By Phil Cooper
Brazilian four-piece Paradise in Flames are back with their third album. ‘Devil’s Collection’ sees a return of the powerful symphonic black metal sound that initially captured the attention of Brazil’s underground scene before being exported further afield. The thunderous release, ‘I’m Sure Your Gods Have Seen This Before’ has once again ignited interest for Paradise in Flames. Do the remaining nine tracks combine to make an album capable of backing up the lead single?
Black metal forms the core of the band’s sound with fierce gutturals combining with unstoppable blast beats and frantic riffs. However, by also blending some additional aspects of death metal, thrash and sweeping symphonic moments; the raw intensity is made more accessible. This is immediately apparent with opening track ‘Nahemah’s Possession’. String pads and a choral section provide the intro creating an atmospheric back drop before the rhythm section kicks the album off proper. The listener is grabbed and taken on an extreme metal path that twists offering a pounding rhythm before dropping a melodic hook that keeps the sonic interest. It comes across as a brutal opener that sets up the current single release.
‘I’m Sure Your Gods Have Seen This Before’ showcases the different vocal approaches of Paradise in Flames. There are fierce gutturals combined with bombastic operatic soprano overlaying a sledgehammer of blast beats, riffs and heavy melodies. The result is a powerful slab of frantic metal throughout the verses that opens out into a sweeping grand chorus. With a vocal delivery akin to Christopher Lee’s Saruman, it’s impossible not to get swept up in it. The best thing is it doesn’t sound ridiculous, the songwriting and execution of the track ensures that it is a standout moment on the album and the obvious choice for the single.
I posed the question of whether the other tracks on the album would back up the interest shown from the single release. Track one provides an excellent introduction to the sound of the album and while track two is a dominant force, the following tracks also produce quality moments of extreme metal. Tracks like ‘Has Never Seen A World Without Wars’ features some punishing rhythm drive pushing a furious guitar melody, ‘Tepes’ goes hard with throat tearing low octave vocal delivery that highlights the death elements of the band’s sound. Penultimate track, ‘Devil from the Sky’ is probably the most thrash like number on the album. Once again offering something new to the overall sound of Paradise in Flames. It fits with the atmosphere of the album combining many of the stylistic elements already mentioned yet has extra groove to the riffs and rhythms while retaining the relentless pace. It’s certainly another highlight and having it at the tail end of an album packed with solid material indicates the calibre of the band’s song writing.
It’s been seven years since there has been any releases from Paradise in Flames, ‘Devil’s Collection’ has certainly proved worth the wait. They’ve shown themselves to be diverse and creative when it comes to delivering high powered black metal. It is raw when required, brutally heavy on occasion and intensely melodic without the mix sounding cacophonous or unapproachable. There’s something different on each track but unified to create a thunderous album that shines a light on Brazilian extreme metal. Definitely worth investing your time and adding to your collection.
- ‘Devil’s Collection’ is released on 16 October. You can get your copy HERE.
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