Although having never entirely disappeared from the metal
scene, for some, Yorkshire based act Paradise Lost have finally accomplished
the impossible, and made an almighty comeback with their latest release
'In Requiem' after years of experimentation outside their previously
established sound in the mid '90's.
In a lot ways, it's a fair assessment. After all, the
band did help found the emerging melodic death/doom metal movement in
the UK with their first couple of releases (1990's 'Paradise Lost' and
1991's 'Gothic' for Peaceville Records), before moving up to Music For
Nations and opting for a more gothic/metal influenced sound (as heard
on 1992's 'Shades Of God', 1993's 'Icon' and 1995's 'Draconian Times'),
a move which only helped Paradise Lost become one of the UK's most widely
recognised and influential metal acts at the time.
But by 1997, Paradise Lost found themselves once again
moving into a completely different phase of their career, with 'One
Second' showcasing a greater use of keyboards, clean vocals and a move
towards a rock sound rather than the metal sound of their past. Although
the album was well received, 1999's 'Host' and 2001's 'Believe In Nothing'
(both released through EMI) saw the band push their sound even further
into the synthesised gothic rock realm, which in some ways helped the
band reach a wider audience (particularly in Europe), but also polarized
long-time fans that felt betrayed with the group's radical change of
direction.
After splitting with EMI, Paradise Lost signed up with
BMG's subsidiary label GUN Records, and released both 'Symbol Of Life'
(2002) and 'Paradise Lost' (2005). Although largely overlooked and under-promoted
by GUN Records, both albums were well received, and hailed as a strong
return to form for the band.
Recognising this, Century Media Records decided to add
Paradise Lost (who comprise of vocalist Nick Holmes, lead guitarist/keyboardist
Gregor Mackintosh, rhythm guitarist Aaron Aedy, bassist Stephen Edmondson
and drummer Jeff Singer) to their roster, with their first offering
'In Requiem' being viewed by most as the group's official comeback album
after falling off the radar since the late '90's.
Having just finished up a string of dates in the UK and
a few select dates throughout Europe following the release of 'In Requiem'
in late May, I caught up with vocalist Nick Holmes at home to discuss
the group's troubled years leading up to their comeback, the challenge
of ensuring the band is recognised in the face of today's constantly
changing metal scene, the band's cover of Everything But The Girl's
'Missing' and their now perfected mix of gothic rock and metal.
"A lot of the important decisions concerning this
album came down to making sure that we retained the Paradise Lost sound
that we have now, the one we've developed over the last ten years, but
making sure that 'In Requiem' had a far more metal sounding production.
We wanted the guitars and drums to sound very loud in the mix, and I
think we managed to do that this time around on 'In Requiem'. The mix
on the new album is very different to the mix on the last few albums,
and I think that's what gives 'In Requiem' more of an edge over the
last few albums. I don't think a lot of people realise that the song
writing procedure within the band has remained the same as it has been
for the last ten years. Once you understand that, it's fairly obvious
that it's not so much the way we play the songs on 'In Requiem' that
makes the difference, but more the way the album is produced and mixed
that really makes it sound the way it does."
Having renowned mixer Mike Fraser (Metallica, Slipknot,
The Cult, AC/DC, Van Halen) certainly helps make sure you have a good
sound on your album, but you certainly can't overlook producer Rhys
Fulber's impressive work on 'In Requiem'.
"We've done three albums with Fulber now. The first
time we worked with him was on 'Symbol Of Life' in 2002, followed by
our self-titled album in 2005. So with 'In Requiem', we've now worked
with him three times, and it seems to be working for us. What we like
about Fulber is that he kind of brings this whole new enthusiasm to
the band each time. I think we only really started to believe in what
we were doing a lot more when we started working with Fulber. On 'In
Requiem', he really brought a new and different approach to things for
us, and I think it's really worked in the best possible way. He's very
into what he does. He's very enthusiastic about the recording process,
and he gets involved in every aspect of the production work. He doesn't
just turn up, press a button and leave. There are a lot of producers
that do that. He's not just there for the pay cheque and nothing else.
He's really into the whole thing. I think that's really refreshing for
the band."
Since working with Fulber, Paradise Lost seems to have
finally found a sound that pleases both themselves and their fans. But
prior to that, Holmes is willing to admit that Paradise were quite simply
at a loss in terms of direction and motivation around the late '90's.
