Fifteen albums into a career that has spanned nearly thirty years and Paradise Lost once again remind us all why they are the kings of Goth Metal with their brand new album – Medusa, an album that touches on many deep topics along the journey while recapturing that old Paradise Lost sound.
Medusa sees Paradise Lost go back to that doom/ goth metal mix that first put them on the map and that doom feel encases the album from the opening bars with opening track ‘Fearless Sky’ beginning with a slow, drawn out and foreboding opening that gives away to brilliant growls from Nick Holmes while the gifted guitar duo of Mackintosh and Aedy also bring something really special to the table.
‘Gods Of Ancient’ sees the band explore topics such as religion and paganism while the instrumentals reach high crescendos again led by so absolutely amazing guitar playing by Makintosh and Aedy once again. ‘From The Gallows’ becomes one of the more interesting tracks on the album as it open with a clear doom/sludge sound and then picks up more of a heavier vibe as it reaches its peak.
The best track on Medusa though is ‘The Longest Winter’ which again recaptures Paradise Lost’s traditional long, drawn out sound while Holmes clean vocals work stunningly well. He continues those vocals on the album’s title track which gives away it’s distorted opening to deliver one of the finest guitar solos that you are ever likely to hear this year.
Holmes’ growls return with ‘No Passage For The Dead’ while ‘Blood And Chaos’ takes on more of a thrash metal/hard rock sound. The album then closes with ‘Until The Grave’ which again sees some brilliant guitar playing come to the fore, seriously the playing is so great that any young guitarists out there need to grab this album and take a listen to this track over and over.
Medusa is a celebration of everything doom and Goth and sees Paradise Lost deliver some of the finest work of their career. The guitar playing is sensational throughout the entire album while the thought-provoking lyrics will have you thinking about life over and over. A great release by the band that just gets better and better.
