Initial Impressions: Paradise Lost: Tragic Idol

Paradise Lost was a band I discovered fairly early on in my exploration of metal.  I think it was Christmas time when I was about 15 years old that I got the amazing Draconian Times.  That album was a favorite of mine for a very long time and I still love it to this day.  That being said, I have never really liked the rest of the band's material nearly as much.  Paradise Lost has gone through a lot of changes over the years and not all of them have been very good.

This album is probably the closest to Draconian Times of any of the albums that I have heard.  I have not heard really close to all of the band's albums, I will be honest about that.  This is not as fast-paced as some of the tracks from that album, in particular the hard-driving "Once Solemn".  This is melancholic gothic metal with a lot of melody.  Nick Holmes's voice still sounds as great and emotional as ever.

Paradise Lost once again has put out a terrific album of gothic metal.  This is probably now my second favorite album from the pioneering band.