Veteran UK gothic metallers Paradise Lost released their 16th album, Obsidian, the follow-up to 2017’s Medusa. Founded in 1988 in Halifax, Paradise Lost are a well known pioneer who helped define the gothic subgenre and raised doom metal to a new level. Besides their goth roots, the band has come a long way and experimented with many genres during their career. To name a few: Death Doom, electronic pop, and classic heavy metal. I've first heard the band when purchased the CD Draconian Times back in 1995, then I lost interest. But more recently the last three albums since 2012's Tragic Idol have been very good and highly ranked in my year-end lists.
The new offering Obsidian opens strongly and unexpectedly with "Darker Thoughts", a two part song: First clean vocals over acoustic guitar and strings. Then growls, guitars and drums enter to give the best display of death doom brilliance. More interestingly during the third verse it brings the goth vibe in. Not to mention the melodic and engaging guitar solo and fantastic drumming. It's the perfect album opener as it's brilliant and summarizes the whole album. Obsidian is an eclectic album with heavy parts but also highly influenced by 80's goth. It features solos, heavy riffs, ballads and acoustics. On the heavier side of the album are "Fall from Grace" and the groovy "Serenity". "Ghosts" exemplify their deep The Sisters of Mercy influence. The catchy "Forsaken" keeps the 80's goth influence on the forefront and serves as clear display of 1995's Draconian Times meets 2015's The Plague Within, a recurrent theme in Obsidian. "Ending Days", the perfect display of melodic guitarwork from Gregor Mackintosh, is still very goth but more ballad oriented song. The Death Doom side of the band was not forgotten and strongly represented by "The Devil Embraced" and the closing jewel "Ravenghast".
The guitarwork is one of the highlights with classy chugging guitars combined with riffs using the higher end of the spectrum. It's almost as if guitar riffs were used to replace the keyboards. It's an interesting choice that allowed the band to combine The Sisters of Mercy influence without loosing their heaviness. Of course the solid drumming also contributes to the heaviness. Besides there's no lack of very melodic and interesting guitar solos. Overall the production is fantastic, given a clear sound and well balanced mix supporting the guitar oriented music. Perhaps my only small criticism is "Hope Dies Young" and not so much for the song but for its position on the album. It cause the flow to loose a bit of the steam towards the end.
The diversity of Obsidian has the potential to please different segments of the band's fan base. It's trademark Paradise Lost full of melancholy and bittersweetness which fit well with the 2020 mood. But it also keeps the heavy elements from the last two albums while bringing the The Sisters of Mercy influence to the foreground. While not a radical departure in sound, Obsidian has just enough experimentation to keep those veterans relevant in 2020 while staying truthful to their roots.The guitarwork is one of the highlights with classy chugging guitars combined with riffs using the higher end of the spectrum. It's almost as if guitar riffs were used to replace the keyboards. It's an interesting choice that allowed the band to combine The Sisters of Mercy influence without loosing their heaviness. Of course the solid drumming also contributes to the heaviness. Besides there's no lack of very melodic and interesting guitar solos. Overall the production is fantastic, given a clear sound and well balanced mix supporting the guitar oriented music. Perhaps my only small criticism is "Hope Dies Young" and not so much for the song but for its position on the album. It cause the flow to loose a bit of the steam towards the end.
SCORE: 83/100
Genre: Gothic Metal
Released by Nuclear Blast Records on May 15th, 2020
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Rating System*
99 - 100 Perfect
94 - 98 Excellent
87 - 93 Great
81 - 86 Very Good
75 - 80 Good
66 - 74 Mixed
58 - 65 Bad
* adapted on May 4th, 2020 due to statistical review
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