PARADISE LOST SYMBOL OF LIFE ALBUM GUN/BMG RELEASE: OCTOBER 28, 2002 REVIEW: NOVEMBER 11, 2002

Having read raving reviews of this album, I was disappointed as hell the first time I listened to it myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those guys that say: "Paradise Lost haven't done anything worth the money since 'Draconian Time'". No, I love all the old stuff, but still hold "Host" as one of their better albums. It was "Believe in Nothing" that led me to believe that these old geezers didn't have it in them anymore. Thus my joy knew no boundaries when other reviewers said that "Symbol of Life" was a return to the old, better and more gothic.
Well, it isn't. Neither is it as bad as I first thought. During the fourth listen, something happened in me, despite the fact that Nick Holmes atonal singing still makes me cringe from time to time. The songs grew, the weeping guitars of old at last blended in with the electronic rhythms of today. I realised what I was hearing was what Paradise Lost should have been doing after "One Second" - but before "Host" - casting all pretensions aside, letting the whole world see their love for Sisters of Mercy in all it's glory.
Not all songs are perfect, but listen to "No Celebration", and you too will realise that Paradise Lost is the only band in Europe right now who knows how depressing gothic rock of the early nineties should sound like in the dawn of the new millennium. "Symbol of Life" is indeed a true sign of life from these veterans.

KALLE MALMSTEDT