Paradise Lost - In Requiem

I posted this on the WMA, figured I'd throw it up here as well.

Paradise Lost has been my proverbial "white whale" over the years. I was an adoring fan of the slow, doom/death grind of their first release Lost Paradise and soon became a rabid fan after their slow, yet much catchier second release Gothic. It wasn't until Shades of God though that we first started hearing significant changes in sound and technique. Still creating an ambient sense of doom with simplistic, yet beautiful guitar riffs and percussion, we started hearing chorus' and tighter song structure. Nick Holmes voice changed to reveal a vocalist who could not only growl with the best of them, but could also give any metal vocalist (like James Hetfield) of the era a run for their money. Icon and Draconian Times would follow which converted me into an adoring, rabid, fanatical fan of Paradise Lost. Draconian Times had it all. Catchy riffs, Hetfieldesque type vocals, memorable chorus', yet still, STILL the music retained the doom-laden feel of their previous recordings. Paradise Lost was my absolute favorite band of the 1990s hands down. I can say that without hesitation.

Then the dark times came... The release following Draconian Times didn't even sound like Paradise Lost. Gone were the rough-edged vocals and heavy, doom-laden riffs. The vox were clean and wimpy, the guitars were pushed into the back as electronic drums and tones entered the mix. Yes, those were very dark times. Times when I wrote Paradise Lost off much like I did with Metallica. They had lost their way and become some Sisters of Mercy cover band.

But unlike Metallica, Paradise Lost is back! Suddenly we have guitars back in the mix AND they're chunky and thick, creating a wall of sound. They've reached back in time and pulled from their first couple of releases and built upon it. No, In Requiem is NOT Draconian Times, but what it is, is a step back in the right direction. Elements of their "dark times" releases still hover around, but luckily are integrated well. In Requiem is the album that should have followed Draconian Times. It is an evolution of the Paradise Lost sound that feels natural and progressive. The "dark times" releases felt like a totally different band. It seemed like they fell into this gothic new wave well and were being sodomized by kids in top hats and fake fangs.

In some ways In Requiem is more reminiscent of Lost Paradise as the tunes aren't as catchy as say, Icon or Draconian Times and have this morose pall of doom that falls over them. Songs like "Never for the Damned" and "The Enemy" definitely have this intense mood about them. The tune "Requiem" is probably the highlight of the album and falls smack in the middle. Kind of like this climax mid-album instead of at the end. Unfortunately, since the climax is in the middle, the rest of the tunes are good, but not great. In fact, on the last song "Your Own Reality" it feels like the guys have just run out of steam and is definitely my least favorite.

Despite some of the weaknesses I pointed out, In Requiem is still a pretty strong album and is a nice nostalgic reminder that Paradise Lost is one of the most underrated bands in heavy metal.