A melancholy streak has always been an important part of the Gothic scene. But the deeply sorrowing mien of the British formation Paradise Lost is neither a calculated posture nor an artificial stance, but is so rooted in their inner nature that their second album, titled simply “Gothic”, in 1990 called into being the genre Gothic Metal. Since then, the band, which was formed in Halifax in 1988 and named after John Milton´s epic poem of 1667, and is based around the two masterminds Nick Holmes and Greg Mackintosh, has released a number of musical highlights and genre-busting masterworks.

 

Neither endlessly repeating a single recipe for success nor blowing with the wind of current trends have ever been their thing. Paradise Lost could never have taken it easy and rehashed over and over the trailblazing genre definition they created with “Gothic”. Instead of that, with their next two albums “Shades Of God” (1992) and “Icon” (1993), they turned to the more modern forms of heavy metal, without abandoning their more sombre prevailing mood. “Draconian Times” (1995) in the end went on to become the band’s most commercially successful album to date, but began to split the fan base. That creative force Greg Mackintosh was increasingly turning to electronic possibilities of expression was clearly to be heard on the ´97 album “One Second”. But Paradise Lost had never just been disciples of the heavy metal camp, but felt themselves to be equally inspired by acts such as Sisters Of Mercy, The Cure, New Order and The Smiths.

After Paradise Lost reactivated original metal power with “Symbol Of Life”, their first album on GUN Records, their tenth album closes a circle whose beginning (1) and end (0) was already indicated with the simple title “Paradise Lost”. It not only stands for the name of the band, but also represents a reversal of the debut album “Lost Paradise”. With the proven team of producer Rhys Fulber and mixer Greg Reely, together with drummer Jeff Singer replacing the departed Lee Morris, Paradise Lost recorded their new album between January and June 2004 in Chapel Studios (Lincolnshire) and Hollypark Lane (Los Angeles). Chris Elliot was again responsible for the string arrangements, while Heather Thompson (Tapping The Vein) contributed the female backing vocals on the first single “Forever After”, and “Over The Madness”.

 

Although on “Paradise Lost”, too, the emphasis is again on increased use of whomping guitar riffs, the dominant mood of the album of course lives from the charismatic voice of Nick Holmes and the continuing illumination of the electronic and acoustic accents that make the album succeed on so many levels and so atmospherically. In addition, Greg Mackintosh has continued to sharpen his songwriting, creating first-class ear-catchers not only with the seductive single “Forever After”, but also for example with another candidate single “Grey” or the despairingly beautiful “Don’t Belong”, with its elegant piano and strings intro, to form the true soundtrack for the lost paradise. With this their tenth album, if not already, Paradise Lost have attained the summit both of their eternal sadness and of their musical creation.

So, you just read this bio about Paradise Lost and got interested in this band? Then read further and find out how you can win their latest album.

 

Together with Sony BMG we can give away 5 brand-new Paradise Lost albums! How you can win one of these? That’s very simple! Just answer the two questions below and maybe you’re one of the lucky bastards to win this great prize!

 

(For those of you who aren’t convinced yet, visit: http://www.paradiselost.co.uk/releaseinfo.php?id=14&year=2005  and listen to some samples) 

Question: 1. How many albums did Paradise Lost sell over the past 17 years? (You can find the answer on the official website: http://www.paradiselost.co.uk)