Paradise Lost - Symbol Of Life review
| Band: | Paradise Lost |
| Album: | Symbol Of Life |
| Style: | Gothic metal |
| Release date: | October 21, 2002 |
| Guest review by: | hottercraft |
01. Isolate
02. Erased
03. Two Worlds
04. Pray Nightfall
05. Primal
06. Perfect Mask
07. Mystify
08. No Celebration
09. Self-Obsessed
10. Symbol Of Life
11. Channel For The Pain
12. Xavier [Dead Can Dance cover] [bonus]
13. Small Town Boy [Bronski Beat cover] [bonus]
I don't know what they wanted to do, but they made an album with a sound similar to some groups that do Nu-Metal or mix Metal with electronic music, like Rammstein. It is definitely a less Metal sound than in their previous releases, this sounds more Rock than Metal. However, I can say that the vocals are still good and there are good guitar riffs, but it's fucked by the fucking electronic ambient. When we listen to this album, we'll think that we're in space or in a videogame like The Matrix...
This CD doesn't begin really bad, but this is strange. The first song "Isolate" is a good opener, but it doesn't sound much like a Gothic Metal song. The next song "Erased" is very electronic again, but the chorus is more catchy an there are better guitars. There are songs which will begin with an electronic ambient and later it will turn into a powerful and Metal sound, and there are also songs that will begin with strong guitars and Metal sound and later you'll hear electronic Metal. "Symbol of Life" and "Channel for the Pain" are perfect examples for explain this. "Xavier" sounds really strange, I don't know what they were thinking, but this shit isn't definitely Paradise Lost, they have worked more in the fucking ambient, and they shouldn't did it, they should have worked more in their guitars and their drums. I've enjoyed only two songs in this album: "Erased" and "Small Town Boy," this last song is an amazing song, it's... different. If they wanted to make an electronic album, they should have done it better. The most amazing electronic ambience in this CD can be found in "Small Town Boy." It's a really complete song, there are good guitars and they are mixed well with the ambient for the first time. The only masterpiece (with Erased) included in this release, but two great songs don't make a great CD.
Oh, I hope I won't hear this sound anymore from this group, for me this is an enormous deception. But I'm sure they'll do it better in their next releases and, if they abandoned the electronic ambience, they would make some great Gothic Metal CD's, like in the old times.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 5 |
| Songwriting: | 6 |
| Originality: | 5 |
| Production: | 7 |
Written by hottercraft | 01.10.2006
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Rating:
9.0
9.0
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Rating: 9.0 |
Even though not many will agree with this statement, "Symbol Of Life" is, to me, Paradise Lost's best album. I could go back in their career and pick albums with distinct characteristics that do, most definitely, stand on their own as solid and original works, but that don't quite effectively transmit to me the sad atmosphere their simple song writing can bring as well as "Symbol Of Life" does. I won't say this one represents everything Paradise Lost has done in their career, because it doesn't, but it sure is their most varied and multi layered album - whether you like this sound or not is a different subject. The truth is that, even though it is also their heaviest album since "Draconian Times" (songs like "Two Worlds," "Self-Obsessed," or "Channel For The Pain" prove it), it is still very much dependent of the electronic influences and generally much mellower rockish style of "One Second" and "Host." Read more ›› |
Guest review by
John P. Dunphy
John P. Dunphy
Rating:
8.5
8.5
|
Rating: 8.5 |
When a band decides to change direction in musical style, fans may sometimes cry 'sellout!? and refuse to give the new music a chance. For a band like England's Paradise Lost, that possibility has appeared on more than one occasion, as they are definitely a band of much change. Their first release, Lost Paradise, in 1990 revolutionized what would become known as ?doom metal". The slow, trudging dirges generated a large underground following for then-teenagers Nick Holmes , Greg Mackintosh , Aaron Aedy , Stephen Edmondson and Matthew Archer . Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments: 22
Visited by: 88 users
| Richard Elite Posts: 4862  |
Personally, I think this is a damn good album. I can see why you wouldn't like it as you're comparing it to the old stuff, but if you've heard One Second, Host and Believe In Nothing then the electronics on this album shouldn't be too much of a shock!
---- 
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| hottercraft Posts: 56  |
Yeah, the Paradise Lost's last stage is which I don't like a lot. Gothic, Draconian Times and Shades of God are their best CD's. When I listened this CD for the third time, I saw that I didn't like it and I made this review... Paradise Lost definitely WAS a great band.
