Paradise Lost ‘Live at Rockpalast 1995’
Album Review By Adam McCann
MIG/Death/Doom Metal
Ask a true metalhead to name a definitive metal band from the 90’s and more than likely one of the first names to comes to mind will be Paradise Lost. Alongside Anathema and fellow Yorkshiremen My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost pioneered the death/doom sound and 1995, Paradise Lost were on the verge of making the big leagues with their seminal album ‘Draconian Times’.
Chosen to headline the Bizarre Festival in Cologne, with a line-up which features bands such as NOFX, White Zombie and Kyuss, Paradise Lost found the chips stacked against them. However, all doubters were silenced following the bands set that has been captured on a new live and DVD album set ‘Live at Rockpalast 1995’. What this album shows is a band at their most primal and raw; there are no gimmicks here, Paradise Lost deliver a set which obviously leans heavy on the ‘Draconian Times’ material, but also takes in tracks from ‘Icon’, ‘Gothic’ and ‘Shades of God’.
This is a set list designed to lay waste to non-believers and forever leave their mark on the metal scene. Sure, there are a few cringe moments here, Nick Holmes’ voice fluctuates in and out of tune and each mistake from Greg Mackintosh, Aaron Aedy, Stephen Edmondson and Lee Morris can clearly be heard; but this is what a live music is all about, it shows a band being flawed, warts n’ all, hungry, rough and ready to conquer the world. Yet, is this album for every Paradise Lost fan? Probably not, but for Paradise Lost aficionados, it will be nice addition to an already extensive catalogue.
Rating : 60/100
MHF Magazine/Adam McCann
