Paradise Lost + Katatonia @ Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall – 5th November 2009
So tonight, for me should have been a night of some of the best dark metal that is currently on offer from two of the largest bands of the genre Sweden’s Katatonia and Yorkshire’s finest Paradise Lost.
Katatonia opened up with an enthusiastic “Leaders”, Jonas’s vocals mix being sorely off until ¾ of the way through the song. They continued for 30 minutes to play a mix of old and new from the forthcoming album “Night Is The New Day” including the single “Day and Then The Shade”. I was left cold at this. True, I had not long got in from the rain but the new album is a brilliant mix of dark atmospheric melancholy; Katatonia at their best — In the studio. I felt that they were using this gig as a warm up for this weekend’s impending Hellfire Festival. Lets just hope they are in-fact warmer.
So Paradise Lost, the grandfathers of Gothic Metal, have been around for 21 years though their sound has changed somewhat from their seminal albums such as “Lost Paradise”, “Icon”, “Draconian Times” and 2005’s “Paradise Lost”. Their 10th album “Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us” was released earlier this year, being dubbed as the best bits of all Paradise Lost albums in one — This I cannot disagree with and was looking forward to hearing it live.
With departure of Jeff Singer on drums last year this would be the first time I have seen Paradise Lost with new drummer Adrian Erlandsson (At The Gates, Cradle of Filth). So with much anticipation Paradise Lost take the stage, looking well and energetic. I wonder if the same will be said come December 19th in Paris when the band are due to finish their 3 month long European tour.
The sound from the band is tight and good. I am always apprehensive as Nick Holms belts out the first few bars of “Erased” but tonight there is no need – his voice is stunning. 21 years of constant abuse on his vocal cords and he really is on fire, it’s a shame his microphone is intermittently filled with feedback. Sadly this continues for the majority of the set, souring perfect performances of “I Remain”, “First Light” and the title single of the new album “Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us”. All in all, apart from the technical issues with the feedback, Paradise Lost were and still are a brilliant band to see live clearly still full of energy and passion.
Sadly though this was not the night I was expecting, maybe the rain had dampened my excitement (that certainly could be said about my hair), though all in all Paradise Lost’s performance exceeded my expectations. Katatonia just did not do anything for me and the underlying technical issues that clearly annoyed Nick and the band, quite frankly disappointed me. I was happy to find I not the only one found disenchanted with the quality of the sound, though there were many happy faces in the crowd and after the gig.
Review – Tommi Lewis
Photos – Helen Moss