In the scope of
Paradise Lost
's career, their eponymous release from 2005 represented the act of Hell freezing over, for it witnessed these founders of the British doom movement finally deigning to revive the sonic blueprint that made them famous in the first place, nearly a decade after seemingly abandoning it forever. Still, the general consensus was that its songs didn't quite match the band's good intentions, and so it fell to its 2007 successor, the aptly named
In Requiem
, to make amends and come just a few steps closer to resurrecting
's post-death/doom, goth-inflected middle period (marked by the classic
Shades of God
,
Icon
and
Draconian Times
albums). And so
unfolds much like a voyage back in time, with songs like "Never for the Damned," "Ash & Debris," and "Beneath Black Skies" driven by familiar mid-'90s
PL
hallmarks such as alternately gruff and mournful vocals from singer
Nick Holmes
; heavy riffs and foreboding harmonies from guitarists
Gregor MacKintosh
Aaron Aedy
; welcome analog (not techno!) rhythms from bassist
Steve Edmonson
and drummer
Jeff Singer
, and keyboards used sparingly, merely as flavorful accents instead of driving forces. In fact, the first and only sign of electronics (mostly a few beats and added synths) doesn't arrive until the sixth song "Unreachable," and even if there are several unusual elements such as "The Enemy's" background choirs, the album's retroactive mindset remains firmly in place through to the end. Heck, the title track even sees
Holmes
digging out his ancient death growl -- to the delight of the moshing faithful, no doubt. But even though the songwriting is pretty strong throughout
, there's still some work ahead if
is ever to recover their long abdicated gothic metal crown from a bastion of younger followers. The groundwork, at least, is already being laid. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia