By absolutely no demand, welcome to Dr.Gonzo’s Diagnosis series, where I go over a band or artist’s career and by the end of it pick out their roaring strengths and vulnerable weaknesses. Today’s edition follows Northern England hard-lads Paradise Lost, on their epic thirty-five-year peregrination that sees a sprawling sixteen studio albums, a fuckload of drummers, and an impressively disparate array of genres to pick from. So sit still and await the verdict.

Band/Artist: Paradise Lost

Origins: Halifax, West Yorkshire, England

Founded: 1988

Current Members:
Nick Holmes (Vocals)
Gregor Mackintosh (Lead guitar)
Aaron Aedy (Rhythm guitar)
Steve Edmondson (Bass)
Guido Montanarini (Drums)

Previous members:

Matthew Archer (Drums)
Lee Morris (Drums)
Jeff Singer (Drums)
Adrian Erlandsson (Drums)
Waltteri Väyrynen (Drums)

Studio albums: 16

Active: Yes

Lost Paradise (1990)

The Doctor’s rating: 3.3/5

Analysis: Lost Paradise is the very definition of diamond in the rough. A good chunk of the band’s adulated elements are present here, but they are ill-defined and go largely unchecked. Lost Paradise’s biggest crime is its myopic scope which becomes samey after a while and lacks the distinction their other works would later seize. That said however, this thing can be fucking heavy at times and the band’s proclivity for turning their death metal leanings into this Sabbath-styled sludgy, doom-y dystopia serves them well overall. Holmes’ vocals reside in the guttural growls throughout, overriding the elephant in the room which I will bring up (a lot) throughout this analysis.

Prescription: There’s nothing fancy here, but if you’re looking for meat and potatoes no-frills death/doom metal, this should tick the boxes. Check it once and see how you get on.

Gothic (1991)

The Doctor’s rating: 3.5/5

Analysis: Just one year on from their grimy death-doom debut and Paradise Lost wastes no time in finding their creative ambitions. Gothic is a marginal step up from Lost Paradise, blending their doom-y foundations with a tangible goth atmosphere. The decision to implement an orchestra and Sarah Marrion’s vocals also gives the elemental framework a warranted juxtaposition and distinction amongst the band’s peers. The final result is a much moodier record with slightly better songwriting. However, like Lost Paradise, the lack of editing does pretty severe damage to the pacing and dilutes what the album does well.

Prescription: Micro-progression sonically, but the fresh ideas it does have, Gothic is a worthwhile successor that deserves a gander for posterity’s sake. Check it once and see how you get on.

Shades of God (1992)

The Doctor’s rating: 3.5/5

Analysis: Similar to Lost Paradise’s successor, Shades of God is another solid entry that does a lot of refining and tightening up. While Shades of God doesn’t implement anything particularly new to the formula thus far, the improvements made from a compositional standpoint are apparent. There’s a lot more melody injected into the record – the guitar work has that Mackintosh magic seeping out of it – and on top of the songwriting itself, the production has much more clarity and breathing space.

Prescription: Still beset with pacing issues, nevertheless the incremental improvements make Shades of God an interesting album to listen to. It takes the previous two albums’ notable qualities and delivers their best album yet. Check it once and see how you get on.     

Icon (1993)

The Doctor’s rating: 3.5/5

Analysis: And so begins my internal struggles with what is regarded by many to be Paradise Lost’s “golden era”. Make no mistake; instrumentally Icon is truly next-level songwriting. Like Shades of God there’s much less emphasis and reliance being placed on their death-doom traits, with a healthy fusion of the aforementioned being placed with their gothic influences – the latter of which has now become a prevalent addition to their overall style and tone – only now, the songwriting on Icon feels much more tight-knit and focused. Despite the fact the LP still has some length issues, the instrumental work manages to burden most of the soporific weight previous entries suffered from. Mackintosh’s knack for emotive leads really finds its footing on here and displays a much more mature Paradise Lost. The contention then falls on Nick Holmes, who is unfortunate enough to have a voice so similar to Metallica’s James Hetfield, it’s distracting to the point of being a detriment to Icon’s achievements.

Prescription: Artistically, this album is the watershed moment for Paradise Lost, where they really grasp at something special. The problem is that if you close your eyes and listen to Icon, it really sounds as though Metallica went in a completely different direction. Check it once and see how you get on.

Draconian Times (1995)

The Doctor’s rating: 4/5

Analysis: Considered by many fans to be their crowning achievement, Draconian Times is the album that takes the Icon formula and improves on it by a significant margin. For all of the problems I have with Nick Holmes in and out for the next decade-and-a-half, I can’t deny this album’s appeal, nor diminish the incredible songwriting that’s on offer here. After the loss of Tuds once Icon had done the rounds, they found exactly what they needed with drummer Morris for Draconian Times – delivering a much tighter performance with both intricacy and groove in equal measure. This addition to the band is ultimately what put the album on a different level to anything that came before it, coupled with the fact Mackintosh is obviously coming on leaps and bounds in terms of how he approaches and develops the band’s engaging melancholic journeys.

