Paradise Lost - The Plague Within

"Cold embrace is the saviour in disguise
Through old age, only danger never dies"

When gothic metal trailblazers Paradise Lost released Tragic Idol three years ago, who would've thought their next album would bring them even closer to their roots? Even though Greg Mackintosh was already playing death metal with his other band Vallenfyre, hardly anyone seriously expected Paradise Lost to bring back the extreme elements of their early albums. However, once the band had re-recorded a couple of old songs for the Tragic Illusion 25 (2013) compilation and Nick Holmes had been announced as the new vocalist of Bloodbath, the idea didn't feel too far-fetched anymore. On The Plague Within Paradise Lost embrace their death/doom past without making it sound forced or abandoning what they've learned over the years.

The strength of The Plague Within lies in its diversity: it includes songs in different tempos with a variety of vocals and moods. On top of that, the production sounds very organic, which is a great thing in the modern world of overprocessed and plastic-sounding metal records. According to Mackintosh, the video track "Beneath Broken Earth" is the slowest PL song ever, while the death metal explosion "Flesh from Bone" is the fastest. The rest of the material ranges between these two extremes, but the doomy elements prevail.

Nick Holmes unleashes his guttural death growl for the first time since 1991's genre-defining Gothic. In fact, there are three(!) songs without melodic vocals and only one without growls, and even that one ("Punishment Through Time") is far from a ballad, relying on sludge metal riffing and Holmes' trademark rasp instead. The rest of the songs combine singing with growling. Ironically Paradise Lost never did this before, although they were an influence on numerous bands that employed both vocal styles.

"No Hope in Sight" is a strong and catchy opener, showcasing the album well. "Terminal" includes some fierce drum fills from Adrian Erlandsson, who is at home playing this kind of music, having been a member of bands like At the Gates and Cradle of Filth. My personal favorite song "An Eternity of Lies" brings female vocals and piano back into the mix. There are also string arrangements in this song, as well as "Victim of the Past" and "Sacrifice the Flame", which reminds me of the classic Draconian Times (1995) track "Forever Failure". "Cry Out" is a stoner rock song in vein of "Cardinal Zero", and "Return to the Sun" is a climactic closer, just like "The Glorious End" was on the last album.

The deluxe box set looks gorgeous and includes the album on vinyl, an art book with Nick Holmes' explanations of each song's lyrics, as well as a bonus CD with three bonus tracks. Out of these three, "Fear of Silence" is a mellow, somber song that would probably have been a little too soft for the actual album. "Never Look Away", on the other hand, is full of fantastic guitarwork, and I wish it would've been included onto the album. The live version of "Victim of the Past" from last year's orchestral show in Bulgaria is a cool addition, although it will also appear on the upcoming live DVD. All in all, this set is definitely worth your money - the only little complaint I can think of are the various typos in the artbook ("a slave of lasting cry's" - really?), but I guess they appear in the standard CD booklet too.

I'm not crazy about Paradise Lost's first two albums, as I prefer their later stuff, and even the controversial synth pop records from the late 90s are great to my ears. For that reason I wish this album had a little bit more of their melodic side - for example "Cry Out" would work even better without the grunts. However, The Plague Within is a more than worthy addition to the Paradise Lost discography, and very few bands manage to release albums as fresh as this over 25 years into their careers. The band shows that an old dog can feel young again and learn a few new tricks at the same time.

Rating: 4/5