Paradise Lost’s Plague is ‘marmite album’

Paradise Lost guitarist Greg Mackintosh has described 14th release The Plague Within as a “marmite album.”

The follow-up to 2012’s Tragic Idol will be released on June 1 via Century Media – and it sees the Yorkshire outfit once again pushing musical boundaries.

Mackintosh tells Total Guitar: “Sometimes it’s nice to do albums that are expected, in a way. But for a career like ours it’s important to do certain records and songs where you try something else.”

The band aimed to “blur lines” between harmonies and rhythms during recording sessions, with the aim of achieving a more blended sound.

The guitarist says: “It was an interesting way of working that we hadn’t done before – more constructive.”

The Plague Within features the tracks Flesh From Bone and Beneath Broken Earth, which he describes respectively as their fastest and slowest songs ever.

“As it came together the death metal elements became more prevalent – but it’s got a good ebb and flow to it.”

Mackintosh adds: “We want it to sound like no one else in metal. Whether we’ve achieved that, I have no idea until everyone hears it.”

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.