Paradise Lost

Beginning life playing a preposterously heavy mix of death and doom metal, Paradise Lost were arguably one of the most fully formed metal bands of their time, releasing four demo tapes in two years when its members were barely out of secondary school. What's more is that even though the music they were playing was proudly niche and nigh on un-listenable for many metal fans, the independent label Peaceville Records could see the unbridled talent in the band, and signed them up in 1989, a little over a year after they formed. The band released their first two albums with Peaceville, debuting with 1990's “Lost Paradise” and continuing with 1991's album “Gothic”, which saw the band evolve beyond their original sound, beginning to become the band we know today.

Shortly after the release of “Gothic”, the band left their label to sign to Music For Nations, who released their third album “Shades of God” in July 1992. The band had already added keyboard sounds and female vocals to their sound but it was this album that saw the band dramatically change their overall sound, with swathes of acoustic guitar on the record combined with lead singer Nick Holmes adopting a genuine singing voice instead of his then-trademark death growl. As the 1990's went on, they went from strength to strength, building up an enormous cult following in Europe that sent their 1997 album “One Second” to the peak of the German, Swedish and Finnish album charts.

Ever since then, the band have remained one of the biggest cult acts in alternative metal, never afraid to strike out in a strange new direction while still continuing to release hit records the world over. With 14 studio albums released and counting, there doesn't seem to be a force alive able to stop Paradise Lost while they're in their prime and for that, they come highly recommended.