Review by Saxy S for Paradise Lost - Obsidian (2020)

This Paradise Has Passed

It pains me to say it, but Paradise Lost's best years are behind them and this album is proof of that. And that sucks, because I really enjoyed albums like In Requiem and The Plague Within. But with this? It feels tired, played out, and lacking in basically any melodic song structure that were this bands selling point for years.

And the album starts with "Darker Thoughts", which I thought was a very good opener, but it set a poor first impression since outside of a couple of mid album highlights, this album feels so redundant. And the bands not even ripping off themselves; instead they go for these rhythmic chugging patterns with palm muted strings. The synths that open up "Forsaken" sound dated, while the strings that pop up near the end of "Ending Days" did add some nice dynamic flare, but those moments are few and far between.

The guitar melodies and solos, which were once the bands selling point, are reduced, although they do sound good. But like with most doom metal albums (even the good ones), it goes on way too long, the back half of this record is utterly forgettable, and while the dual vocals of Nick Holmes are still impressive, neither his screams or clean singing are performed with the same level of commitment as previous records. Swallow The Sun and Officium Triste made great, forward thinking doom metal records last year. Maybe you should check out those records instead.