Paradise Lost "Gothic" CD

Paradise Lost are one-third of the Peaceville Three and their album Gothic is arguably the only significant release on the Peaceville label. Unlike the majority of Paradise Lost's full-lengths, the style displayed on Gothic is death-doom. As such, you won't hear Nick Holmes' singing voice on here. But what you will get is ten quality songs with the perfect amount of melancholy and sadness. Let's remember that Gothic was released in 1991, which is also the year Metallica released their infamous self-titled album. However, Gothic doesn't lack any integrity whatsoever.
This is a strong case in point when you begin Gothic. You're greeted with the title track, an instant highlight that displays rather demonic vocals from Nick Holmes. It's also notable for being the blueprint for the "beauty and the beast" vocal style that a lot of gothic metal bands would later adopt. "Shattered" is also a fun track where Nick Holmes utilizes a Peter Steele-esque bass baritone that makes the song perfect for Halloween. Gregor Mackintosh's guitar riffs are also a big player on this song, especially countering his riffs with the wah-wah. The final highlight, "Angel Tears" is a beautiful instrumental that displays how good of a guitarist Gregor Mackintosh is. He solos like a virtuoso and it shows he doesn't need an orchestra for the song.
Speaking of which, I also like how Paradise Lost utilizes an orchestra for Gothic, particularly the Raptured Symphony Orchestra. It makes Gothic feel grandiose although most of the music on here is melancholic in nature. "Dead Emotion" uses this before Gregor Mackintosh unleashes a long and wicked guitar solo. Mackintosh's guitar riffs compliment the music rather well and his solos can go all over the place. Mackintosh also wrote the music on Gothic and each song feels tight and well produced. Especially on "Falling Forever" where Gregor Mackintosh and Aaron Aedy pause their guitars while Holmes delivers short lyrics from time to time. My guess is that Gothic served as an inspiration for Mackintosh to start Vallenfyre, a band that's similar in style to this album.
Mackintosh is arguably the MVP of Gothic. In 1991, Paradise Lost made MTV fanboys piss themselves due to how heavy Gothic is. The demonic vocals of Nick Holmes were uncommon to hear of at the time as the "cookie monster" was not a vocal style that was set in stone. With wicked guitar solos and being an innovator in both death-doom and gothic metal, Gothic is easily one of the greatest metal albums ever made. Now that Paradise Lost rediscovered their roots, it's the perfect time to listen to this album. Then again, any time is the best time to listen to Gothic. This album makes grunge bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam look like child's play in comparison.

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