Paradise Lost at the Mean Fiddler 24/03/03

(Forgive me this intro. I know there are several PL reviews on this site but none of them are by me...until now)

The tape was called "Gothic", the band Paradise Lost, and it took me over a year to find it and eventually track down that the song was "Falling Forever". With a kitchen sink approach to atmosphere, female vocals, orchestras, searing melodic riffs, those lonely leads and (lets face it) useless drumming, hearing Gothic meant that life could never be the same again.

Since that classic (and I do not use the term loosely) second album by them, PL have changed style radically to a point that the only thing all their albums since have in common is that on first listen they were a disappointment. "Shades of God" was too polished, "Icon" sounded like Metallica, "Draconian Times" was the same as Icon, "One Second" had no guitars etc; but persistence ultimately rewarded the listener on every occasion and the public lapped it up until "Host". For me however that album was no different. Granted I am probably the only one in the UK who likes it and granted it should probably have been released as a side project, but with "Host" the band showed once again that they had the balls to try something different even if in doing so they commercially failed (as they ultimately did) in exploring their vision.

So with this summing up in mind, were we somewhat premature in castigating "Symbol of Life", last years offering? Well that's debatable. Certainly it has increased their forlorn standing to a degree in the UK and yes a good 5-6 of the songs have stuck to my brain with continuous playing and lyrics I can definitely relate to, but it still contains several absolute career-enders on the song writing front and the nu-metal by numbers production grates. Personally I want to hear Gregor using his lead guitar far more than was shown on that record as, like Kirk Hamment on Metallica's latest abortion it just seems a criminal waste of talent. Maybe a lot of people are of the same view as it is noticeable that the crowd is sizeably less than Sentenced had as a support band here last year so maybe most of the "lost" fans have flown the ship to Finnish waters for good, never to return.

But witnessed on it's own merits and without a sense of history tonight was a good showing by the band although it did not start too well. Amorphis who were scheduled to play had the plug pulled by their record label who instead though they would "treat" us to some Nu-goth by the Deathstars. I could tolerate the McCoyisms of the vocalist and even the bassist vying for a position within The Murderdolls, but what I could not take were the two guitarists miming. I except I could be mistaken being some ten yards away from the stage but 13 years solid gig going tells me otherwise. Most of us can accept a poor performance by a band but to not bother to try is an instant red card offence.

PL therefore had nothing to beat and despite not being at top form easily take the honours. They could never be just another faceless Northern band with Gregor's bizarre haircuts, Aaron Aedy's sheer enthusiasm and Nick Holmes wit. The vocalist is however somewhat muted tonight, his self-deprecating humour played down, other than when asking if there is anyone English in the venue "Oh! I'm surprised!" he replies to the roar. It says more than any critic ever could. Their standing may have diminished over here but they can always hop onto the Eurostar to the mainland.

As for the set list, well those who attended the LA2 last year would not have been surprised. Only "As I Die" - "our Run to the Hills!" according to Nick and "Widow" pre-date Draconian Times - and I can only remember them playing "Shadow Kings" off that as well - but there were not any real complaints. God I'd love to here "Rapture", "Dead Emotion" and "Eternal" again, but we have to face facts spikes it is not going to happen! The majority here however do not mind. The new material does go down well and to their credit PL pick out the best of it. "Symbol of Life" itself remains as biting as anything the band have written and I love the refrains in "Mystify", "Perfect Mask" and "Prey Nightfall". I could have done without the cover of "Smalltown Boy" though. I accept they have made it their own, but to include it again at the detriment of a "Hallowed Land" or an "Embers Fire" borders on the sacrilegious.

An enjoyable night then from a band I still cherish but where they go from here is now anyone's guess. If I can make a suggestion gentlemen: Please give Gregor his lead guitar back and let him make magic and creates some worlds to lose ourselves in once again.

Before we proceed, lets be honest here, this was not a gig I was looking forward to and I was already composing a scathing review in my mind long before I'd even bought a ticket for Paradise Lost's latest London date. Another ill fated attempt at trying to listen to their recent 'Symbol of Life' LP (a blatant half arsed attempt to reel in nu metal fans) confirmed what I'd known for sometime - The love affair between me and Paradise Lost was over a long time ago.

Then I went to tonight's gig. Don't you just hate having to eat your own words? Paradise Lost were possibly the best I've ever seen them tonight (and then some), but I'm getting a little ahead of myself here.

If there was anything about the gig that I was looking forward to, it had to be first support band Tapping The Vein, especially as a reliable source had already hailed them as the new Lacuna Coil. Sadly I walked in three minutes before the end of their set. Still what I heard was good, and TTV's female vocalist is, if anything, possibly even more operatic than our beloved Cristina Scabbia. Although from what I heard, TTV seem to lean towards a more techno/industrial direction than the guitar orientated Lacuna.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away there was a badly produced little pop culture fanzine called Vision. One day it's writers dared to attempt a CD review section, which was perhaps memorable only in for the misspelling of the word hedonism as 'Hendonism' (no disrespect to anybody living in Hendon!).