"Initially, 'Host' got some really good press. EMI
worked very hard on that album, but they really didn't know where to
work it in regards to how to promote it, and just whom exactly they
were supposed to promote it to. It was a tricky album to make, because
it wasn't exactly a metal album as such. It was really a square peg
in a round hole thing for both the label as well as us. And then there
was 'Believe In Nothing'. We were never really happy with the production
on that album. I think the songs on the album were good, but I definitely
wouldn't rank the album overall in amongst our top five albums ever.
We were all very confused by a lot of things going on around us at the
time, hence the cover! (Laughs) I think they were pretty grim times,
and I think that's reflected on the rather dour tone of the songs. Practically
all of us were on prescribed drugs at that time! (Laughs) I was taking
such strong anti-depressants at the time that I didn't really know what
was going on at the time. The artwork for the album is a classic example
where our brains were at the time. There were just bees in my head!
(Laughs) I have no idea what that cover was supposed to represent. On
a personal level, 'Believe In Nothing' represented a really dark time
in my life. I don't think anything positive comes out of being depressed
or down like that. My personal life was kind of in a bad way at that
time, and I think that album is a direct result of that. I know a lot
of people really love that album, and I think that's great. But for
me, I think the most disappointing element is the production, which
I think could have been punchier, and the feelings the album conjures
up. From 'Host' through to 'Believe In Nothing', we didn't really kind
of know where we were going. We were really in a dilemma. But I think
'Symbol Of Life' is a far stronger album that the ones that preceded
it, and I think that's because of Fulber's involvement on it. I think
he really brought some fresh ideas to the table on that album, which
is something he's continued to do with each album since."
With the troubles of the past long behind them and their
new label (Century Media Records) throwing their full promotional clout
behind 'In Requiem', it would make sense that Paradise Lost would notice
a significant change from their past releases. But as Holmes points
out, today's metal scene isn't quite what it used to be.
"We've been pretty busy since the album was released,
so it's sort of hard to tell. And making it all the more difficult to
gauge is the downloading issue and all that stuff. But having said that,
we've seen plenty of promotion for the album everywhere we've been so
far, so Century Media Records has been doing a great job making people
aware that we have a new album out. I don't think I've seen a negative
review for 'In Requiem' so far, so it's all been pretty cool on that
front. In fact, I believe that any negativity is only going to come
from those people who just want to hear the first three albums all over
again. They're the diehard death metal fans that think we sold out after
the second demo tape! (Laughs) It's no big deal really. Sometimes, when
you've been around for a long time, it's like you have to justify why
you're still going. It's kind of like, 'I'm sorry we're still going.
By the way, here's our new album!' (Laughs) It's very much the McDonald's
generation out there. After you've been around for a long time like
us, it gets harder to get people to notice you because the media is
always looking out for the next big thing. And when they do find that
next big thing, it's used up and cast aside virtually two minutes later.
We're very aware of the different bands out there, and we're also aware
of which bands are very popular. We try and understand why they're popular
sometimes. It's very easy to turn into a very stubborn old man sometimes
when you hear what's popular at this moment, because I tend to think
they're shit! (Laughs) You really do ask yourself why they're popular.
A lot of that's down to marketing. I think the media has such a huge
presence, and the power to help people make up their minds nowadays.
When we were younger, it was very much word of mouth, and bands became
big through that word of mouth, rather than having themselves forced
upon teenagers. Labels tend to pick up a lot of bands these days that
are not very good. People think they're good, just because they're getting
press. There wasn't anywhere near as much hype back twenty years ago
as there is now. Everything is just run by the media today. I think
that a lot of good bands fall by the wayside because of that, because
they're not getting the press. I think that's a bit of a shame really.
You have to work hard to stay around, and twice as hard to remain relevant."
Throughout their long history, Paradise Lost has never
been afraid to try their hand at unconventional covers. And this time
is no different; with the limited edition version of 'In Requiem' featuring
a cover of Everything But The Girl's 1994 hit 'Missing'.
"I would like to point out that nobody in the band
is a fan of Everything But The Girl, we just all happen to like that
song. I suggested it to (lead guitarist/keyboardist Gregor) Mackintosh,
and he just said, 'Oh f**k that!' He just went nuts. So I played the
song on a keyboard and sang it in a darker tone of voice, and it was
only then that he said, 'Oh OK. Maybe that might work.' That song was
very much put together in the studio. We were just messing around with
ideas and sounds constantly when we were putting it together, so it
was a very studio kind of thing. I'm really pleased with how it sounds.
