Paradise Lost // The Waterfront - 30.04.12
"When gothic metal stalwarts Paradise Lost came calling, the black-clad masses descended on the Waterfront to see them..." - Lenore reviews the Paradise Lost gig.
Paradise Lost
Over the past few years Norwich's burgeoning metal scene has continued to expand, drawing big names, like Lacuna Coil and Sepultura, to the Fine City drawing metallers from all over. So when gothic metal stalwarts Paradise Lost came calling, the black-clad masses descended on the Waterfront to see them. If memory serves, the last time the Yorkshire group were due to play Norwich was over ten years ago and the gig was cancelled at the last minute due to illness, but despite their decade-long absence, the venue did not quite reach capacity.
Support act Insomnium had come from Finland to tour with Paradise Lost and played a tight set. With a well rehearsed back catalogue of melodic death metal the long haired foursome tore through their support slot, pausing occasionally in between headbanging to stir the crowd with Scandinavian growls of 'how are you doing Norwich?!'. While there was nothing particularly unique about their style, every song was executed with precision and passion.
Veterans Paradise Lost followed and opened with 'Honesty In Death' from their new album 'Tragic Idol' and then returned to their 'Icon' album with 'Widow'. The set continued to play a mix of old and new tracks much to the crowd's delight. Both goth and metal fans were catered for and the new tracks seemed to be well received, sounding much like their early 90s releases. 'As I Die' was another highlight, with their fan favourite 'Say Just Words' being left until the last encore. It was disappointing however, to have the venue about two-thirds full – considering how long ago their last visit was it should have been more of a crowd puller. The sound was also patchy in places with the vocals seeming to fade out through a number of songs, but whether this was weak vocals or a dodgy mix wasn't clear. The band were as tight as one might expect after all their years as musicians but there didn't appear to be a live keyboardist on stage with them. The evening was a solid one filled with dark metal and many familiar faces from the Norwich scene, but unfortunately was not as intense a performance as was hoped.
Lenore
