There can be a sense of diminishing returns with artists who have been around for a long time. It’s not always easy to get truly excited about a band’s 17th album but, on the flipside, if that band haven’t perfected what they’re doing by that point, they might as well go and jump in the sea.
Paradise Lost have been through several bouts of evolution and experimentation since they spawned in Halifax close to four decades ago. Over the past few albums, though, they’ve settled into a groove – making music that is instantly recognisable as Paradise Lost, while emphasising different elements of that sound.
2015’s The Plague Within reached back to their death/ doom roots, 2017’s Medusa leaned heavily into sludgy doom misery and 2020’s Obsidian dipped into all their eras, while also paying homage to gothic influences like The Sisters Of Mercy. Ascension fits fully into this pattern.
There’s not much death metal left in the mix to be fair, but the album does rifle through their back catalogue for loose change. In particular, there are several songs where they hark back to 1993 classic Icon. The likes of Silence Like The Grave and Sirens employ a relatively straightforward crunch, while vocalist Nick Holmes airs out that rasping bark alongside the growls and deep melodic croons.
Of course, this is Paradise Lost, so there’s still plenty of texture and nuance to be found. Tyrants Serenade has a Type O Negative-esque creep to it, while Lay A Wreath Upon The World makes use of sparse acoustics and strings before swelling into darkly gothic grandeur. Elsewhere, there’s the heavy funereal doom of Salvation and the beautiful melancholy of The Precipice. As those titles suggest, the band still revel in misery, but any new Paradise Lost album is a cause for celebration.
Ascension is out September 19 via Nuclear Blast. Paradise Lost tour the UK from November 9. For the full list of upcoming tour dates, visit their official website.
