{"product_id":"paradise-lost-ascension","title":"Paradise Lost - Ascension","description":"\u003cp\u003eBlending Metallica-esque riffage, Type-O heaviness, and Nick Holmes' vocals between Gahan, Eldritch and death growl, \"\u003cem\u003eAscension\u003c\/em\u003e\" is a shining example that some bands get better with age. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eProduced by guitarist Gregor Mackintosh at Black Planet studios in East Yorkshire, with drums and vocals captured at NBS and Wasteland studios in Sweden, its 10 tracks traverse the multitude of sounds in the band’s arsenal, from full-bore heavy metal to sky-high melody, all the while keeping a minor-key melancholy that remains irresistible. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“People should expect us to get more miserable,” jokes frontman, Nick Holmes, when asked what fans might anticipate from Paradise Lost in 2025. Explaining the album’s title and the lyrics, however, it’s clear that they remain masters of their art when it comes to delivering on such things. “The album title is taken from the belief in rising to the better place, in fiction from Earth to heaven, and all the requirements that go with that,” he elaborates. “In real life, people are often striving to get to a better place from birth, trying to be a better person, regardless of the fact that the only reward is death.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The lyrics deal with everything that life throws at us,” he continues. “It's never predictable, and within that it can also be terrifying. How people deal with death, the crutches they turn to, and how the mental state is affected by life changing situations is always intriguing.” As is the music itself. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlbum opener, Serpent on The Cross, begins with a gloriously doomy riff, before halfway through shifting gears into thundering classic metal, powered by double bass drumming and an almost Metallica-ish riff. On Silence Like The Grave, Nick sings “about the pointlessness of war, point scoring for the sake of humankind” over a perfect flourish of gothic metal. Tyrant’s Serenade, meanwhile, shows the band’s engrained expertise with making simplicity sound enormous, topped by Gregor’s signature haunting guitar leads, while Lay A Wreath Upon The World starts as a quiet elegy before building to a mournful climax, and closer, The Precipice, leads with piano lines before drawing things to a stately conclusion. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt all masterfully shows the breadth of what Paradise Lost have done and can do, in a manner that still no other band can make work quite the same.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"NUCLEAR BLAST","offers":[{"title":"Gold 2LP","offer_id":56308684357896,"sku":"REL-03483","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1027\/6723\/1240\/files\/13734b8538e898b9db7e84366a93ea7c.jpg?v=1775642754","url":"https:\/\/www.relevantrecordcafe.co.uk\/products\/paradise-lost-ascension","provider":"Relevant Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}