Album Type: Full Length (Reissue)
Date Released: 22/07/2016Label: Music For Nations
The reissue
sounds great- crisp and clean, unlike a lot of modern day murk that infests the
doom genre and there can be no doubt that “Shades of God” was an important
record for the band- perhaps occupying a space kind of like “...Justice” did
for Metallica, but unlike that band, Paradise Lost were able to reach higher
and achieve more musically on subsequent releases. Having said that, the record
is a must-listen for any fan of Paradise Lost
and essential listening for anyone with an interest in the doom genre.
“Shades of God” Reissue track listing:
1. Mortals Watch The Day
2. Crying for Eternity
3. Embraced
4. Daylight Torn
5. Pity The Sadness
6. No Forgivenes
7. Your Hand in Mine
8. The Word Made Flesh
9. As I Die
2. Crying for Eternity
3. Embraced
4. Daylight Torn
5. Pity The Sadness
6. No Forgivenes
7. Your Hand in Mine
8. The Word Made Flesh
9. As I Die
The Review:
Paradise
Lost, as
noted in my previous writing about the band, are an unusual outfit in that
their career trajectory did not go as predicted in terms of approach, style and
perhaps commercial success. “Shades of
God” finds the band maintaining their early doom/death sound, their mid
90's Metallica-by-way-of-Type-O-Negative
commercial peak was still a way off. After the genre classics of “Lost Paradise” and “Gothic”, “Shades of God” is something of a left turn- rather than a step
forwards (or backwards, depending on your viewpoint!) like “Icon”.
Song
lengths here come in at over seven minutes on several occasions, while the
textures are more subtle this time around. The reissue sounds great- crisp and
clean, unlike a lot of modern day murk that infests the doom genre. To be sure,
PL's
was and is a unique take on doom- they sound nothing like Pentagram/Saint Vitus. Instead,
they come across kind of like Bolt Thrower mixed with Sabbath.
There
are echoes of Metallica
(early) and classy thrash in “Mortals Watch the Day”, while out
and out rock style gate crashes “Embraced”.
Each band member does a fine job, with the guitar work being a particular
highlight. The sound allows every instrument to be heard, too. There are
progressive tendencies here and I would assert that although I have heard this
record many times, there is always something new to pick up on.
So
far, so good, then... However, this is not the best Paradise Lost album. Not even
close, in my view. Don't misunderstand me- it is still a fine, fine record but
it lacks one thing: song writing. It just doesn't, for me, have the bite of the
first two albums or of what followed (not all of what followed, mind!). The
songs are labyrinthine in places and there is always a lot going on. Truly,
aside from the opener and a couple of other songs, there are not a lot of
memorable tracks here. That said, what there IS more than makes up for what
there is NOT. The performances are fantastic, solid production and mixing,
experimental structures and instrumentation and the album is clearly the sound
of a band starting to spread their wings.
“Daylight
Torn”,
for instance, has a lovely acoustic section. After that, the band utilise a
trick that surfaces on subsequent albums by juxtaposing the fast and chugging
start of “Pity The Sadness” (slamming track!). The nine tracks that
the album contains are all of a uniformly high quality and the style and
delivery is consistent and creates a mood of darkness and bitterness very well,
with “No Forgiveness” being a fine example of this. The more
direct approach favoured by “As I Die” was a portent of things
to come, but none listening at the time could have predicted what PL
would go on to be.
The
downbeat vibe is successfully carried through the whole album and the longer
songs do invoke the feel of a funeral march at times- doom indeed! There can be
no doubt that “Shades of God” was an
important record for the band- perhaps occupying a space kind of like “...Justice” did for Metallica, but unlike that band,
Paradise
Lost were able to reach higher and achieve more musically on
subsequent releases. The record is a must-listen for any fan of Paradise Lost
and essential listening for anyone with an interest in the doom genre.
“Shades of God” is available here
Band info: facebook
