Paradise Lost – Obsidian

Label: Nuclear Blast
Release date: 15-05-2020

Genre-defining (see “Gothic” LP of 1991), 3-decades old band Paradise Lost just dropped their 16th full length called “Obsidian”. 16 albums is easier said than done. These guys have kept their integrity of sound and style intact throughout the years and “Obsidian” sounds and tastes like fine aged wine.

I heard a few tracks and singles out of their last 2 albums which are highly critically-acclaimed records, having been mostly stuck and hooked on their 5th album “Draconian Times”, I thought maybe I did the right thing after all by not having properly listened to their last 2 LPs because I realized I missed their sound immensely and this one has hit me just different. I have felt all the vibes and nods to Sisters of Mercy in the synthwork and the keys and all the way to T0N in choruses and overall atmosphere soundwise.

Now as for the tracks; the darling of the critics opener Darker Thoughts is definitely a dark one and it definitely does not lift your spirits up in any way. Rock and Metal music of course is known to be life-savers by all the fans and listeners but that one definitely got me hanging by a thread. I was, all of a sudden, face to face with a dark vibed record that has the same level of darkness with doom and gloom’s bests. However, things started to look up for me with the second track, Fall From Grace. which sounds like it could very well be a song off of T0N’s “World Coming Down” record minus the growl vocals. The chorus gave me the chills. Coming to my very own favorites; Ghosts, The Devil Embraced and Serenity are just everything that PL represents. Forsaken and Hope Dies Young have that goth-anthem element with those big, hammer-to-the-head choruses that PL is well-known for.

The Paradise Lost album takes its name from a black volcanic glass that also has spiritually healing properties that wards off evil and negative forces and it’s also my zodiac stone. Not to sound cheesy but it made me think that maybe we need to go deep down into the darkness first as displayed by PL on this record to only to go up for a fresher breath of air. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

“Obsidian” is one showcase of the band’s skills of doom. You know what you need to do if you’ve been one of the witnesses of PL’s history of gloom and glory.

Line up:

Steve Edmondson – Bass
Greg Mackintosh – Guitars, Keyboards
Aaron Aedy – Guitars
Nick Holmes – Vocals
Waltteri Väyrynen – Drums

Tracklist

1 – Darker Thoughts
2 – Fall From Grace
3 – Ghosts
4 – The Devil Embraced
5 – Forsaken
6 – Serenity
7 – Ending Days
8 – Hope Dies Young
9 – Ravenghast
10 – Hear The Night (bonus)
11 – Defiler (bonus)

Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paradiselostofficial