By Jonny Bakes

Artwork for the 25th anniversary edition of Draconian Times by Paradise LostLet’s face it, if you have somehow never heard the name Paradise Lost then there’s a good chance that you’ve been living under a rock or have just been very unlucky not to have heard of, arguably, the pioneers of death/doom metal. These metallers from the Yorkshire town of Halifax have been churning out their melancholic gothic (melan-gothic?) since 1988 and are cited as being major influences on some of the biggest players in the scene today, like Nightwish, Lacuna Coil and My Dying Bride for example. So, if you haven’t taken the time to listen to Paradise Lost, there’s clearly an argument that you really should if you’re a fan of any of the bands they have influenced, or just doom or gothic metal in general!

Fortunately for you, this shitter of a year has also been a year of many re-releases, so if there was a time to start getting into Paradise Lost, that time is now. If, like me, you were a bit too young to appreciate music in 1995, then you might have missed out on the initial release of ‘Draconian Times’. Now thi is probably the most important Paradise Lost album, in fact if you were to only ever listen to one album it should be this one. It’s an absolute benchmark of their sound and is often used as a comparison for all of their other releases. So, with this being such an important album, and turning a quarter of a century, it’s a perfect candidate for a re-release.

And that’s what we have here today, that quintessential Paradise Lost album with a whole bunch of additional tracks ready to celebrate its 25th anniversary. The original album is presented in its original form and you’ll be glad to know that all the classics are here. Once again you can get lost in all of the classic tunes like ‘Enchantment’, ‘Hallowed Land’ and ‘I See Your Face’ and revisit the sound that makes Paradise Lost what they are. But that’s not all you get with this anniversary edition, of course there’s some little extras thrown in as well…

So, let’s look at the bonus content then because you can listen to ‘Draconian Times’ itself any time. If anything will encourage anyone other than the diehard fans to buy this edition, it will be this content. We kick off with a handful of BBC Live Sessions of tracks predominantly taken from this album, but with a surprise include of ‘Sweetness’ from 2004’s ‘The Anatomy of Melancholy’ which is definitely an added bonus! And if that wasn’t enough there’s a whole host of demo versions of tracks from the album too, as well as a couple of demos that didn’t make the cut for the final album (one of which was featured on the legacy edition of this album, the other seems to be previously unheard!). But to top things off is a cover, and it is a cover of an appropriately gothic band – Sisters of Mercy. Paradise Lost do a pretty good job of smashing this cover out by making it their own whilst staying pretty true to the original. There’s certainly no mistaking that this is a Paradise Lost cover version, that;s for sure!

Overall, it’s great to see ‘Draconian Times’ back in the limelight again and the additional content will definitely please existing fans of the band. Naturally this reissue comes in shiny CD and vinyl formats which will please you collectors out there too. So for these groups, there’s plenty to encourage you to part with that hard earned cash, or maybe put it on your wish list to Satan? And for those who have never listened to the album, it would almost be rude not to at this point!

  • ‘Draconian Times (25th Anniversary Edition)’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.

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