Paradise Lost are a heavy metal band formed in 1988 in Halifax
, England
.
While the band's earlier albums are classified as
death/doom metal, they later began to
incorporate several different styles of rock into their recordings
and are now mainly considered a
gothic
metal band.
Overview
Along with countrymates
Anathema and
My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost are
credited with creating the subgenre known as
Death/Doom. Their first three full-length albums
(although the latter two incorporated some melodic and gothic
elements) are considered prime examples of this style. However,
with the release of the seminal albums
Icon (1993) and
Draconian Times (1995), Paradise Lost also became known as
pioneers of the
Gothic metal subgenre.
In accordance with the change in musical approach, vocalist
Nick Holmes changed his singing style.
He used a
death grunt on the band's
first three albums, but on
Icon refined his voice to have
a cleaner tone. Later (circa 1997), the band began experimenting
with electronic styles but after four albums reverted again to
Gothic metal.
They have
been more popular in mainland Europe than in their own country;
particularly in Greece
and Germany
they are
regarded as mainstream rock stars. Their line-up has
remained remarkably stable for such a long-standing heavy metal
band, consisting of singer
Nick Holmes,
guitarists
Greg Mackintosh and
Aaron Aedy, and bassist
Steve Edmondson. Holmes and Mackintosh are
the principal
composers, with almost all
of the band's songs credited to them. During the years, the band
has only changed drummers, with original member
Matthew Archer replaced in 1994 by
ex-
Marshall Law drummer
Lee Morris In March
2004, Morris also left the band;
Jeff Singer took Morris' place and has played on
all subsequent releases, though he was not listed as a permanent
band member until the release of the single "
The Enemy" in
2007. In a recent video interview, Mackintosh
and Holmes revealed that Singer had already auditioned for the band
when Archer left, but they chose Morris instead because "[Singer]
had a pink drumkit".
Early years
Early on, Paradise Lost were inspired by
Kreator,
Celtic Frost,
Candlemass,
Death,
Morbid
Angel, and
Repulsion. Up to
1989, the band recorded demo cassettes, then signed with
Peaceville Records for their first album
(recorded at The Academy),
Lost Paradise. Their debut was
well received by press and fans alike. In November 1990, Paradise
Lost went back to The Academy to work on the second album. 1991's
Gothic (also on Peaceville) was the band's stylistic
breakthrough, eventually becoming an influential album within the
extreme metal circles. The album was
labeled a "classic" and was rated highly by both fans and critics.
The album expanded beyond the original
Death/Doom format by being more melodic and
featuring symphonic orchestra and female vocals by Sarah Marrion.
With this album the band pushed "gothic" into the metal scene and
started a new genre - gothic metal. Paradise Lost was signed to the
Music for Nations label, and in July 1992 released
Shades Of
God. The album contained the song "As I Die," later released
as a single/EP, now the hymn for Paradise Lost fans.. In summer
1993, the band commenced work on their fourth full-length record,
Icon which was released on September in the same year.The
album hit the German charts at number 31, and is considered a
gothic metal masterpiece. It solidified the band's position in the
mainstream metal scene.
Draconian Times, one of the band's
most successful albums came in June 1995; a limited edition
digipack offered a second disc, dubbed "Live Tracks, Demos &
B-Sides," with five live recordings as well as demos and outtakes.
To promote the album, Paradise Lost went on a huge tour through
Europe, South America, Australia, and Japan.
Second Era
Paradise Lost returned in 1997 with a new look and style,
astounding both fans and critics. On the album
One Second
(1997), the band began to experiment with
Depeche Mode-esque
synth
pop and
electronica. The album
turned out to be one of the band's most important releases,
cracking the German and Swedish top ten charts and giving the band
a boost in popularity everywhere, it seemed—except the UK. Although
some of the older fans of the band were disappointed, Paradise Lost
gained many new supporters. The band later contracted EMI Electrola
in Germany for its next album,
Host, released in 1999, on
which they continued to experiment with new sounds, appearing to
shed their metal roots. On the next album,
Believe in
Nothing (2001), Paradise Lost continued the synth direction,
but adding rock elements to the music. In May 2002, the band signed
to G.U.N records, and on the album that followed,
Symbol of
Life, the metallic roots of the band began to resurface.
