Paradise Lost - 'Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us'

Commercially accessible gothic metal from death/doom pioneers.

Anyone who knows anything about Paradise Lost is aware that the band is indisputably fearless musically. Any countering statement would be uttered either out of ignorance or through one’s lying teeth. Along with their fellow countrymen in My Dying Bride and Anathema, Paradise Lost were pioneers of the death/doom metal subgenre, before morphing into one of the first true gothic metal bands, and then later incorporating synth rock and electronic music into the equation. With Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us, except for the lack of electronic elements, they’ve successfully synthesized every approach they’ve taken in the past.

What’s more, they’ve added more pop-like sensibilities, primarily to some choruses. As odd as that sounds on paper, it actually works…for the most part, anyway. In tracks like “First Light,” the pop-inclined melodic choruses sound awkwardly forced rather than smoothly integrated. And at several points on the album, Nick Holmes’ melodic vocals are overly processed in the vein of contemporary popular music artists, extracting the soul right out of his voice.

But when his voice is left to shine by its own inherent value, the results are reliably powerful and moving, as evidenced on “Living with Scars,” a track revealing their death metal influences. Elsewhere, the charismatic front man impresses with his gruff Tom G. Warrior styled grunting vocals that are appropriately placed atop their darker exploration of slow, mournful doom as well as with the album’s relatively aggressive mid-tempo sections.

Like a fine wine (or Napalm Death), Paradise Lost continues to improve with age. Over 20 years into their career, Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us proves that Paradise Lost haven’t lost an ounce of their creativity or ambition.