25th Anniversary Shows - 21st May 2013
Thirteen albums into Paradise Lost's 25 year career, namedropping is pointless. The only band they can and should be held up against for comparison and consideration is Paradise Lost.
With a career dating back to 1988, and their official recording debut in 1990 (Lost Paradise), the band has been riding and rollercoaster of highs and lows. Guitarist Aaron Aedy remembers the early days:
"I remember our first rehearsal at Studio X in the Dean Clough complex of Halifax, it was Saturday March 26th between the hours of one and four pm. We had a few ideas flying around and managed to write our first opus 'Blood-filled-eyes' and start our 2nd 'Plains of Desolation', I can only describe these songs as unique.
Afterwards we all went to the pub after to celebrate. Three and a half months later we were playing live, supporting Acid Reign and Re-Animator at the legendary Frog and Toad Night Club in Bradford. We had a 30 minute slot and only 15 minutes of music so we played one song twice, attempted a Sodom cover we hadn't even learned and Nick [Holmes, vocals] did his stand up for the rest of it."
Over their following career, PARADISE LOST have not only created and defined genres and styles, but almost immediately transcended them. From the crawling, harrowing doom of their 1990 debut 'Lost Paradise', to the electronic flourishes prevalent in 1997's 'One Second', 1999's 'Host' and 2007's comeback to the heavier side of metal "In Requiem" and the latest opus "Tragic Idol" in 2012, their sound has continued to evolve vastly, but haunting melody and dark rock power has remained at the very core of their identity.
In 1991 the band released 'Gothic', not so much an album title as the definition for an entire genre, while the influence 1995's huge-selling masterpiece 'Draconian Times' - the missing link between Metallica and the Sisters of Mercy - echoes loudly in today's scene, with the likes of Cradle of Filth, Nightwish and HIM owing a huge debt to their knack for injecting heavy rock with their trademark dark sheen.
Now it's time to celebrate 25 years of glamour and gloom with a very special show at the Metal Hammer Gloden Gods Awards that will be held on June 17 at London's esteemed Indigo2 venue (headlined by that other British legend called Motorhead).
PARADISE LOST invited their friends Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil) and Gus G (Firewind, Ozzy Osbourne) as special guests to present a very special set-list.
There are also some very special 25th anniversary shows coming up that Paradise Lost will play with Lacuna Coil and some very special guests TBC, the dates of which are as follows:
Oct 30th - Wolverhampton - Wulfrun Hall (www.wolvescivic.co.uk)
Oct 31st - Glasgow – ABC (www.ticketweb.co.uk)
Nov 1st - Manchester – Ritz (www.kililive.com)
Nov 3rd - London – Roundhouse (www.kililive.com)
Tickets go on presale Wednesday 22nd and general sale Friday 24th May and a special VIP package is available to buy (limited to 25 per venue) which includes:
- An EXCLUSIVE deluxe box containing 2 engraved beer glasses featuring all the bands album titles and crown of thorns logo.
- EXCLUSIVE VIP Only T-Shirt with artwork from the forthcoming 'Tragic Illusion' album.
- A 180 gram vinyl copy of the reissued landmark 'GOTHIC', personally signed by all the band members.
- Crown of Thorns Tote Bag
- VIP lanyard and laminate allowing you access to the show
- Early access to the show
- Meet and greet with the band
- Photo opportunity with the band (please bring your own camera)
Nick had this to say about the forthcoming anniversary shows:
"25 years IS a long time, on the surface we may look ramshackled, but playing music for so many years has kept us young in our hearts and I truly believe that a youthful spirit is one of the greatest things you can’t buy in a pub.
We have written many albums, played many concerts; we are older and not really any wiser, but there is a strong possibility we may play a song you thought we never would. So please come along and join the celebrations with us, including our biggest UK headline show to date!"
Cristina (Lacuna Coil) adds:
"Paradise Lost were in between the bands that strongly influenced me as a singer, when I started my career with Lacuna Coil, so it is just awesome for me to realise we'll share the stage with them on this upcoming tour. I am sure that the dark vibe coming from the stage will totally embrace old school and new fans making it an event you absolutely CAN'T miss! Boy, I can't wait!!!"
Stay tuned for more exciting anniversary announcements including a special audio surprise for fans!
Metal Hammer feature on Heavy Metal Truants - 25th Mar 2013
Metal Hammer have run a feature article on the upcoming Heavy Metal Truants charity bike ride, in which Nick is taking part to raise money for Nordoff Robbins. Check it out and remember to send in your donations!
If you wish to sponsor Nick, please head on over to his JustGiving page here:
http://www.justgiving.com/nickholmespl
Thank you so much in advance for your support, and a massive thank you to those of you who have already joined in! It's amazing to be so close to our £1000 goal after just a few days. Let's see just how high we can raise the total!
The Dead Show with Nick Holmes and Millie Evans - 23rd Mar 2013
Paradise Lost frontman Nick Holmes will be presenting a LIVE radio show with fellow guitarist and PL technician (a.k.a Nick's sidekick) Millie Evans. "The Dead Show" will be broadcast by Australian based andrewhaug.com on Thursday 28th March 2013.
You can tune in for the show at these times:
U.K: 9:00 PM
USA/Canada (PST) 7:00 PM
USA/Canada (EST) 10:00 PM
Europe (CET): 10:00 PM
Win tickets to the Golden Gods awards - 22nd Mar 2013
Attention UK fans! We're playing the the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards in London this June, and you can be there!
Celebrating 25 years, Paradise Lost will be performing live at Metal Hammer's annual award show on Monday 17th June at the Indigo2 in London.
There are x100 pairs of free tickets exclusively for our fans up for grabs - simply follow this link to enter: http://www.futurecomps.co.uk/paradiselost
Good luck!
Heavy Metal Truants - Please sponsor Nick! - 21st Mar 2013
I have been the vocalist for Paradise Lost since I was in short pants and now I'm swapping grey school ones for black lycra ones, or tights if it's chilly. Heavy Metal Truants is the world's first heavy metal charity cycle ride from London to Donington! And as a huge fan of both cycling and heavy metal - www.heavymetaltruants.com.
I jumped at the chance to be involved in this event, and hopefully collect a ton of cash from all of you generous folk out there!
In order to take part we will be doing from 26 to 83 gruelling miles a day, come rain or shine, so surely that deserves a donation?
I've chosen to donate all the money I raise to Nordoff Robbins. You should know all about them, if you don't please take time to check them out and the great work they do: www.nordoff-robbins.org.uk.
Please give generously, it's really appreciated! Even if not for me, think of the kids! Cheers, dig deep and please splash the cash!
Nick x
To donate go to www.justgiving.com/nickholmespl
Vote for PL as "Best UK Band" - 13th Mar 2013
We are please to announce that Paradise Lost have been nominated in the category of "Best UK Band" in this year's Metal Hammer Golden Gods awards!
The awards ceremony will be held on Monday, June 17th 2013. We would really appreciate it if you guys could all head on over to the awards site and cast your votes for PL in our nominated category! You can do so by registering here:
http://goldengods.metalhammer.co.uk
Don't worry about the registration, you can opt-out from all e-mails if you're concerned about spam! There are a lot of great bands across all categories who deserve your votes, and you can even enter yourself to win tickets to the awards ceremony in a few months!
Thank you in advance to all of you who vote for us!
"Tragic Idol" voted #1 album of 2012 - 5th Jan 2013
Paradise Lost's thirteenth studio album "Tragic Idol", which was released last year, has been named as the #1 album release of 2012 by all-things-metal site BraveWords.com!
Check out their complete list of albums here: http://www.bravewords.com/news/196448