PARADISE LOST

When they first performed in Brazil in 1995 at the Pacaembu Stadium in São Paulo, the English band Paradise Lost returned home carrying the title of the breakout act of the Monsters of Rock festival. At that time, the band, formed in the city of Halifax and currently composed of Nick Holmes (vocals), Greg Mackintosh and Aaron Aedy (guitars), Steve Edmondson (bass), and Guido Montanarini (drums), was promoting their then-new fifth studio album, the acclaimed “Draconian Times.”

Considered one of the pioneers of death/doom and a leading name in gothic metal, the group has played in Brazil on several occasions, always drawing a legion of fans from different phases of their career, which began in 1988. Their debut album, “Lost Paradise,” was released in 1990, followed by “Gothic” (1991), which solidified their status as gothic metal pioneers by combining doom/death metal elements with clean vocals and keyboard arrangements. The evolution and peak of the band’s signature sound came with “Icon” (1993) and “Draconian Times” (1995). “Icon was the album that started to change our career. We finally crafted the sound we were searching for and felt like a solid, unified band! And with ‘Draconian Times,’ we refined many things, making it a more popular album. It was the right record at the right time to sign the band’s place in the scene,” guitarist Greg Mackintosh once told Roadie Crew magazine.

In the late ’90s and early 2000s, the band explored new elements, successfully incorporating electronic influences on “One Second” (1997) but going too far into experimentation on “Host” (1999), where they deeply embraced synthesizers and samplers, and “Believe in Nothing” (2001). “Even though we incorporated different styles, tried different images, and things like that, it was all part of our growth. The metal scene is where I always feel at home. The essence of Paradise Lost is darkness in music, and we never lost that,” stated vocalist Nick Holmes.

The band returned to a heavier sound with “Symbol of Life” (2002), continuing with “Paradise Lost” (2005), “In Requiem” (2007), “Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us” (2009), and “Tragic Idol” (2012), maintaining a balance between their metal roots and gothic influences. “The Plague Within” (2015) went even further, marking a return to a more aggressive sound and paving the way for “Medusa” (2017), culminating in “Obsidian” (2020). “It’s dark, extreme, yet still beautiful and melancholic. It’s a summary of our history,” reflected Greg Mackintosh.

Following the box set “The Lost and the Painless” (2021) and the live album “Live Death” (2022), the band’s latest release is a re-recording of “Icon,” celebrating its 30th anniversary.