Tapping the Vein's tasty lead singer

It was to this fanzine's surprise that a band actually sent in a CD titled 'Burn Sinister' for review. That band was Killing Miranda, an electro/industrio act fronted by former Shadowmaker guitarist Richard Pyne. Well it's been five years since that CD was sent to Vision, and Vision is now Vision Thing (The very site you're reading now) and Killing Miranda have evolved into four piece rock monster who are gaining critical acclaim across the States and are about to release their third LP, and as luck would have it they're tonight's second support. Ironically, I compared KM to Paradise Lost in my first review of their CD all those years ago!

In line with KM's new bulked up sounds, lead vocalist Richard is showing off a bearded, beefed up look (or is that Glen Benton from Deicide on the stage?) and the rest of the band are a truly eye catching sight that's not forgotten in a hurry. It's hard to believe that KM were once a studio only project as they're now so confident live, with a completely domineering stage presence. The programmed rhythms of old are kept to the minimum, but when there's as much hoary rock excess going on about the stage, nobody can really complain. There's the enjoyable trash glam of 'Discotheque Necronomicon' and a very liberal cover of Numan's 'Are Friends Electric' although don't expect Richard's boys to turn into the Sugarbabes! It's great that KM are still with us and still attempting to do something fresh with what is at it's core, a very old sound. Be sure to catch Killing Miranda at the Gotham festival in a few weeks time.

The rise and fall of Paradise Lost has been documented many a time before on these pages, so I won't go over old ground. All I will say is that if KM are born again monsters of rock, PL are the new country gentlemen. As they herd onstage with their neatly trimmed barnets (all save for a spiky haired Gregor MacKintosh) I have only only one question - Can the band I once loved more than life itself really get any worse?

And then they surge into 'Isolate' and despite this being their latest single, it's like the last 5 years of PL's career never happened. There's guts and aggression on display which are words I've not associated with this band since 'Draconian Times'. And it isn't just the band who are engrossed by the song, the audience (perhaps the largest I've ever seen for a PL show) are going nuts at a PL gig for the first time in aeons (and for all the right reasons), a vast contrast to the barrage of missiles and pint glasses that have been thrown towards the stage at previous gigs!

Hey this has got to be a quirk, right? It can't get any better than that, can it? Yes, it can! Mouths across the crowd open wide as the Bradford boys surge into the epic 'Hallowed Land', soon followed by stand out 'Believe in Nothing' track 'It's In My Mouth'. Then for a real surprise, none other than 'Rememberance' from 'Icon'! Even 'So Much Is Lost' from 'Host' sounds half decent tonight.

With the electronic out put of recent times pushed to the back, Gregor Mackintosh can once again wallow in his confirmed axeman status. Even the latest material from 'Symbol of Life' transcend's FLA man Rhys Fulber's heavy handed production on the album, as Greg showers the guitar parts with his trademark spiralling riffing, despite this style of playing being more or less absent for the most part on the record itself. Although with 'Enchantment' he take us back to where that distinctive sound began.

Nick Holmes on the other hand barely speaks to the audience tonight, in vast contrast to his usual witty banter. Perhaps in recent times he's always felt that he had to explain himself and his material to a pretty unappreciative audience. Tonight he doesn't need to say anything, the tracks that PL are playing do all the talking, as the band are finally giving their fans the kind of show they've wanted to see since the mid-nineties. When both band and audience are displaying such syncronicity, words just don't matter.

'As I Die' gets played surprisingly early, and is sadly the only entry from 'Shades of God'. But by way of compensation Holmes and company offer 'The Last Time' and a cover of Jimmy Somerville's 'Smalltown Boy', which as Nick notes, is more likely to be usually heard at the neighbouring Astoria on a Friday night! The title track from 'One Second' appears to now be the band's new encore of choice, although I was holding out for the absent 'True Belief', as that would be an excellent end to the perfect evening.

Record company obligations are obviously stopping PL from putting out the kind of album that they really want to (Note that there were only a handful of new tracks played tonight!), but even if the studio is no longer their playground, they've taken back the stage by force. The glory days of 1993 may never come again, but tonight was easily the next best thing.

As a side note, it was nice to see a nice turn out of ladies tonight. As I also noted of Lacuna Coil's gig last October, it's great to see a 60/40 male/female ratio at a metal/rock gig. My only worry is that the current trend for metal may have reeled in a few fashion conscious girls who are seeing bands as it's the in thing to do, rather than because it's something that appeals to them on a personal level. If you fall into the latter, we look forward to seeing you again ladies. If you fall into the former, Avril Lavigne is playing round the corner in a few nights time! 'Nuff said!