Sleeping Village Reviews
  • REVIEWS & PREMIERES
  • ARCHIVES
    • OLDE REVIEWS
    • OLDE INTERVIEWS
    • OLDE FEATURES
    • OLDE PREMIERES
  • SUBMIT FOR REVIEW!

PARADISE LOST - Obsidian (An Olde Review from the Archives)

6/19/2022

0 Comments

 
​The Sleeping Village has been around for a few years now, and during that time, a lot of reviews have unceremoniously disappeared into the dark confines of our archives, destined to never see the light of the front page again. Music appreciation, however, is a timeless affair, and in that spirit, here is a review retrieved from the depths.

Picture
Written by: The Voiceless Apparition

34 years?! It's crazy to say that Paradise Lost have been a band for 34 years. The masters of doom and melancholy have been going steady ever since their inception with no break-ups or hiatuses in between. After a brief wait, Paradise Lost return with their 16th opus Obsidian, the follow-up to the masterful Medusa. Said album was a slight return to their original death/doom roots, albeit with a modern context...but enough about the past.

Obsidian is split into three different and distinct styles. You have the more death/doom-leaning tracks, the more gothic rock/metal-based tracks, and a subtler bridging between the two styles. It feels like a natural progression from the last album, with many of the trademarks we all love and adore about Paradise Lost, but with many twists and turns along the way. Welcome to the world of Obsidian.

The album begins on the perfect note with "Darker Thoughts." You're lulled into a sense of tranquility with the gorgeous acoustic guitars, violins, and the soft, serene voice of Nick Holmes, before a switch to down-trodden and crushing doom metal riffs, and, of course, Holmes' decrepit growl. I love the grandness of this tune--the atmosphere is quite epic in scale. I also have to point out that strangely, this song gave me a small chuckle too. During the beginning, Nick Holmes utters the lines: "But this one way street you're on, you'll never be fulfilled. And this one-way street you're on, is gonna get you killed." While not necessarily a funny line, I can't help but acknowledge the more darkly humorous side of the band, coupled with the fact that Mr. Holmes delivers it in a crooning voice, accompanied by the acoustic guitars and violin. "Fall From Grace" continues the doom and gloom, but with more emphasis on melody and that ever-so depressing atmosphere. The guitar melody blanketed overtop everything is gorgeous. It's weeping and painful, but so damn catchy. Notably, drummer Waltteri Vayrynen steals the show on this  track. His performance on this song and album are fantastic. He grooves when he needs to, and adds more technicality and flair when it is called for. The groove in this song, particularly in the verses, is such a headbanger. 

"Ghosts" and "The Devil Embraced" continue the grand trajectory and take it into more melodic and goth directions. "Ghosts" is a straight-up gothic rocker done in the Paradise Lost style of yore. Bands like Sisters of Mercy and Fields of the Nephilim come to mind while I ponder this tune. The clean guitar melody is sooo fucking catchy. Downright infectious. If you don't sing along to this chorus, you're missing out. And, as if it wasn't good enough thusfar, followup "Forsaken" is a highlight on the album. Nick Holmes deserves extra mention on this song because he's fantastic on it. The way he delivers his lines is so passionate and memorable. The riffs on this are fantastic, switching between crushing heaviness and beautiful melodies.
​


"Serenity" marks a return to the death/doom style, but done in a different way. Far more groovy than most of their doom songs, but still keeping it noticeably "them." It's kind of...bouncy, in a strange way. I absolutely adore "Ending Days." The clean guitars are gorgeous, but the star of this song is definitely Walterri's drum work. It was absolutely genius of him to do that military-style snare roll instead of just sitting there and doing nothing. And, last but not least, the album ends on a great note with "Ravenghast." A sinister, utterly dark, and atmospheric death/doom song that will crush your face in. The piano line in the beginning is haunting, lending well to the vibe of the song. The riffs in this song are vile. They are dripping with sludge and an ominous malice to it. You can feel the fright within every aspect of this tune. A fantastic way to close out another Paradise Lost opus.


