PARADISE LOST — Believe in Nothing (review)

PARADISE LOST — Believe in Nothing album cover Album · 2001 · Gothic Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Warthur
Paradise Lost began as pioneers of a distinctive death-doom sound before they went on a long, gradual journey, shifting through gothic metal to increasingly less extreme metal-oriented styles until on Host they exited the metal world altogether, producing an album of synth-oriented gothic rock.

Believe In Nothing begins their long trek back to their roots. Ultimately, I think Paradise Lost's journey away from and then back towards the gothic-doom metal blend which is their main forte was a good thing: by undertaking that trip, they were able to return to extreme metal having stretched their wings a bit and learned a few lessons they wouldn't have if they'd stayed in their comfort zone, and were stronger for it.

That said, the journey itself is a little rough to listen to. Host was good but not great, and anyone who's into synth-heavy goth music has probably heard better. The return of heavy guitars and metal stylings on Believe In Nothing is in that respect a welcome reprieve, though it has to be said that their sound ends up feeling a little generic here - there's a few too many moments where they sound like commercial pretenders to the throne, rather than the mighty unit which gave us albums like Draconian Times.

Still, the album does do some interesting things, exploring how the synths of Host and current alternative rock trends could work their way into a sound suggestive of Paradise Lost's glory days without quite arriving there. If Believe In Nothing doesn't sound like top tier Paradise Lost, it at least sounds like a pretty decent support band warming up the crowd before Paradise Lost themselves take to the stage - and in its grander moments, you can get a good whiff of the real deal.

If you are into gothic metal to any particular extent, that probably sounds good to you, and it sounds alright to me - except it can be very hard to get over the fact that it's Paradise Lost themselves doing this, and you know they're capable of more.
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