PARADISE LOST · Obsidian | GOLD LP

Gold vinyl in gatefold sleeve.

Background information about 'Obsidian'

There is a moment on "Obsidian" where Paradise Lost stop sounding like a band chasing their own legend and simply sound like themselves — and it is glorious. The Yorkshire veterans have spent three decades shapeshifting between doom, gothic grandeur and gnarled death metal, and here they fold every one of those selves into a single, brooding whole. "Darker Thoughts" opens with a whisper of clean guitar before the riffs come down like a cathedral ceiling, and from there the record never quite lets you relax. Nick Holmes sounds like a man reading his own obituary with a smirk, half croon and half growl, and that duality is exactly the point.

What makes "Obsidian" such a pleasure is its confidence. "Ghosts" swings with a grim, almost rock'n'roll swagger, "The Devil Embraced" stretches out into slow, tar-thick doom, and "Ravenghast" closes the whole thing with a riff that feels carved out of stone. Gregor Mackintosh's lead work is endlessly tasteful — never showing off, always serving the gloom — while the rhythm section locks in with the kind of weight that makes a good turntable earn its keep. It is heavy without being punishing, melodic without ever going soft, and it rewards repeated spins in a way that few late-career albums manage.

Pressed on gold vinyl and housed in a gatefold sleeve, this is the kind of package that begs to be pulled off the shelf on a dark evening. Thirty-plus years in, Paradise Lost are still writing their best chapters.

For fans of: My Dying Bride, Tiamat, Katatonia, Anathema, Moonspell

Other Versions

SPLATTER DLP · Sold out GREEN/WHITE DLP · Sold out CLEAR DLP · Sold out BLUE DLP · Sold out BONE/BLACK DLP · Sold out BLACK LP · 31,99 € LP+DIGI BOXSET BOXLP · Sold out

Track listing

A1. Darker Thoughts
A2. Fall From Grace
A3. Ghosts
A4. The Devil Embraced
B5. Forsaken
B6. Serenity
B7. Ending Days
B8. Hope Dies Young
B9. Ravenghast

Manufacturer: Warner Music Group Germany Holding GmbH, Alter Wandrahm 14, 20457 Hamburg, Germany, Contact: www.nuclearblast.com