If ever a band has struggled to obtain the credit and plaudits they deserve, it’s Paradise Lost. With a career spanning almost 25 years and now 13 full length albums, the apathy with which they are often regarded is nothing short of mystifying. The amount of times I hear them dismissed off the back of ridiculous comments such as “Oh I stopped listening to them after Host / Draconian Times / Icon / Gothic / Frozen Illusion E.P when they sold out” is rather excessive and tiresome these days. At the height of their popularity in the mid 90’s, Paradise Lost were even touted briefly as Britain’s answer to Metallica, yet over the next few albums the experimentation with a lighter and more electronic sound alienated a sizable portion of their fanbase. Those who stayed away have missed out on some excellent material, and with last 2 albums ‘In Requiem’ and ‘Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us’ they have given us some of the best albums of their career. New album ‘Tragic Idol’ almost feels like the end of a cycle that began with ‘In Requiem’ as they revisit the sounds and styles synonymous with their most successful period.

From the opening bars of ‘Solitary One’, it is obvious that they have found something, the guitar sound and writing style closer to ‘Icon’ than anything else. It must be said that it’s a strange choice of opening track; more nuanced than in recent albums, and it’s a song that has taken some time to sink into my conscious, so it doesn’t grab you as perhaps it might. By the time we reach ‘Crucify’, there can be no doubt of the form of the band. Simplistic but leaden riffs allied to Greg Mackintosh’s signature mournful lead and a catchy structure mean that this one sticks in the brain from the first listen. Nick Holmes’s vocals, always one of the strongest elements of their arsenal, are delivered with a conviction not seen for some time; most notably during the chorus for ‘The Fear of Impending Death’ and on the epic closer ‘The Glorious End’. Lead single ‘Honesty in Death’ proved to be a bit of a disappointment on the first listen, but in retrospect that was mostly due to the rather dodgy video that went with it; but in an album context the song works much better and has proven to be a real grower.

A criticism that even the most fervent Paradise Lost fan could not deny is that the band had slipped into a very formulaic approach to songwriting over the past 10 years; but that has also been addressed here with songs such as ‘Theories From Another World’ which is unlike anything they have ever done previously, and also ‘Worth Fighting For’, which although different, sounds like it is constantly waiting to really get going and yet never does. The songwriting now sounds far more like the ‘Draconian Times’ way of thinking, yet with the benefits of another 15 years of experience. It holds together much better as an album than probably anything since ‘One Second’, and that is as much due to the variation in the approach to the songs as it is the quality of the material itself.

It’s important to declare here that I am an unashamed and lifelong Paradise Lost fan, and whilst it could be argued that my opinion is likely to be biased, (that’s unavoidable really), it also means that having followed their career through death metal, gothic doom and electronica eras, I can absolutely state where ‘Tragic Idol’ fits in the overall scheme of things. I was nervous about this one, especially given how good the last 2 albums were and how underwhelmed I was with ‘Honesty in Death’ on first listen; but as an album it’s bloody brilliant. I’ve had this on almost constantly for the past few weeks and I can honestly say that this is the best album since the classic ‘Draconian Times’. There is not a duff track on here as even the two weaker tracks are growers, but it has a quality that they have often lacked in recent years. Even with ‘In Requiem’ and ‘Faith Divides…’ as good as the albums and individual tracks were, they were not always memorable. On ‘Tragic Idol’ they are not just memorable, but downright infectious. For those who abandoned Paradise Lost after ‘Lost Paradise’, that’s just something you’ll just have to live with as there is clearly no pleasing you. If you gave up around the electronic era, then where the hell have you been for the past 5 years? The cycle is finally complete. Paradise Lost are once again back to the peak of their powers. It’s been worth the wait.

(9/10 Lee Kimber)

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