The production on this album is fantastic, and corrects the mistakes that I felt the last album had. That includes the drums. Everything is crisp and clear. You can hear every note the band plays. The guitar tones of Gregor Mackintoch and Aaron Aedy crush--so refined and clean, but with beef. Even bassist Steven Edmondson is heard clearly throughout the mix. It has the sound of a high budget production team, but keeps the purity and human feel of a band. Double thumbs up on the mix. Thank you, Jaimie Gomez Arellano. 

It's crazy that 16 albums deep, 32 years together, and 30 years since their debut album, Paradise Lost feel as inspired and vital as ever. While to some people this may not live up to the accolades of their first five albums, I feel Paradise Lost  are at the top of their game. They don't sound their age, they play with such passion, and they STILL know how to write a catchy barn-burner of a tune/album. Does Obsidian succeed in surpassing their early albums? For some, it will be a no. But do they succeed in writing highly original, unique, and grand music STILL to this day, all the while surpassing the last 2 albums? YES!

​Obsidian whets my appetite for more new music from Paradise Lost in the future. I truly can't wait to see where the British metal gods go next. I have a feeling it's going to be great. For fans old and new alike, you will love this album. And for anyone just getting into these styles of death/doom and gothic metal, you will love it too. Highly recommended!


Paradise Lost - Obsidian was released May 15th, 2020 from Nuclear Blast Records

Paradise Lost can be found: 
Bandcamp
Facebook
Instagram
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    WELCOME!

    We provide thoughtful reviews of music that wakes us from slumber. Written by a highfalutin peasantry.


    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021

    Categories

    All
    Acid Rock
    Adventure
    A High Quality Death Metal Album
    Album Premiere
    Album Stream
    Alternative Rock
    Ambient
    Antifascist
    AOTY
    Atmospheric
    Atmospheric Doom
    Avant Garde
    Blackened
    Blackened Death Metal
    Blackened Doom
    Blackened Thrash
    Black Metal
    Black 'n' Roll
    Brutal Death Metal
    Cinematic
    Classic Rock
    Cover Song
    Crust
    Crust Punk
    Dark Ambient
    Deathcore
    Death Doom
    Death Metal
    Death Thrash
    Demo
    Doomgaze
    Doom Metal
    Doomviolence
    Drone
    Dungeon Synth
    Electronic
    Electronica
    EP
    Epic Metal
    Europower
    Experimental
    Extreme Metal
    Faery Synth
    Folk Metal
    Fresh Meat Friday
    From The Archives
    Goregrind
    Gothic
    Grindcore
    Groove Metal
    Grunge
    Guest Post
    Hardcore
    Hard Rock
    Harsh Noise
    Heavy Metal
    Heavy Psych
    Indie Rock
    Industrial Metal
    Instrumental
    Interview
    Jazz
    Lists 2022
    Mathcore
    Melodic Black Metal
    Melodic Metal
    Metallic Hardcore
    Metal Reviews
    Mini Reviews
    Music Video
    Noise
    NWOBHM
    NWOTHM
    Olde Reviews
    Old School Death Metal
    OSDM
    Pop Rock
    Post-hardcore
    Post Metal
    Post-metal
    Post-rock
    Power Electronics
    Power Metal
    Powerviolence
    Prog
    Progressive Death Metal
    Progressive Metal
    Progressive Rock
    Prog Rock
    Psych
    Punk
    Rap
    Raw Black Metal
    Release Day Roundup
    Retro Rock
    Retrospective Reviews
    Reviews
    Rock
    Sci-fi
    Ska
    Skate Punk
    Skramz
    Slam
    Sludge
    Soundtrack
    Speed Metal
    Split Releases
    Stoner
    Stoner Doom
    Stoner Metal
    Stoner Rock
    Stoner Thrash
    Swedeath
    Swedish Death Metal
    Symphonic Metal
    Synth
    Synthwave
    Thrash Metal
    Top 10
    Track Premiere
    Track Reviews
    Traditional Doom
    Traditional Metal
    Two Of A Perfect Pair
    USPM

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • REVIEWS & PREMIERES
  • ARCHIVES
    • OLDE REVIEWS
    • OLDE INTERVIEWS
    • OLDE FEATURES
    • OLDE PREMIERES
  • SUBMIT FOR REVIEW!