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| Danzig666 Posts: 183  |
This just might be my favorite Paraidse Lost album i give it a 8.5/10
---- Open your Mouth to my Bloody Reign!
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| +{Jonas}+ I R Serious Cat Posts: 4955  |
I agree with Richard, it's ne more piece of teh electro phase started in one second, it's a great album, for me at least, the title song is amazing, and they make a perfect mixture between the electro elements with pretty cool lyrics.
---- "Nobody wants to be the weird kid, you just end up being the weird kid. You don't know how you ended up getting there" - Rob Zombie http://jonas-bs.deviantart.com My dA, mainly photography, go check it out!
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| Deadmeat Necrobutcher Posts: 2437  |
THis album is very good. surely not comparable with the past ones but for those who don't like it cause of the old PL people open your mind and you'll like it a lot...
---- Υou've sold your human essence to the cold world of dead and empty things... You're SOLD!
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| Uirapuru Liver Failure Posts: 2955  |
Quote: This is their best eletronic album to me.. ''Host'' and ''Believe in nothing'' are average works. In this one there are some heavy riffs instead of the only eletronic effects. Small Town Boy is excellent indeed, but there are other good songs, like ''Isolate'', ''Two Worlds'', ''perfect mask' and ''Symbol of life''. Mystify has a great atmosphere. ''Channel for the pain'' and ''Self Obssessed'' have are pretty fast and heavy. The catchiness remains, only this time a little more heavy. 
----  ---- member of the true crusade against old school heavy metal, early 80s thrash, NWOBHM, traditional doom, first and second wave black metal, old school death metal, US power metal, 70s prog rock and atmospheric doomsludgestoner. o/
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| Deadmeat Necrobutcher Posts: 2437 |
Written by Uirapuru on 09.06.2009 at 09:08 you wrote exactly the songs i also believe to be the best out of this album! 
---- Υou've sold your human essence to the cold world of dead and empty things... You're SOLD!
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| Solstafir! Posts: 75 |
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| DrM DreaMutilated Posts: 131  |
I WAS going to comment on the general album page about how Rammstein-like this album sounds, and then I saw your review. Basically summarized everything I was about to say. 3/10 from me (I don't like Rammstein).
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| Slayer666 Posts: 2466  |
Cool, fun album. Catchy as hell with some pretty nice melancholic melodies. I very much disagree with the review, specially because you compare this to the old stuff. Just imagine it's a different band, and rock on. Definitely their best from the whole "electronic-experimental" era.
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18374  |
Written by Slayer666 on 05.09.2011 at 15:17 Disagree, this album is just ok to me. Their best electronic release is easily Host. The electronic stuff is far better and the use of (fake) strings is perfect.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| Slayer666 Posts: 2466 |
Written by X-Ray Rod on 05.09.2011 at 16:58 Host was good, but had way too much filler. "Year of Summer", "Deep", "Made the Same", "It's Too Late" are totally forgettable and some others sound a bit weak too. This one is pretty good from start to finish. "No Celebration", "Mystify" and "Isolate" are easily the catchiest songs these guys ever did.
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| X-Ray Rod Skandino Staff Posts: 18374 |
Written by Slayer666 on 06.09.2011 at 15:02 Disagree, for me this album is full of fillers. It could have been a cute EP, but nothing more. Erased is a cool track though.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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| Cuca Beludo Account deleted |
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306  |
Written by [user id=114505] on 22.04.2012 at 00:15 Ya, definitely not nu metal. Just goes to show you how ignorant some people are about genres...
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Slayer666 Posts: 2466 |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 22.04.2012 at 05:15 Well, to be honest, just before performing "Isolate" live, Nick stated the following: "This one is from our newest album, where we try to copy a bunch of nu-metal bands." There's a video of that performance floating somewhere on YouTube (although he was prolly joking).
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by Slayer666 on 22.04.2012 at 13:56 It was probably a sardonic response to his fanbase or even a preemptive mockery of what he figured fans of the band's back catalog would say about the new material.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Cuca Beludo Account deleted |
Cuca Beludo
Account deleted Written by Troy Killjoy on 22.04.2012 at 05:15 Just came into my mind this thing.. Nothing can be more ignorant than this review 
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by [user id=114505] on 22.04.2012 at 19:28 At least he got the genre right.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Cuca Beludo Account deleted |
Cuca Beludo
Account deleted Written by Troy Killjoy on 23.04.2012 at 02:41 Yeah, now I must agree with you. But still ignorant.
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