Damn it! I really wanted to review Virgin Steele's new one, but they've made it very hard to get access to without actually buying the thing: not on Spotify, not on Google Play Music and not even on YouTube! So I have to go with something else. Ah, this will do. Bit of Doom Metal for a change.
The Plague Within --- Paradise Lost --- 2015 (Century Media)
Introduction: We've actually just encountered these guys in Wpnfire's top ten yesterday, and I have to say I was not that impressed, but I'm trying to keep a reasonably varied balance in this section, and so far we've had Power, Progressive, Death, Thrash and Black Metal, so I guess it's only fair to give Doom a go. This is Paradise Lost's fourteenth album, believe it or not, and the British outfit have been going since 1988, with their debut album released in 1990. Will they have changed that much since that debut? Let's find out.
Track-by-track
1. No hope in sight: Ah, what cheery titles! Still, this
is Doom Metal after all. Hardly gonna be singing about their sweet baby now are they? Music to be fair is more uptempo than I was expecting, vocals are growly but then aren't they always in Doom Metal? Decent melody, quite like this. Actually, now we're getting cleaner vocals. Great grindy guitar work. Good to see that none of the tracks are a thousand years long, as in much music in this subgenre. Nothing over six minutes I can see. Well, one, but just by a few seconds. Good opener.
2. Terminal: Again, faster than I expect Doom Metal to be. Not at all plodding like I thought it would be. Some really nice riffs here, almost a style of boogie at times. Vocals this time do appear to be all cookie monster ones though.
3. An eternity of lies: This one is fu
cking immense. Almost progressive at the start (Progressive Doom?) with a really nice clear vocal. Slower, yes, but not going at a snail's pace
4. Punishment through time: Another great rockin' guitar intro, vocals this time are kind of half way between growl and snarl, but you can hear them fine. The pause is great, then the guitars kick up really well.
5. Beneath broken earth: I'm pretty much enjoying everything on this so far. Halfway through and I have no complaints at all. This song is heavier, slower but still bitchin'. Great menace in the vocal.
6. Sacrifice the flame: Now you can tell me that's not violin (none credited) and I'll argue with you. There is no way anyone, no matter how great a guitarist he may be, can make that sound on a guitar. There must be either a violinist or perhaps even a string section playing on this track at least. Gives it a really haunting feeling. One of the best on the album so far.
7. Victim of the past: More violins (they
have to be violins) with mostly clean vocals, slower but again not sludgy or plodding.
8. Flesh from bone: Another great rockin' track, stomping rhythm
9. Cry out: Closest to traditional metal here with a real boogie vibe
10. Return to the sun: Big choir, very dramatic feel to this one. Seems like it could be a really powerful closer. Yeah. It's completely brilliant.
Conclusion: For a Doom Metal album I expected something much slower and drearier, and was pleasantly surprised by what I heard. Nothing at all like the debut; I wonder if they changed their sound that dramatically over twenty-five years? Maybe there's hope yet. Not, I'll grant you, a word you normally see associated with doom metal, but this was quite a revelation (now that's a word you
do see associated with doom metal!)
Seriously, great work guys!