Present Day
Paradise Lost released their 10th, eponymous album in 2005 on
G.U.N. records, an album combining electronic and guitar-based
styles. The album began the phase of Paradise Lost's return to the
gothic metal roots. The eleventh album,
In Requiem, was
released in Spring 2007 on
Century
Media; it was generally well-accepted and highly rated by both
critics and fans, pleased to see the band returning to their
heavier, gothic metal sound similar to that of earlier albums like
Draconian Times.
Paradise Lost: In Requiem Music | PopMatters It
also won "Best Gothic Metal album" from "Metal Storm Awards 2007."
The full-length was preceded by a single, "The Enemy."In November
2007, Century Media released the DVD
Over The Madness,
which documents the impact Paradise Lost has had on
Gothic metal and provides insight into the
mindset and workings of Paradise Lost. Disc 2 includes further
interviews, rehearsal footage, plus backstage and memorabilia
sections.
On 13 August 2008, drummer
Jeff Singer
announced his departure from the band on the Paradise Lost official
website. He wanted to be with his family, had an upcoming job, and
the then-upcoming South American tour would interfere with that. As
a result, Paradise Lost had to cancel the South American tour dates
that they had planned. Soon after, on 28 August 2008, the Paradise
Lost official website announced that the cancelled South American
tour has been reconfirmed and that
Mark
Heron from
Oceansize would take over
on drums.
At the beginning of 2009, Paradise Lost recorded their new album
with producer Jens Bogren in Fascination Street Studios in Örebro,
Sweden. At the time there was no full-time replacement for Jeff
Singer and drums were played by Swedish drummer Peter Damin. On
March 16, 2009, when the album was already finished with being
recorded, the band recruited
Adrian
Erlandsson (ex-
At the Gates,
ex-
Cradle of Filth) as a full-time
drummer for the band.
On June
18, 2009, Paradise Lost officially announced Faith Divides Us - Death
Unites Us as the title of their upcoming new album, to be
released on Century Media Records on September 25, 2009 in Germany
, on
September 28, 2009 in the rest of Europe and
on October 6, 2009 in the US
.
Members
Current members
Former members
- Matthew Archer – drums (1988-1994)
- Lee Morris - drums (1994-2004)
- Jeff Singer - drums (2004-2008)
Session members
- Mark Heron - touring drums
(2008)
- Peter Damin – studio drums (2009)
Discography
Studio albums
Live Recordings
References
- Paradise Lost - In Requiem Review
- Prod vidéo metal et production
indépendante
- Paradise Lost: Unique, Detailed Biography, at
Rockdetector
- Paradise Lost Biography, at allmusic.com
- Paradise Lost Biog
- Paradise Lost: Doom metal/Gothic metal band from United
Kingdom, at Tartarean Desire
- Paradise Lost Bio, at The Gauntlet
- Transcending the Mundane: Metal at its
Best!
- Paradise Lost
- Pedro Azevedo, Review of Paradise Lost,
Paradise Lost, Chronicles of Chaos, May 2005
- Paradise Lost on Century Media Records
- The Best Gothic Metal Album - Metal Storm Awards
2007, Metal Storm
- Double doc. DVD 'Over The Madness' for Paradise
Lost
- Paradise Lost Drummer Quits; South American Tour
Cancelled blabbermouth.net. 2008-08-13. Retrieved on
2009-07-15.
- Paradise Lost Not Cancelling South American
Tour blabbermouth.net. 2008-09-09. Retrieved on
2009-07-15.
- Paradise Lost Begins Recording New Album; Video
Available blabbermouth.net. 2009-02-09. Retrieved on
2009-07-15.
- Ex-Cradle Of Filth Drummer Adrian Erlandsson Joins
Paradise Lost metalunderground.com. 2009-03-16. Retrieved on
2009-07-15.
- Paradise Lost Reveals New Album Title
metalunderground.com. 2009-06-18. Retrieved on 2009-07-15.
External links