MARCO'S TOP ALBUMS OF 2012 - #5 (Part 19 of 23)

Here's #5, and we are back in the metal territory with 'Tragic Idol', the 13th studio album from PARADISE LOST, arguably the very creators of the gothic metal genre, starting out as one of the pioneers of death/doom metal in 1990, mutating into a sort of gothic hard rock/metal, before suddenly turning into Depeche Mode towards the end of that decade. Eventually, they saw the error of their ways, and since 2005's self-titled album, have been releasing some of the heaviest music of their career. Their new album 'Tragic Idol' continues this trend, channeling the band's earliest, doomiest elements through the filter of their present-day abilities, as guitarist Gregor Mackintosh's Vallenfyre project from last year seems to have awakened some old-school death metal influences here, and brought Paradise Lost back to their roots somewhat.

Speaking of him, Mackintosh remains the Dave Gilmour of doom metal, accomplishing more with one note than most shredders will accomplish in a lifetime. This guy is truly one of the unsung heroes of the genre, and metal in general. Oh, and Adrian Erlandsson (ex-At The Gates) is the new drummer on this album, and although most of his skills are completely useless in a band like this, he still sounds good.

I think it's quite interesting that they decided to re-release their classic 'Draconian Times' in a remastered version just last year, since this album is its obvious continuation.

Suggested listening: "Tragic Idol", "Honesty In Death", "In This We Dwell".