"Obsidian", the new album from British gothic metal pioneers PARADISE LOST, will be released on May 15 via Nuclear Blast. The group's sixteenth studio album, which was recorded with producer Jaime Gomez Arellano, eschews its immediate predecessors' gruesome, myopic approach in favor of a richer and more dynamic deluge of black shades. From the deceptive elegance and dual atmospheres of opener "Darker Thoughts" through to the crushing, baroque doom of war-torn closer "Ravenghast", "Obsidian" reveals a band in masterful control of a broad array of vital ideas. Most noticeably, the record boasts several songs that draw heavily from the much-loved, Kohl-encrusted days of '80s gothic rock: in particular, newly minted PARADISE LOST anthem "Ghosts" is a guaranteed dancefloor filler at any discerning goth nightclub.
Singer Nick Holmes comments: "One of the most eclectic albums we have done in some time, we have miserable songs, sad songs, slow songs and faster songs. Did I mention miserable?"
Last December, guitarist Greg Mackintosh told That Drummer Guy about PARADISE LOST's next studio album: "There's a couple of songs in the new stuff that kind of pick up where [2017's] 'Medusa' left off, but, for the most part, it's a lot more varied. It's hard to pigeonhole, but a couple of songs, I would say, are almost '80s goth music. There's a lot of stuff in between and a lot of quite eclectic stuff on there. It's going to be quite a varied album, I think."