Band:	Paradise Lost
Album:	One Second
Style:	Gothic metal
Release date:	July 14, 1997
Guest review by:	un/heart/ed

01. One Second
02. Say Just Words
03. Lydia
04. Mercy
05. Soul Courageous
06. Another Day
07. The Sufferer
08. This Cold Life
09. Blood Of Another
10. Disappear
11. Sane
12. Take Me Down

Without doubt Paradise Lost is one of the most influential and also controversial metal bands Britain has ever produced. It is no wonder the fans were divided into two groups, upon the release of "One Second". Many love it, and some hate it, because it has electronic sound effects and experimental stuff. However, the album still reflects the dark emotions previously experienced by listeners in the first albums. To me, this is a spectacular Paradise Lost album.

With this phenomenal "gothic metal" album Paradise Lost quit making "death/doom metal" which they accomplished perfectly on their first five albums and decides to develop a new sound which reminds people a little bit of Depeche Mode. The use of electronic sounds and keyboards are not overdone, however. They are appropriate, not at disturbing levels. "One Second" doesn't feature any guitar solo, but I must add that the lead guitar focuses on creating really nice melodies. One of the most remarkable things in this album is Nick Holmes' incredible clean vocal demonstration. We all know he can do brutal vocals nicely, but now that he has this kind of voice, then he should always sing like that! Just perfect. Gregor Mackintosh and the other members do nice work and play their instruments solidly, also.

The albums opens with a great title song which can be considered as a Paradise Lost classic, in my opinion. "Say Just Words" is just one of the outstanding songs in the album along with "Mercy", "The Sufferer" and "Sane". "Disappear" is a slow, emotional song which is another major highlight of this slashing record!

Although the album is quite different than the previous one called "Draconian Times", it is pretty much successful in its own field. "One Second" shouldn't be compared to "Draconian Times" or the previous albums, because it has a different genre. "One Second" is such a splendid album that if listened, you won't regret. Paradise Lost definitely did a bloody great job with this one.