15. February 2025
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Media Review

Paradise Lost – Obsidian

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Paradise Lost - Obsidian

Paradise Lost - Obsidian
4.1

Rating

 4.1/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Intense Gothic tracks
  • Not too dark, playing with different elements

From time to time, Flyctory.com needs to care about the dark tunes in music as well. The British Gothic Metal band Paradise Lost, who is active since the late 1980’s released their 16th album on 15th March 2020. Here are my thoughts about Obsidian.

 

Paradise Lost – About The Artists

The first steps of Paradise Lost, who are originally from Halifax in West Yorkshire, went really quit: just about a year after the band has been formed in 1988, they signed their first record deal. In the same year, 1989, the released a self-titled debut album. It took some time until the band full established in the metal world: their fourth album Icon, which has been released in September 1993, sold 120,000 copies in Germany (more than 300,000 worldwide) and went up to the 31st spot in the German album charts. With the following album, Draconian Times (1995), the band had success in quite many European markets for the first time. The band placed a couple of albums in the charts of major music markets and kept their popularity especially in Germany. Their latest relase, the 2017 Medusa made it to the Top 10 in Germany and Finland.

 

Paradise Lost – Obsidian – Track by Track

The eleven track album lasts 56 minutes.

1. Darker Thoughts

After a slow and very melodic start (which takes some three minute of the six minute track, the interlude is a choral element), the album starts as expected: powerful guitars, a lot of shouting.

Drifting through loss, we escape from the cost of the pain
The healing through years so obscured by the tears and the strain
But this one-way street you’re on, you’ll never be fulfilled
And this one-way street you’re on is gonna get you killed

Classic and well done Gothic Metal – and a great introduction to Obsidian.

2. Fall From Grace

Fall from Grace was one of the tracks which have been released before the album. Not too surprsing, as practically anybody will find a part he liked in here (as long as you like the genre as such): guitar riffs, choral (and thus: more melodic elements), shouting. Overall, that definitely makes it a good one.

3. Ghosts

The third track, Ghosts, is not only shorter than the two songs before (“just” 4:35 minutes), it is also much more melodic and majorly has vocal and guitar elements. That makes it a good track for you in case you do not like the Gothic sound too much.

4. The Devil Embraced

The 6:08 minute song also keeps a dark atmosphere, but with some light moments, especially towards the middle of the song.

Foolish trust
In reverent pain
Foolish trust
The Devil embraced

5. Forsaken

The very melodic Forsaken is one of my favorites of the album. Very nicely produced, straight home game for the strings. Bang your heads, slow and intense!

6. Serenity

Serenity is significantly grimmer than the songs before, the voices become darker and harder as well. Still, the guitars contribute highly melodic elements, so that it not just crushing metal.

7. Ending Days

Ending Days is slow, feels very deep and intense. The intro might feel a bit long, but the song with its powerful guitar only parts is one of my favorites.

8. Hope Dies Young

Paradise Lost just goes into the very deep sounds like shouting very rarely. They have beautiful guitar play – and thus, despite the dark atmosphere of the track, the song feels really comparably light and enjoyable. Love that.

9. Ravenghast

Another track which made me close my eyes, banging my head slightly and dive deep into the sounds and atmosphere of the song. The atmosphere is simply what I enjoy most on Obsidian – finally, Paradise Lost deliver another cool track here.

10. Hear The Night

See the night, desire the fear
You need it now
Hear the night, desire the fear
You need it now
A call from the grave

The chorus feels a bit too suppressed and overpowered by the guitars maybe, but even though this is a song with a lot of dark and shouting voices, I enjoy Hear The Night, just as the guitar play is cool again. Put up your devil horns and bang your head to this one!

11. Defiler

The album gets siginicantly darker towards the end again, but it keeps it melodic character. That finally makes it a very enjoyable album to me, Defiler is a nice farewell song for that.

 

Paradise Lost – Obsidian – Spotify

Here is the Spotify link to Obsidian:

 

Paradise Lost – Obsidian – My View

In general, I like metal, even though I have to say that I am not too much a fan of Gothic, if it gets too dark and too… Gothic 🙂 Obsidian is definitely a very good album, as it keeps storytelling, melodic elements and plays with different kinds of atmosphere. Really well done, worth listening!

 

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