Paradise Lost: Obsidian versie op vinyl LP in standaard editie. Deze specifieke uitgave werd uitgebracht in VS bij uitgeverij Nuclear Blast op 15. mei 2020.

Paradise Lost : Obsidian is a dark and atmospheric album released in 2020 featuring heavy guitars, haunting vocals and intense lyrics that take you on a journey through the dark side of the human mind.

Album valt binnen het genre Rock, Death Metal, Doom Metal en Gotisch metaal.

Paradise Lost: Obsidian versie op CD in standaard editie. Deze specifieke uitgave werd uitgebracht in Europa bij uitgeverij Nuclear Blast op 15. mei 2020.

Obsidian... dark, glossy and black: that's how one could sum up the music PARADISE LOST have been making for the past 32 years, even if this long-established British band has always resisted limiting itself to such a simple formula. Driven by unbridled creativity and a passion for punchy and compelling music, PARADISE LOST have defied all odds and come back stronger than ever in the past decade. "We're thriving at the moment," says guitarist and co-founder Greg Mackintosh. "The last few albums have done well and we're slowly working our way back onto festival line-ups. But I mean that more in the sense of being relaxed and content. Now is a very good time to be a part of PARADISE LOST." PARADISE LOST didn't necessarily emerge as metal heroes after emerging from the shadows and breaking into the London underground in 1988 in Halifax, West Yorkshire. But after laying the foundations of an entire sub-genre with their early death/doom masterpiece "Gothic" and conquering the metal mainstream with the raw power of 1995's "Draconian Times", they weren't content just yet, gradually and skillfully beginning to push genre boundaries and masterfully evolve from the black art of '90s alt-rock classics. 's "One Second" and "Host" to the tough yet subtle style of 2009's "Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us" and 2012's "Tragic Idol". The band's last two albums - "The Plague Within" (2015) and "Medusa" (2017) - have been praised primarily for their successful return to the brutal old-school approach, two colossal works about slow death and spiritual defeat. Hailed as one of the most charismatic live bands ever, PARADISE LOST usher in a new decade as veterans, legends and icons of several generations of badass metal. In keeping with the tradition of never delivering what others expect, the band is releasing one of their most diverse and darkest works in 2020. "When we started writing this album, we just sat down and thought about it and said, 'Let's see what comes out of it!" says Greg. "We never went through the process of signing to a major label and then being under constant pressure. The only pressure was from ourselves. I just wanted it to sound a bit smoother than the last album and a bit more cavernous in rhythm! (Laughs) I think those were the only principles we set for ourselves. On "Medusa", that slow, gritty vibe carried through the whole album, so I'd be as bored as anyone else if I did it again. So it's going to be a lot more varied this time." PARADISE LOST's sixteenth studio album, "Obsidian," abandons the haunting, myopic approach of its immediate predecessor in favor of a richer, more dynamic breadth of black tones. From the deceptive elegance of opener "Darker Thoughts" to the crushing, baroque doom of closer "Ravenghast," "Obsidian" showcases a band that has mastered and mastered a vast array of vivid ideas. Most notably, the album features several songs that seem to draw inspiration directly from the beloved, cabbage-strewn glory days of 80s goth rock: in particular, the brand new PL anthem "Ghosts" is a clear guarantee of a packed dancefloor in any good goth club. "There aren't many people today who remember the 80s goth scene!" Greg says with a laugh. "So I hope that sounds quite refreshing to a lot of people. But things change, they go round in circles. Back in the late 80s there was a goth pub or club on every corner and now there's nothing. That's something I really liked, but didn't want to admit it! But in the time we've been doing it, I just don't care anymore. The first album I ever bought was The Kids From Fame, so I don't give a shit about that."(laughs) "For the last ten years Greg has been into death and doom metal," notes frontman and co-founder Nick Holmes. "But when he writes this goth stuff, he's really good at it, so I've been encouraging him to do more of it! He's got a knack for it and it's good to break the album down a bit. You can put all the different directions under one lid and they still fit together. I like combining different styles, combining the subtle stuff with the full-on stuff!" "Produced by the band themselves with the help of studio guru Jamie 'Gomez' Arellano, 'Obsidian' is a compelling testament to PARADIES LOST's unbridled desire to evolve. Fans of the raw rawness of the last two albums will find themselves in awe-inspiring, scabrous tracks such as "The Devil Embraced" and "Serenity", while more gothic-minded listeners will be instantly captivated by "Ghosts", the chilling anti-ballad "Forsaken" and the beautifully sinister "Ending Days". In between these two extremes, PARADISE LOST reshape their longstanding musical identity, resulting in some of the most adventurous songs of their career to date. Holmes, keen to preserve and maintain his band's secrets, is reluctant to explain the details of his lyrics, but "Obsidian" is definitely an album that has many dark stories to tell. "There's no overarching theme. It's just about how I'm feeling at the time," Nick explains. "If there's any concept behind it at all, it's the idea that certain decisions can affect our future in a very far-reaching sense, like the butterfly effect. I like this concept: you do something today that results in something else later. It's like the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode where Larry David is talking to someone and you know you're going to need his help later, but he's already messing with him! (laughs)" Fans of the overwhelming doom phase of PARADISE LOST need not fear the diverse approach of "Obsidian" either. An exciting contrast to the upbeat, pulsating rhythms of "Ghosts" and its gothic counterparts is the album's closing track "Ravenghast", which can definitely be ranked among the darkest and heaviest songs the band has ever recorded. "The title comes from Greg," Nick explains. "I kept it because I like the word. The song is about a battle; how do you know who won when the battle is over? You see big wars where people are still fighting and killing at the end, even though the war is technically over. When someone says, "Wait a minute, we won! ' It's terrible to die after a battle, isn't it? It's a bit like Monty Python! That song is so fucking angry, it's like a wild ride. There's no other way." Nick Holmes - equipped with some of his band's strongest songwriting - has conjured up an almost haunting collection of lyrical messages and cryptic words for "Obsidian," and Greg Mackintosh has found that this mystical aura to be an essential part of PARADISE LOST's identity. "Nick sometimes tries to explain what the lyrics are about, but I prefer to try to understand it myself," says the guitarist. "He has this mysterious way of writing lyrics and I really like that. It's an important part of what we do." PARADISE LOST - despite being in the fourth decade of their career - have never sounded as powerful and defined as when they can bring the darkness to life. "Obsidian" is another highlight of their dark career, not only is it comparable to their opuses "The Plague Within" and "Medusa", but it is artistically bigger, with more depth, color and emotion. While many bands their age have settled into the realm of nostalgia, PARADISE LOST remain a vibrant, classy and driving force of metal mastery. The band will once again be taking festival stages by storm in 2020 before embarking on the "Obsidian" album tour early next year. As mentioned, it's a good time to be a part of PARADISE LOST. "I remember interviewing Tom Angelripper from SODOM a while back and he was talking about the cycle of writing albums and touring. He said you just never stop doing it and suddenly you're an old man!" laughs Nick. "It's kind of weird! But you never find a way out. We've been doing it for so long it would be wrong to stop. We just like it and we're really happy about the new album too... even if it doesn't sound like it (laughs)."

Album valt binnen het genre Rock, Death Metal, Doom Metal en Gotisch metaal.