Paradise Lost – Ascension
Release Date: 19th September 2025
Label: Nuclear Blast
Bandcamp
Genre: Gothic Metal, Doom Metal, Death Metal, Sludge Metal.
FFO: My Dying Bride, Amorphis, Katatonia, Moonspell, Swallow The Sun, Dark Tranquillity.
Review By: Rick Farley
“Ascension is a cavalcade of molten misery, a vigorous sorrow filled stroll through a wicked world, glorious triumph and pitiful tragedy.” – Nick Holmes.
Halifax, West Yorkshire’s legendary goth/doom metal quintet Paradise Lost truly needs no introduction. Over thirty years of pioneering shadowy darkness, mournful dirges, and doomy riffs often bordering the lines of death metal, all combined for beautiful misery. Unafraid to explore the realms of many genres, the band have masterfully crafted a career now 17 albums strong and have influenced an extensive line of artists from numerous musical backgrounds along the way. Emotion soaked heaviness intertwined with melody and atmosphere that’s always striving for the melancholic, Paradise Lost even in 2025 remain a band with few peers.
Ascension marks the bands 17th album and, in this case, becomes a celebration of their vast discography, melding the best of their many eras of music into one staggering 51 minute masterclass that will surely please even the most critical of fans.
Ascension gloriously kicks things off with the highly mournful yet crushingly heavy Serpent On The Cross. The first minute and a half is a building, doomy chord structure with a melody that will send shivers down your spine. Immediately memorable and deeply emotive, it quickly changes gears with a thrashy riff, powerful double bass, and Nick Holmes’ distinct growling vocals. The track is metallic, fast-paced, and full of gloomy dynamics. Gregor Mackintosh’s energetic guitar solo soars while carrying its own emotive weight within the track’s overwhelming bulkiness. Tyrants Serenade continues the records incredible start with a gothic, chugging earworm of a song. The clean vocals mixed with growling is another signature of Paradise Lost that makes this track undeniably memorable. The chorus and guitar melody are absolutely magnetic; both capable of burrowing themselves into your psyche for days on end. Two songs in and I’m already grinning from ear to ear. Track three, Salvation, brings the lumbering wall of doom with its barrage of distortion. An ongoing guitar melody brings the enormous atmosphere down to a wallowing misery. Another mix of growling and clean vocals intertwine between the suffocating and the enchanting. Sludgy riffs rear their ugly head midway through the track, resulting in savage depredation that roars in the face of the tracks haunted aura.
Each track adds another layer of dimension from their storied sound. The acoustic guitars grieve on Lay a Wreath Upon the World before building to a heavy, foreboding climax, while the cinematic atmosphere of Savage Days is a harrowing journey between darkness and light. The heart-wrenching piano melody weaves with tragedy on The Precipice effortlessly melded with death/doom, closing out the record impactfully and with a real sense of completion. On a side note, there is a digipack edition which contains two bonus tracks, both equally worthy additions to the record as well.
Ascension was produced by Gregor Mackintosh at Black Planet Studios in East Yorkshire, with drums and vocals captured at NBS and Wasteland Studios in Sweden with mixing and mastering by Lawrence Mackrory. Sonically, the record feels alive and breathes with full-bodied mood, it’s airy with atmosphere and sharp in tones. Rich in clarity but still has a jagged rawness that accents the record ominous character perfectly.
To simply say that this is a great record seems like an undersell. Like so many of you, Paradise Lost’s music has become a soundtrack to my life. The callbacks to the albums that you grew up with on Ascension feels like the ultimate love letter to the band’s fans. I’m not yet sure where this will end up for me as far as ranking within their list of releases, but honestly, this is their strongest record in years. Fully cohesive and flows effortlessly, all while still being able to encompass many of their signature divergences from their colossal soundscape. It wholeheartedly sounds like the Paradise Lost that we all can cherish.
(5 / 5)
