The Longest Winter" and the title cut. The former is the better of the two especially with Mackintosh's kinda psych tremolo lead work. The title cut hearkens back to the band's more depressive and melodic death/doom days with Nick Holmes in clean vocal mode. This cut goes out to the Goth guys out there in black eyeliner and SISTERS OF MERCY t-shirts they bought at Hot Topic ten years ago. They probably still live with their parents as well.
"No Passage For The Dead" and the final cut, "Until the Grave" are a return to the evil death doom hate which is more in line with what these guys have been doing off of their more recent releases. The songs are gritty and intense plus that old school death metal guitar tone running throughout. Then in between those two the band pulls one out of no where with "Blood & Chaos". This one rocks like it was a throwaway from In Requiem that they gave a second chance.
That's basically the release but I got the digibook version with two extra tracks and they're very good as well. All in all Medusa is a great album as far as my PARADISE LOST tastes go. Although I think they're due to put out a mediocre one next time. Then all the goth whores who've been complaining will be happy and stop their incessant whining which they've been doing for the past ten years.
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