Paradise Lost | Ascension | Nuclear Blast Records

Release Date: September 19^th, 2025

Format: CD/Vinyl/Digital

Genre: Death/Doom/Gothic Metal

Country: United Kingdom

Paradise Lost started in Halifax in 1988 and quickly became one of the most influential names in gloomy metal. Their early albums mixed crushing heaviness with dark melody and helped define what later became known as gothic metal. Through the years they explored doom, electronic textures, and grand melodic metal, building a catalogue that inspired artists from Cradle Of Filth to Chelsea Wolfe. “Ascension” arrives more than three decades into their career and shows a band that remains steady, experienced and sharp in its dark craft.

“Ascension” works like a long walk through everything Paradise Lost has built since the late eighties. The guitars carry that familiar coldness, the kind Gregor Mackintosh has been shaping since “Gothic”, and Nick Holmes moves easily between deep growls and his grim singing voice. The album often shifts from heavy pressure to mournful melody, always keeping an atmosphere that feels grounded and human. There is a constant grey tone running through the songs, steady and unbroken, like a fog that refuses to clear.

What stands out here is how naturally the band moves between gloom, classic metal charge, and sombre melody without sounding scattered. “Serpent On The Cross” hits early with an almost old school swagger, while “Silence Like The Grave” sinks deeper into their gothic side. Tracks like “Tyrants Serenade” and “Salvation” have that distinctly Paradise Lost sadness, the sort that never turns theatrical, just heavy in a very matter-of-fact way. The final stretch, especially “The Precipice”, gives the album a stately curtain call, steady and dark to the last second.

“Ascension” comes across as a steady chapter from a band fully aware of its craft within its chosen shadows. There is no fluff, no attempt to dress things up with unnecessary gloss. Paradise Lost simply deliver a strong, cold-hearted metal album that stands proudly beside their respected catalogue. Three and a half decades in, and they still know how to turn sorrow into something powerful, atmospheric and undeniably their own.

Score: 8.5