PARADISE LOST - Obsidian
Nuclear Blast
So if you're a long time fan of PARADISE LOST then you know to expect the mood twists they do every once in a while with their releases. I'm not going to lay out an album history for ya. Lets just say sometimes they're death doom then it's gothic doom and there were those times when they thought they were SISTERS OF MERCY. Which in my opinion, sucked.
2017's Medusa was a return to their death doom days and I thought it was a masterpiece. Obsidian is another return to their gothic doom style and it's an obvious masterpiece. Many bands in metal who've been around for over three decades are not putting out dynamic sounding albums like this. Sure some keep with their program to please the masses. PARADISE LOST takes what they know and moves it a pace further.
On this their sixteenth full length things start out mediocre with the opening cut "Darker Thoughts". It's what follows which makes things flow more into the whole gothic doom genre. "Fall From Grace" just explodes at you with Nick Holmes' patented pairing off of his harsh baritone bursts with the cleans spoken word like clean vocals. Musically the dynamics are cool in the doom style and having new drummer, Waltteri Vayrynen, really showing off with plenty of fills.
It's from that point on where everything on Obsidian just flows with perfection. Greg Mackintosh has some amazing melodic guitar soloing on here. Steve Edmondson gets a few chances to remind us he's alive with a few cool bass runs. Aaron Aedy still notes on riffs that can be re-used and refined.
I'm sure some people will think it's all a redux of past patterns. Not really in fact it's the past effort redone for the now. Songs like "Hope Dies Young" or "Forsaken" just show a more nuanced approach to the genre. Seriously PARADISE LOST are the experts when it comes to this sound. Listening to this I just came away thinking why bother with anyone else. Perfect and one of the best for 2020.
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