PARADISE LOST — At the Mill (review)

Live album · 2021 · Gothic Metal

4/5 · 2021-10-05
UMUR

"At the Mill" is a live album release by UK doom/gothic metal act Paradise Lost. The album was released through Nuclear Blast in July 2021. "At the Mill" features the full Paradise Lost live show from November 2020, recorded at The Mill Nightclub near the band’s hometown in Yorkshire, England.

The album features 16 tracks and a total playing time of 73:18 minutes. Paradise Lost have crafted a varied and smooth working setlist for this concert, featuring tracks from many of their (at this point) 16 full-length studio albums. Paradise Lost have evolved from death/doom metal, to gothic tinged doom metal, to gothic metal, to electronic rock/heavy metal, back to gothic doom metal, and have even made a return to gothic tinged death/doom metal on the last couple of albums, so they have quite an eclectic style. "At the Mill" fully displays that, and it´s a great joy to be led through the history of the band and their many different musical styles.

Older songs like "As I Die", "Gothic", and "Embers Fire" are seamlessly paired with mid-period tracks like "So Much Is Lost", "The Enemy", and "One Second", and contemporary tracks like "No Hope in Sight", "Fall from Grace", and the irresistable doom/death of "Beneath Broken Earth". Not a single track feels wrong on the setlist or is placed without thought.

The sound quality is raw, powerful, and manages to provide the tracks with a possibility to shine. There are a couple of production choices I don´t agree with, but they are mainly in regards to the how the drums are produced. The hi-hat features an odd sound and the bass drums don´t sound that well either. Thankfully the great playing of drummer Waltteri Väyrynen keeps me from thinking about it too much, but it is a slight production issue. There is another thing about the production I don´t understand, but it may have something to do with COVID-19 restrictions at the venue...there are no audience noises. No screaming, no talking, and not even a clap after a song ends, and that has some impact on my evaluation of "At the Mill" as a live release.

I´ve mentioned Väyrynen above but the rest of the band are also very well playing. High level tight performances all around. Steve Edmondson (bass) and Aaron Aedy (rhythm guitars) (along with a shifting cast of drummers) were always the glue of the band, and the foundation upon which lead guitarist Greg Mackintosh and vocalist Nick Holmes could work their magic. And magic is definitely at work on "At the Mill", which features great melancholic lead guitar themes, and a Nick Holmes in fine vocal form, performing a varity of vocal styles, from subdued cleans, to more raw shouting vocals, to deeper gothic tinged cleans, to death metal growling.

Despite the few issues mentioned above I still think "At the Mill" is a great live document of a 2020 Paradise Lost live show. There is the right amount of rawness in the performances but still a high level professionalism which means you´ll find next to no playing mistakes or other nasty distractions here. A 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.