Metal Reviews

grandbazaar · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 1:58 am Post subject: Paradise Lost - In Requiem

The new Paradise Lost will definitely be a contender for album of the year for the doom/goth/dark category. They return with a more metal approach than with their previous release and Holmes vocals are more varied and a little rough around the edges at times, which fits perfectly with their music. I have a felling this will be spinning quite a bit in my CD player(or iPod).

what did you guys think of "In Requiem" ?

Zadok · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2007 2:36 am Post subject:

I liked the couple of songs I heard from the previous album (had always ignored them before in favour of MDB), but had a listen when this was up at their MySpace and it's pretty darn good.
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traptunderice · Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:02 am Post subject:

Just bought this album from the Virgin Megastore underneath the Louvre and after listening to it several times on the plane ride back home I am really liking it. Tracks 3, 4 and 11 are all pretty good and stood out to me. I'm not sure yet how it compares to Draconian or Icon but it definitely should be a contender for best of the year.

Oh, and the case I got it in has kind of the jewelry box fuzziness to it with gold text and it looks pretty classy.

grandbazaar · Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:29 am Post subject:

leee · Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 12:00 am Post subject:

When is it out in the US?

grandbazaar · Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 1:33 am Post subject:

already out in Canada and I'm pretty sure it's also released in the states. The End records had it in stock last time I checked.

leee · Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2007 12:16 am Post subject:

OldSchool · Metal King Joined: 01 Feb 2005 Posts: 1545 Location: south

It's a great album. There was another topic about it, in the heavy section I think.

grandbazaar · Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 4:28 am Post subject:

OldSchool · Metal King Joined: 01 Feb 2005 Posts: 1545 Location: south

Zadok · Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 12:07 am Post subject:

I think that's it in a nutshell. Personally, I only got into MDB having heard them mentioned a lot and in magazines etc. They simply don't have the broad appeal or the reverence that the likes of Emperor, Opeth etc do. Although PL had a bit of mainstream success back in the day, they're nowhere near successful enough nowadays here.
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Sasheron · Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 8:35 am Post subject:

I can see why PL would be largely ignored in favour of MDB etc - only their earlier albums had any heavy value. MDB consistently put out dark albums, Anathema and Katatonia remained melancholic after their shift away from metal, Tiamat resemble Sisters of Mercy so much that they become a listening supplement to the goth rock fan, etcetera etcetera. Paradise Lost changed way too much at times to maintain a strong place in the metal market.

Those unfortunate souls who like me bought one of their poppier albums the first time (Believe In Nothing for me) could have been turned off Paradise Lost for that reason. I like Gothic and other material from that era, but their rockier/poppier material doesn't sit well with me. The track from their newey on MySpace doesn't excite me either.

OldSchool · Metal King Joined: 01 Feb 2005 Posts: 1545 Location: south

That's an interesting point, although In Requiem is much more metal than any of the latest Anathema, Katatonia, Tiamat, Theatre Of Tragedy etc, you should give it a listen. PL went Depeche Mode on us and now came back.

I still support my theory that all these bands are somewhat ignored, mainly due to generation differences. I see Zad, who is in this group age I think, agrees. Many youth nowadays get into metal through death or black (be it real, like Nile or Emperor, or false, like Opeth and Dimmu) and they continue to explore the more extreme subgenres. Others may get in through Maiden or Metallica and then go back and try to explore the heavy/power/traditional/thrash genres. In both cases, the early doom/death hybrids, as well as their subsequent evolutions, get ignored.

I'm not even mentioning the kids that get in through nu-metal or metalcore, the last thing they wanna do is listen to an album like Eternity or Draconian Times.

grandbazaar · Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2007 10:16 pm Post subject:

Sasheron · Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 3:38 pm Post subject:

I don't know about the generational gap. I'm one of the young, brand-spankin'-new, under-twenty metalheads and right now I'm listening to Cathedral's In Memoriam. I know of and like a lot of the founding bands - I just don't necessarily like their new stuff as well. I like Tiamat because I'm a goth rock fan on the side and I like new and old Katatonia alike because of the melancholic quality of the music. I know metalheads who also like spacey, athmospheric rock and as such listen to new Anathema. I like some synth-pop/goth pop, and as such ToT didn't turn me away when I heard their new material. I like a lot of various music, as most metalheads do. One of the many things I don't like is the direction that PL went in.

Certain markets tend to overlap, and it may be the case that there is very little overlap between the "young new metalheads" market and "listeners who would like new PL" market, or just "metalheads in general" and "newer era PL listeners". Sure new PL is rough around the edges, but being rough does not a metal album make (just look at Darkthrone LAWLLAWL I made a funny).

grandbazaar · Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2007 2:46 am Post subject:

Sorry but In Requiem is as metal as Icon and Draconian are, whoever says the contrary hasn't been paying attention when listening to it or have no clue what goth metal is. This isn't extreme metal but it certainly is metal.

no offense intended.