The sad sires Paradise Lost are back.
The year 2025 marks for Nick Holmes (vocals, Bloodbath, Host), Greg Mackintosh (guitar/keyboards, Strigoi, Host, ex-Vallenfyre), Steve Edmondson (bass), and Aaron Aedy (guitar) not only the return of drummer Jeff Singer (Kill II This, ex-Blaze Bayley, ex-My Dying Bride…), but also the release of their eighteenth album, Ascension.
The album kicks off with the already well-known Serpent On The Cross, which is already haunting our minds, if only with its very progressive introduction, to which Nick‘s growling is finally added, heralding the eruption. The song eventually becomes more ferocious, borrowing from heavy metal while retaining its melancholy and imposing passages, before moving on to the haunting Tyrants Serenade, which features some parts of that solemn clean singing that intensifies and blends with saturation. There are a few effects that contribute to making the song quite cold before finally moving on to Salvation, a long composition that begins with a few birds and dissonant but airy melodies that call for a fairly soft base before finally bringing back the raw vocals. The choruses stick in your head, but the band surprises us with a break where I could swear I hear A.A. Nemtheanga (Primordial, Dread Sovereign), then they return to their haunting gloom on Silence Like The Grave, which quickly becomes more cutting. The energetic rhythm contrasts with the previous tracks, but also with the persistent leads that rage before Lay A Wreath Upon The World takes their place, first acoustically, then as a duet with the vocalist, and finally with the usual heavy saturation that slowly progresses. Diluvium takes over, once again adopting a fairly raw formula that gives way to very jerky riffing while the lead guitar races ahead, creating a real divide with the very calm opening moments of Savage Days. The tranquility is short-lived, as the saturation returns to embellish and weigh down the song while retaining its original spirit, before abandoning us to the hypnotic Sirens and its almost playful touches that restore a dose of almost thrash-like vitality to the English band’s Doom. The slow pace returns at times before Deceivers follows suit, once again drawing on motivating tones tinged with a certain darkness, alternating between clean and distorted vocals as we head straight for The Precipice, whose introduction remains fairly minimalist. It becomes quite majestic and then quite aggressive, while still respecting an old-school approach with a long lead section towards the end. Then This Stark Town comes along with its bright tones that bewitch our minds and easily captivate us. The influences seem a little more diverse on this track, which breaks in the middle before picking up again and joining A Life Unknown, where we first find a semblance of quietness before being swept away by this intoxicating new wave until the end of the album.
Paradise Lost‘s sonic evolution takes a new turn with Ascension, which gives equal prominence to their Gothic influences and a rather melodious Doom/Death sound. The band can only gain new fans with this album.
90/100