Band:	Paradise Lost
Album:	Tragic Idol
Style:	Gothic metal
Release date:	April 2012

Disc I
01. Solitary One
02. Crucify
03. Fear Of Impending Hell
04. Honesty In Death
05. Theories From Another World
06. In This We Dwell
07. To The Darkness
08. Tragic Idol
09. Worth Fighting For
10. The Glorious End

Disc II [limited edition & vinyl bonus]
01. Ending Through Changes
02. Never Take Me Alive [Spear Of Destiny cover]

The defendant rose; his face a blank expression. His lawyer had a concerned look about him. The whole courtroom seemed to be frozen in time. The judge took no joy in delivering the verdict. A weak voice to match his scrawny body slowly spelling it out: "The defendant has been found guilty of musical oversight." You get the picture; I miss the boat on this release. I got so used to hear Paradise Lost experiment with their sound in the early nineties I almost forgot how awesome their song writing can be when applied to good old heavier Gothic Metal era Draconian Times. So my self-inflicted sentencing is to listen to their latest offering until I weep. The only problem is that I keep weeping of joy and I cannot stop listening to this album. Tragic Idol blew my mind from the first note to the last. Whatever was lost about this heavenly band has been fully recovered.

Young listeners probably won't even get how awesome this album is considering what the band has been doing musically since the early nineties. Almost toying with us early fans, not unlike other acts from that era who shall remain nameless - such as Metallica and Sepultura - the English pioneers seem to take a sadistic pleasure in experiment the hell out of their sound while leaving the bittersweet memories of magnum opuses such as Icon and Draconian Times in what seem to be a distant past. Sure, their promise to go back to their early sound has been used for every release to entice fans all over again. However, this time it did happen in earnest. They have done it at last. And the least I can say is "Hey YOU there in the back! Yes you In Flames, are you paying attention?" More seriously, The Paradise Lost mojo has been resurrected. Epic guitar riffs and killer solos compound beautiful melodies and haunting atmospheres to turn a flurry of tunes into one of the best monuments to musical greatness of the last decade. Singer Nick Holmes has found his comfort zone once more. Gregor Mackintosh trademark tasteful guitar solos only make the songs even more awe-inspiring. Adrian Erlandsson science of bringing the precise mix of control and power behind the drum kit is working magic, especially on the up-tempo compositions. Everything seems to fall into place perfectly.

Every song is a testimony of the musicians commitment to reclaiming their righteous throne. It is so difficult to pick the standout tracks. I sure won't. Paradise Lost of yore is back and they are bringing with them the savoir-faire of an experienced band with the brazen enthusiasm of an innovative act. So whoever you are, whatever your age or background, let Tragic Idol magnetism roll over you. And if you don't get it, I pity you with the leftover compassion in my heart. Now let me go back to my penance and be gone.