Cirith Ungol - Paradise Lost (1991)

Paradise Lost came out a little too late to capitalize on the three albums before it, or at least that's how I felt back at the time, but it was also the first 'new' Cirith Ungol record for me, so I was elated to see the beautiful cover art and logo at the CD shop and made the purchase instantly. For 1991, it felt truly out of place against all the waning thrash metal, emergent death and black scenes, grunge and groove and The Black Album and all that jazz. It's also proven to be one of their more divisive offerings (even the drummer has spoken at length about the various issues with its production and release), but I have to say that Paradise Lost was pretty catchy out of the starting gates, for the most part it's another damn solid example of their style, and I kind of admire how defiantly traditional it felt in its day.

Cirith Ungol had the tendency to include a sillier sounding track or two on numerous of their efforts, the then-most recent example being "100 M.P.H." from the awesome One Foot in Hell. I would say that Paradise Lost has a few examples of this, one being the cover of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown's "Fire", which they've heavied up and assimilated to their own style quite well. That said, while the lyrics seem somewhat relevant to their own dark fantasy themes, it does stand out a little, whereas Prophecy's "Go It Alone" is just absolutely cheesy here, not a deal-breaker so much, since the musicians and Baker make it sound slick and atmospheric, but unnecessary for sure. "The Troll", an original which features one of the catchiest verse riff patterns in all of metal history, also comes across a little goofier than probably intended. I love that song, so it doesn't bother me, but pair this up with other tunes that feel a little flightier and more melodic than their prior fare, such as "Heaven Help Us", and you've got a disc that doesn't quite match its kick-ass, crushing predecessor.

Beyond those exceptions, though, this is great stuff, with cuts like "Join the Legion", "Before the Lash" and "Fallen Idols" cut from the same cloth as all their epic heavy/doom greats, and could have been outtakes from One Foot in Hell. The band mixes up the vocals a little more here, with searing clean passages on "Chaos Rising" that work pretty well, and the album overall does feel like an evolution upon the ideas of its predecessors. They blend in some new tempos, some good atmospheric lead guitars (as in the title track finale), and a palette of riffs that ironically make it feel fresh and forward-thinking, despite how dated the band's appeal might have felt next to the more trendy and budding styles of the time. I personally enjoy "The Troll", I know others who don't, but I definitely think the covers could have been scrapped for one more serious original and the album might have gotten a warmer reception. But even then, I still break this one out at least as much as I do Frost and Fire, there are a number of essential tunes and it fits the legacy quite well.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

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