We didn't want to go down the tried and true path of riffing it up and
making it heavy. There's too many metal band's covering songs from the
'80's and making them heavy. We've also been there and done that ourselves
too when we covered Bronski Beat's 'Small Town Boy' (which appeared
on the limited edition version of 2002's 'Symbol Of Life'), so we had
to look at it from a different angle. It sort of reminds me of some
of the songs on the 'Host' album, so I really like that focus and feel.
It was nice to kind of do something that wasn't in your face as well.
Originally, I wanted to put it on the album, but I kind of got shot
down in flames! (Laughs) It's a shame for the fans, but it's not too
hard to get a hold of songs these days. People are always asking us
where they can find certain b-sides and bonus tracks, and all I tell
them is that you don't have to look to hard to find these things if
you know what I mean."
As mentioned earlier, Paradise Lost had just finished
a round of dates around the UK and Europe, which was really only a preliminary
run up to their official tour throughout Europe and the US.
"We've been pretty busy since 'In Requiem' came out
touring wise, and we haven't even started our big tour yet! (Laughs)
We just did like a short UK tour supporting Type O Negative, along with
a couple of our own headlining shows. We finished that the other week,
and then we did six festival dates. But we don't actually officially
start touring properly until September. We'll be touring Europe for
around a month, before we hook up with Nightwish around the middle of
October for what is going to be quite a big US tour. That's pretty exciting
for us because Nightwish have quite a bit of respect over in the US,
and we're pretty much an unknown quantity in the US. Even after all
these years, we're still pretty unknown, so it's going to be great for
us to get over there and play to lots of people. We toured over there
in 1993 with Morbid Angel, which was a lot of fun, and again in early
2003 with Opeth, who we have since become good friends with. The reason
why we haven't toured the US much is because we've always had problems
getting our albums released there. Making things worse is that a couple
of the labels we were originally dealing with have since folded. We've
had such rotten luck with distribution, so it's been pretty shit for
us in the US. We've been hampered from doing any real work over there.
I think you have to tour the US a hell of a lot, and have some really
good distribution set up to make any real sort of impact over there.
Hopefully we'll finally have that with Century Media Records."
Although having toured Europe countless times throughout
the years, and not expecting any significant change from previous tours,
Holmes is looking forward to airing new songs from 'In Requiem' to fans.
But one thing he hopes is different from previous ventures overseas
is wireless Internet connection.
"I would really like to have broadband capabilities
in every venue! That would be perfect! (Laughs) We have to get our priorities
in order here! (Laughs) I'm a fish out of water if I can't get online.
It's a bit an obsession for the band really. We'd sit outside a Starbucks
with our laptops in the middle of Croatia if we could! (Laughs) We're
all Internet junkies. It's pretty bad. We talk through messenger more
than anything, even if we're sitting next to each other. That's just
the way it is! (Laughs) But in all seriousness, as far as the tour is
concerned, we're all looking forward to playing the new songs. It's
always exciting when you write a new song, and all you can envisage
is just how you can see them going down in front of a live crowd. So
far, the response to the new songs we've played live has been really
positive. So it's going to be nice to go out there and play a set that
is more based around the new material, rather than just playing a best
of set, which is what you tend to do at festivals."
As for the possibility of a return to our shores, Holmes
is hopeful of including Australia on the band's tour itinerary, if only
to come down as part of a sightseeing tour.
"I would like to hope there's a chance we can get
to Australia again. It's been about twelve years since we were last
down there, while supporting 'Draconian Times'. We have a lot of good
memories the last time we were over there. It was a really good time.
Hopefully next year we can do Australia. If that doesn't happen, I will
hop into Mikael Åkerfeldt's suitcase the next time he's down with
Opeth and do a f**king stand up comedy show! (Laughs) I just want to
come down there again!"
I would like to thank Nick Holmes for his generous
time, and Andrew Haug at Century Media Records for making the interview
possible.
For more information on Paradise Lost, check out - http://www.paradiselost.co.uk
© Justin Donnelly - justindonnelly@ozemail.com.au
