Draconian Times - Paradise Lost

Advantages: Melodic and catchy, the solos are back!
Disadvantages: bland, not as good as previous work

...to consider that the band may have chosen to tread the dangerous line of keeping older fans happy while attempting to break new markets. As is evident on 'Accept the Pain, 'Paradise Lost' has been created by taking the blueprint of 'Symbol of Life', mixing in a lashing of 'Draconian Times' guitar work, then adding a pinch of 'One Second' electro-rock. A bubbling cauldron which, in theory, should have produced the finest Paradise Lost album to date. It's hard to be enthusiastic about this record on the first couple of listens. The tracklisting appears somewhat unremarkable, and while the mix of sounds works and should have produced some of the best songs of Paradise Lost's career, unfortunately the album lacks any of the catchy hooks evident on previous releases. 'Paradise Lost' is an album which washes over the listener in a pleasing, laid back... Read review

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Advantages: Bold change of direction, very consistent and accomplished album
Disadvantages: Alienates older fans, depressing content (if you don't like that sort of thing), possibly a bit samey

...I have to admit I wasn't really into music much in the early 90s, and certainly not the heavier end of the spectrum. I suspect most of you missed the early days of the northern England death/doom metal movement too, but in those days Paradise Lost sat alongside Anathema and My Dying Bride in making exceedingly dark and heavy music. Personally, although I have one of their earlier albums - Gothic - I don't really have much time for that sort of thing. While some see it as 'selling out', I'm happy that all three bands have generally become more melodic as they've matured. In fact, I only got into Paradise Lost from this album (Host), and haven't explored much of their earlier material. For those that followed their whole career, it's been an interesting progression: tipped as the new Iron Maiden in the mid-90s, around Draconian Times... Read review

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Advantages: Well-arranged and produced
Disadvantages: Bland, a shadow of their former work

...When Paradise Lot released "Host" in 1999, they had already surprised many of their loyal fans through successive changes in direction even as far back as "Draconian Times" in 1995 and "One Second" in 1997, moving further away from their death / doom-metal roots. Host is a sharper turn in the same direction, the band abandoning almost everything that had gone before in favour of a smmoth Depeche Mode-esque sheen which on one level sounds good but which on another level simply feels bland, drab and rather meaningless. The album feels like an empty room that Paradise Lost once occupied, full of hints and echoes but with very little else tangible. It's not a bad album. "So Much Is Lost" and "Permanent Solution" have an abundance of melody, but overall this album fails to grab the attention (or more appropriately, grab your attention... Read review

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