Thursday, March 23: Paradise Lost, āRemembranceā
With Icon, Paradise Lost didnāt so much move beyond their initial doomdeath sound as refine and enhance it. Ā But these refinements did more than just set the band apart from peers like Anathema and My Dying Bride, they firmly rooted Icon within the broader context of metal itself, establishing Paradise Lost as major contenders in the overall genre.Ā Nonetheless, even if Simon Efemyās production beefed up Gregor Mackintoshās guitars and placed Nick Holmesā vocals higher and clearer in the mix, āRemembranceā remained fundamentally rooted in doomdeath. Ā For starters, it was far slower than what even Metallica was releasing in the early ā90s- even as Holmesā slightly cleaner bark was recalling prime Hetfield- and Mackintoshās power chords were shrouded in Sabbathy gloom. Ā It was the clarity of the bandās presentation that enabled Icon to gain some traction in the larger metal community, and even if the band would only continue with this sound for one more album, it ultimately introduced this strain of metal to audiences all over the world and played a vital role in the genreās development.
