PARADISE LOST

When there is a broad consensus that a band has achieved legendary status, it can often lead to the slow death of their creativity. There are worse ways to embrace middle age than trotting out the greatest hits, but PARADISE LOST have been stoic and impressive in their refusal to grow old gracefully or to surrender to the heritage headbanger circuit. Even their most controversial moments, the synth excursions of "One Second" and "Host" included, were either wildly successful at the time or have been positively reassessed with hindsight. Tellingly, the Brits' 21st century efforts have been almost uniformly great, and their most recent trilogy of albums have been among the finest in their 37-year career. In fact, since 2015's "The Plague Within", PARADISE LOST have been on a roll. That album's return to the death metal fury of old was a slap in the face for those who wrote them off at the turn of the century, and both the mercilessly doomy "Medusa" (2017) and the diverse and devastating "Obsidian" (2020) succeeded in sustaining that exemplary form. The feeble-minded ageism that infects so much mainstream metal coverage may have helped to lessen those albums' impact, but those who know and care about this great band's legacy should be in no doubt about how potent and masterful PARADISE LOST are at this point.

"Ascension" is their 17th studio album: a grand achievement in itself, but one made even more impressive by the sheer quality of its contents. Produced by guitarist Greg Mackintosh with his astute and now customary skill, this is a dazzling and unashamedly heavy dive into the band's morbid world circa 2025. Stuffed to the gills with great songs that plunder the high points of the last three decades but audibly buoyed by the last three records' feral might, "Ascension" has the distinct feel of an instant classic. The five-year gap between albums has done them no harm at all. In fact, as they have themselves stated, this heralds the beginning of a new and exhilarating chapter. PARADISE LOST are on fire.

The opening "Serpent On The Cross" beautifully encapsulates this late-career surge of efficacy. Swathed in starkly emotional melodies and underpinned by coruscating, doomed-out belligerence, it oozes authority and bleak, bullish charm. From Nick Holmes's timeless and tumultuous vocals, and the brazen, heavy metal strength that drives Mackintosh's riffs, to its subtly intricate arrangement and general air of morose majesty, it is as instantly memorable and affecting as any album opener in the band's entire catalogue. "Tyrants Serenade" is equally stunning. A partial throwback to the peerless goth metal of the "Draconian Times" era, with Holmes pursuing grandiose melodies down a gripping, left-hand path of acutely atmospheric riffing, it is quintessential PARADISE LOST song, bolstered by an ongoing determination to evolve with great intelligence and grace. Better still, "Salvation" is a simply magnificent, crestfallen colossus: seven minutes of purifying catharsis and skull-flattening misery, and as brutal and claustrophobic as anything the band have recorded since "Gothic". Like most of these songs, it is going to sound astonishing live. Recent single "Silence Like The Grave" makes the same point, but with more gusto. The riffs are huge and lethally effective, Holmes is a monstrous, imperious presence, and its gritty, up-tempo moments are genuinely exciting. If PARADISE LOST have a formula, then this is a showcase for its expansion and growth.

The rest of "Ascension" maintains the audacious reaffirmation of cherished values. "Lay A Wreath Upon The World" is an evocative incitement to get your goth on; "Diluvium" is a monumental, doom-laden diatribe with endless incisive riffs; "Savage Days" is raw, revealing and the perfect soundtrack for thoughtful progress and the throwing off of past shackles; both "Sirens" and "Deceivers" are ruthlessly catchy and surfing on old-school, goth metal momentum; and the closing "This Precipice" is a slow-burning paean to being throttled by melancholy, rich in melodic insight but avowedly despondent, with Holmes swapping between sonorous hooks and visceral growls, very much the master of this despairing domain. Quite how PARADISE LOST have nurtured their revolutionary sound through 37 years with such expert care is anyone's guess: bands are really not supposed to be making their best music after so many years on the metal frontline. But here we are, 35 years on from the release of their first album, witnessing another sublime, creative peak that crackles and fizzes with inspiration. "Ascension" is the perfect title. These legends are heading onwards and upwards, scaling new heights and perfecting their craft. Satan help us if they ever cheer up.