Paradise Lost Album Review
Paradise Lost – Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us
Album review by Rant Chick
Paradise Lost, renowned host of the masters of doom and gloom, has released its twelfth studio album entitled Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us. The band’s twenty-plus year career (conceived in 1988) and twelve-album history have been fraught with a bipolar reaction from both fans and critics alike. The resulting sense of turbulence resounds loud and clear in the new album, which boasts a fusion of metal mania and melancholic depression. Birthed in Halifax England, Paradise Lost has an ironically temperamental relationship with its English fans, many of whom are of the opinion that the band has been in the process of ‘making a comeback’ since the release of its ‘last good album’, Draconian Times, in 1995. The band, however, remains extremely popular throughout the rest of Europe, which has chosen to assess each album on its own merits rather than as part of a greater whole that accommodates no variation.
Nick Holmes’ vocals vividly express the impassioned tone of the album as he successfully juxtaposes the gruff singling style of earlier albums with the clean style he adopted later in his career. Holmes’ vocal assimilation of raw aggression and soulful pain has spawned an album charged with dark intensity. The title track, Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us, best exposes the album’s melancholic theme by commenting on the romantic notion of being joined in death: only in the commonality and finality of death can human beings be united. Within the sombre hopelessness of the notion that all earthly angst is futile, lies the ambiguity of a warning and solution – to wait for death as it is our salvation:
Tears for a hopeless case
Outside is still so vague
Frayed the landscapes of old
Cleared the indelible
Cannot sleep through darkened skies
Cannot dream until it’s over
The atmospheric beauty inherent in the title track, ensuing from the orchestral arrangement integrated into the song’s composition, contrasts with the more aggressive expression of the track’s statement reiterated in First Light:
Cold harsh first light
Face the trial failed in life
Hold on, first light
Face the trial, fade then die
The slower tempo of First Light is markedly noted when compared with the faster and heavier I Remain, which is driven by rhythmic guitaring and threatening solos. The album’s foreboding tone is enhanced by guitarists Greg Mackintosh and Aaron Aedy’s first time use of seven-string guitars that offer an extended range and massive low end, showcased in the likes of The Rise of Denial and Frailty.
Paradise Lost’s ability to combine brutally expressive metal riffs with orchestral elegance and gothic pensiveness is testament to the band’s experience and creative talent. Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us sums up the career of one of metal’s most significant bands. It is a beautifully constructed album that reminds listeners that, twenty years down the line, its creators still have something relevant to say and something important to contribute.
