PARADISE LOST Interviewed At SONISPHERE

Raz of ThrashHits.com conducted an interview with British gothic metal pioneers PARADISE LOST at the Sonisphere festival, which was held on August 1-2, 2009 at the legendary Knebworth Park, United Kingdom. Watch the five-minute chat below.

PARADISE LOST will release its new album, "Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us", on September 28 in Europe and October 6 in the U.S. via Century Media Records. The highly anticipated follow-up to 2007's "In Requiem" was recorded at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with producer Jens Bogren.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. As Horizons End
02. I Remain
03. First Light
04. Frailty
05. Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us
06. The Rise Of Denial
07. Living With Scars
08. Last Regret
09. Universal Dream
10. In Truth

The track "Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us" is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

Commented vocalist Nick Holmes: "This song had a massive overhaul in the last few weeks before recording, and thankfully it worked out well. Unlike many bands, we try to know exactly what we are doing once we are in the studio. So re-writes near recording time are as scary as they can be can be rewarding. This song is swathed in melancholy and the closest thing on the album to a 'ballad' perhaps. Lyrically the title says it all. I find faith an oddity in that some people may have such devout belief that the only common ground with another human is death itself."

The album's artwork (see below),which is based upon a "Danse Macabre" woodcut by Hans Holbein the Younger (first published in 1538),was created by Stefan Wibbeke at Medialogistics (LACUNA COIL, POISONBLACK).

Holmes recently stated about the album's title, "The thoughts behind the title 'Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us' are very much self-explanatory. There is so much division in the world caused by obstructing religious belief. We are all made of the same flesh and bone. What makes one religion better than the other, and would any true god allow his creation to destroy itself? The vast number of different so-called faiths around the globe just helps to strengthen my complete denial of any god and force the belief that religion is nothing more than a man-made, cash-induced fabrication to exploit a human being's natural fear of death."

Regarding the band's decision to work with Bogren this time around, Holmes said, "We are very happy with [producer] Rhys Fulber's work on the last album ['In Requiem'], but after working on three albums together, we decided it was time to go for a different approach. After hearing the work he did with our 'Anatomy Of Melancholy' live DVD, we decided that Jens Bogren was the man for the job."

He continued, "Our approach this time has leaned even more towards the heavier side of things, even more so than the last. It is vital not to lose touch with our musical trip over the last 20 years. Our music may have had different facelifts, but it has always been 'dark' and the new album will be no exception. Musically and lyrically.

"Writing a new album is always exciting; we never get bored of writing music, and for me, it is the best part of being in a band. Each album is like a challenge to better ourselves, or at the very least, do something that's different to everyone else. We strive to make the ultimate modern gothic metal album, and for me that has nothing to do with the common trend of 'romance' and 'roses.' It should be music to be murdered by."