Obligatory photo of the band.
Paradise Lost are a five-piece
metal band formed in 1988 in Halifax, England. Initially a
death/
doom band, Paradise Lost changed their direction with their albums
Icon and
Draconian Times,
pioneering the Gothic Metal subgenre, vocalist Nick Holmes changing his vocal style from a death growl (used on the band's first three albums) to clean singing.
The name "gothic metal" is also derived from the band's second album,
Gothic, which featured many of the trademarks that were to become canonised in gothic metal.
In 1997, they changed their look and style, and they began to experiment with synthrock and electronica. This direction, started with the album
One Second, continued with their next two albums,
Host and
Believe in Nothing, the latter having more rock elements. The band appeared to be shedding their metal roots for good until
Symbol of Life was released, signifying Paradise Lost's return to metal, albeit with a different sound to
Icon. This return to their roots was codified by their next album, which was self-titled and sounded closer to their "classic" era. They have been a gothic metal band ever since.
Current Lineup:
- Nick Holmes - vocals
- Greg Mackintosh - lead guitar
- Aaron Aedy - rhythm guitar
- Steve Edmondson - bass
- Adrian Erlandsson - drums
Former members:
- Matthew Archer - drums
- Lee Morris - drums
- Jeff Singer - drums
Discography:
- Lost Paradise - 1990
- Gothic - 1991
- Shades of God - 1992
- Icon - 1993
- Draconian Times - 1995
- One Second - 1997
- Host - 1999
- Believe in Nothing - 2001
- Symbol of Life - 2002
- Paradise Lost - 2005
- In Requiem - 2007
- Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us - 2009
Tropes that apply to this band:
- Death Metal - Their early stuff.
- Discontinuity - Many fans disregard the band's synthrock era.
- Doom Metal - Once again, their early stuff.
- Genre Shift - In chronological order: death/doom, gothic metal, synthrock, (vaguely) industrial metal, gothic metal.
- Germans Love David Hasselhoff - Despite being a British band, Paradise Lost are considerably more popular in mainland Europe.
- Gothic Metal
- Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness - Throughout their career, Paradise Lost have wildly veered between 6 and 10.
- New Sound Album - Pretty much every album they've ever done.
- Self-Titled Album - Technically two: their first album was called Lost Paradise, their tenth Paradise Lost. What's more, Lost Paradise contains a song called "Lost Paradise" and another called "Paradise Lost".
- Signature Song - "As I Die".
- Soprano and Gravel - One of the bands to use the technique before Theatre Of Tragedy made it popular. Their more recent stuff doesn't have much of this trope, however ("Erased" being one of the notable exceptions).
- They Changed It, Now It Sucks - This is par for the course with a band that changes its sound pretty much every album.
- Trope Maker
- Trope Namer - The term "gothic metal" comes from Paradise Lost's Gothic album.
- Wangst - Oh, come on, they're a gothic metal band!
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