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Paradise Lost: Faith Divides Us- Death Unites Us
 This year is proving to be quite a difficult one when it comes to my top ten albums of 2009 but rest assured this latest offering will be in my top five. After twenty years and this, their twelfth studio album is by far the best thing they have produced bar none. Beginning in a typical atmospheric Paradise Lost fashion 'As Horizons End' hits you with a slab of doom and distortion while intertwining guitars and solo's spring up at random fashion. While sticking to their well planted roots of doom they are not afraid of the odd melody or hook here and there, 'I Remain' just waits for you to press the repeat button and that is saying something for me. Production duties have been given to the trusting hands and ears of Jens Bogren (Katatonia, Opeth) who has done an outstanding job, every instrument, solo and drum beat is crisp and clear. Nick Holmes' Hetfield- esque vocal delivery is nothing short of stunning throughout the whole album, if it were a movie his lungs would be coming at you in 3D. If all this was not enough then there are even more melancholy lead clouds of darkness to come, 'Last Regret' is an epic gothic classic waiting to be played live. Certainly not an album solely of plodding foot dragging riffs it does contain a good element of pace, which will have you banging your head in satisfying approving nods.
Paradise Lost have certainly shifted with the prevailing trends of the last twenty years, this time though they have just played what they know and by God they've done it well. Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us is an absolute classic from the Bradford bruisers, this is their 'Black' album and should send them punching their way through the darkened sky to stratospheric success.
Track List
1. As Horizons End
2. I Remain
3. First Light
4. Frailty
5. Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us
6. The Rise Of Denial
7. Living With Scars
8. Last Regret
9. Universal Dream
10. In Truth
11. Cardinal Zero (Bonus Track)
Added: January 6th 2010
Reviewer: Mark Davies
Score: 
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 3425
Language: english
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Paradise Lost: Faith Divides Us- Death Unites Us
Posted by Pete Pardo, SoT Staff Writer on 2010-01-06 18:16:26
My Score: 
Though England's Paradise Lost has had a long and esteemed career, after a red-hot start with killer albums such as Draconian Times, Gothic, and Icon, the doom/death metal band started to incorporate some synth pop and straight rock influences and quickly grew out of favor with their loyal fanbase. Fast foward to 2005 with their self-titled release, and 2007's In Requiem, where the band started to return a bit to their heavier roots, which is now fully realized with Faith Divides Us-Death Unites Us. Though the death metal influence is all but gone, there's plenty of doom and gothic metal happening here, which for many will be a very good thing. Slow, crushing numbers like "Universal Dream", the brusing "As Horizons End", "I Remain", and "The Rise of Denial" mesh with the moody, gothic material, such as "First Light", "Frailty", and the title track. Nick Holmes' vocals are a mix of his James Hetfield-ish barks and a husky, clean mid-rage, offering a nice variety of styles. There's a dark & serious tone going on throughout these songs, dripping with melancholy, which is brought forth by the wide variety of material, whether it be the riff heavy doom rockers, the speedier numbers, or the somber, more gothic flavored material.
Sonically, Faith Divides Us-Death Unites Us is a great sounding CD, warm and inviting, yet brash & thunderous when it needs to be. Not wanting to be outdone by recent strong efforts from Candlemass and My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost seemingly wanted to make sure that metal fans knew that they were still around and that they mean business.
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