Prescription: Like Icons, the issues fall on the vocals here, but the songwriting on this album is night and day compared to anything before it, with even Holmes’ vocals doing little to deter my overall enjoyment for it. Spin two-to-three times a day for a week to start with, then listen to it as necessary.

One Second (1997)

The Doctor’s rating: 3.5/5

Analysis: One Second is very close to being a record that throws the baby out with the bath water. To the band’s credit, they completely overhaul their sound – throwing out all of their abrasive sensibilities for an accessible electronic-heavy rock album in the vein of Depeche Mode – and still manage to make a good record out of it. One Second is sure to displease some of the fanbase, but one can’t deny the plethora of hooks and brooding melodies on offer. One of the main draws to this album is the fact Holmes has abandoned his impression of Hetfield and now sports a more sombre approach to his takes, in the vein of a more traditional goth sound – encompassed perfectly on tracks like “Mercy” and “Disappear”.

Prescription: If you like goth-y music that leans on accessibility, this should be worth looking at. If you’re a metalhead through and through, it’s hard to argue this won’t deflate you somewhat. But compared to Host, this has far more respect for the past. Check it once and see how you get on.

Host (1999)

The Doctor’s rating: 3.3/5

Analysis: If you are the kind of Paradise Lost fan that thinks Host told the fans to go and fuck themselves, as the band doubled down on their shiny new-wave/synthpop sound, I’d be hard-pressed to argue with you, because ultimately that’s what this album feels like. That’s not to say their venture was a waste of time for either the fans or the band, on the contrary; Host is actually a bloody decent album, filled with some really moody instrumentals and some of Nick’s best clean vocal work. It’s just that, this isn’t the Paradise Lost people know and loved, straying down a path that even One Second would blush at.

Prescription: If you’re all about the metulz, I’d advise leaving this one alone. That said, the band play this kind of sound very competently and should be enjoyable for anyone who isn’t a purist. If you’re allergic to branching out of the metal dogma, avoid. For anyone else, check it once and see how you get on.

Believe In Nothing (2001)

The Doctor’s rating: 2.5/5

Analysis: Undoubtedly the band’s worst effort to date. It’s not necessarily a bad album – its biggest crime is probably that it’s 46 minutes long and agonizingly bland. Believe In Nothing certainly feels like a band at the bottom of the barrel and trying desperately to find some semblance of identity after falling down the path they had, but for all of its shortcomings there are still far worse rock-bottom albums to unearth in a band’s closet. Album #8 is a disappointment to be sure, but it mainly sounds like a shitty Creed impression for the most part.

Prescription: I’d say everyone should skip this one, simply because it’s a much inferior version of their seventh album, with a pretty rubbish production. The artwork sucks too. Avoid this album and use that 46 minutes to go for a little jog instead, you’ll feel much better by the end of it.

Symbol of Life (2002)

The Doctor’s rating: 3/5

Analysis: With this album, the band realised the error of their ways and tried to make a mend with the fans by making an album more in line with…. One Second. It’s an improvement over their last attempt, but by this point it’s hard not to feel a little burnt out by this kind of sound from the band. Songs like “Erased” and “Mystified” are worthy highlights, as well as the cover “Small Town Boy”, but generally this sounds like generic rock music you’d find on the intro-credits to Charmed or something.

Prescription: If you really don’t want to go for that jog and are hellbent on listening to something mid, give this a spin once and see how you get on.

Paradise Lost (2005)

The Doctor’s rating: 4/5

Analysis: After a string of ropey experiments, Paradise Lost started taking a good hard look at where their trajectory was taking them. The end result for Paradise Lost is a much-needed improvement over recent attempts – settling on a sound that manages to utilise elements from the last 8 years and blends them with a metal-orientated sound. Holmes sounds great on this. There aren’t any harsh growls of yore, but his dejected performances hold his strong melodies, and Mackintosh is certainly back on form in the guitar department (The solo for “Over the Madness” is simply electric).

Prescription: In my eyes this is a solid return to form. It feels like a compromise of sorts, sure, but the lean into their metal roots does a lot of favours for Holmes’ continued abstinence for the death-metal scream. The songwriting is interesting and it improves on every aspect recent efforts failed at achieving. Spin two-to-three times a day for a week to start with, then listen to it as necessary.

In Requiem (2007)

The Doctor’s rating: 3.5/5

Analysis: In Requiem isn’t messing around. From an instrumental point of view this album is fantastic, with Mackintosh clearly showing his love for metal again as the record goes all in, with very little synth to talk about. However, the album is marred because Holmes decided to walk into the studio with his best James Hetfield impersonation again. The band are certainly trying to capture the magic pertaining to the Draconian Times era, but the songwriting isn’t quite up to par with that album and thus, Holmes’ dodgy impressions do a lot of damage to what this album does so well.

Prescription: A solid return to their metal roots musically, but Holmes lets the side down with his ‘tallica impressions. If you can overlook the aforementioned, jam two-to-three times a day and see how you get on. For the unfortunate souls (like me) who can’t overlook the ailment, jam once and see how you get on.

Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us (2009)

The Doctor’s rating: 3.8/5

Analysis: The band’s 12^th album is the start of Paradise Lost really finding redemption sonically, hearing the Halifax quintet using massive riffs that now embrace their doom-y sensibilities again. Really solid songwriting that sometimes touches on their highest points creatively, the production is huge, and Holmes keeps the Hetfield issue on a leash, rarely making it a distraction.

Prescription: Paradise Lost are definitely in their strides here, with everything coming together in an exciting way. Spin two-to-three times a day for a week to start with, then listen to it as necessary.

Tragic Idol (2012)

The Doctor’s rating: 3.8/5

Analysis: I was debating lumping this together with Faith Divides Us, simply because both albums feel like twins in a lot of ways: very similar sounds and both are equally excellent albums. There are some little deviations in sound but on the whole, Tragic Idol is a worthy successor to their 2009 LP, bringing the same level of engagement to the table. And I’d even wager Holmes is sounding the best he’s ever sounded thus far.

Prescription: A great album with some refinements being made here and there. Spin two-to-three times a day for a week to start with, then listen to it as necessary.

The Plague Within (2015)

The Doctor’s rating: 4.8/5

Analysis: Here we are. The genesis of this article’s existence. It’s hard to fully articulate just how fucking superb this album is and more to the point, how the band pulled this out of the bag. We should all thank Bloodbath for asking Nick to join the band, because without that we might never have got Nick capitulating and giving us a vocal approach he hasn’t done in 24 years. It took 25 years to get there, but The Plague Within is the band coming together to use their vast experiences and utilising all of their strengths to create what is easily their best album up until this point. For me, the biggest downfall of any Paradise Lost record is the run-time, which drag on more often than not. Here, it sits at the usual length as previous works, but the writing is so damn engaging the album ends before you’ve even looked at your watch. As we shall see later, there is another album that matches the greatness of this album, but it’s for different reasons. This album has a varied sound, but it’s not one that replicates past glories. This takes death and doom and creates its own brand of brutal melancholy. Mackintosh’s guitar work is at the peak and frankly, Nick Holmes is on a different planet from a capablity standpoint – his versatility is apparent, with his old issues evaporating here.

Prescription: A truly fantastic album. A milestone worth celebrating. If you’ve never heard the band before today, it’s debatable whether you should start here or not, but it’s definitely one you should check out after Obsidian. Listen to it four-to-five times a day for a week to start with, preferably with a cold beer, then listen to it as necessary.

Medusa (2017)

The Doctor’s rating: 3.8/5

Analysis: It’s a shame Medusa doesn’t quite hit as hard as its predecessor. After all, “Beneath Broken Earth” was what brought about the idea of Medusa being a full-on doom record. Unfortunately, the final product feels a shade homogenous and (ironically) a little too lumbering to warrant going back for repeated listens. Thankfully, Medusa does carry over a lot of what made The Plague Within so electric – a gargantuan production, chunky riffs, and Holmes’ new vocal approach.

Prescription: Well-worth checking out, it’s just not as immediate as some of their other albums. Spin two-to-three times a day for a week to start with, then listen to it as necessary.

Obsidian (2020)

The Doctor’s rating: 4.8/5

Analysis: Everybody loves a happy ending, right? The band haven’t called it quits yet, but at the minute they haven’t attempted to dethrone this album’s phenomenal accomplishments. One could argue The Plague Within is in its own pocket, doing its own thing, however, on the band’s 16^th record, they take that album’s template and make an eclectic celebration that taps into their entire career. Drenched in goth and doom, Obsidian takes 30 years of work and makes a magnum opus out of it. An album that is cover-to-cover prime rapture, serving up what is a very rare spectacle. For all of the band’s sometimes troubling experimentations, Obsidian stands as an affirmation that the band have come full circle – channelling all those capricious urges from over the years into one big, glorious experience.

Prescription: Start here if you’re new to the band. Period. Listen to it four-to-five times a day for a week to start with, preferably with a cold beer, then listen to it as necessary.

Doctor’s notes:

Paradise Lost are an extremely interesting band to listen to. Their discography sitting in at a whopping 16 albums, I’m sure there could be some apprehension in checking it out if you’re new to the band. In this band’s case, while they have a disparate sounding selection of albums to listen to, there aren’t any overt stinkers in there to worry about. Testament to their nous and talent, every era has a lot to offer music fans of all preferences. With that said, Paradise Lost found their magic in their venerable years and it’s only logical you start with Obsidian and take it from there.

Strengths:

• Paradise Lost excel at creating captivating guitar solos and melodies.
• Excellent atmosphere, no matter what the album is you’re listening to.

Weaknesses:

• Nick Holmes’ infamous James Hetfield impressions throughout the band’s career has stained a lot of really interesting albums.
• Most albums are too long and suffer from pacing issues.

Diagnosis: There are some big bumps in the road, but on the whole these northern legends have survived a journey that would surely do in most.