Composer Reacts to PARADISE LOST - No Hope In Sight (REACTION & ANALYSIS)

Bryan reacts to and talks about his thoughts on PARADISE LOST - No Hope In Sight (Lyric Video)
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0:00 Intro
00:37 Reaction
05:29 Analysis - An Interesting Detail
09:51 Analysis - What The Chugging Means
13:29 Analysis - A Small Quickening
15:59 Analysis - Weight in the Rest of the Band
18:04 Analysis - Consistent Emotion
18:58 Analysis - Lyrical Dive
24:22 Outro
#reaction #paradiselost #gothicmetal

[@RedSol]

This is my go to song when life gets too hard to bear. It's a very validating and empowering song to listen to under those circumstances and I always feel a little stronger after.

[@KATTLAN.]

Totally agree! Paradise Lost gives some drive to continue. :)

[@DarkMatterBurrito]

Paradise Lost and Katatonia have always been my go-to for when I am feeling depressed. Their music has that "I know how you feel" aspect and not "you're sad, kill yourself" vibe to it. It's more like an affirmation that things happen that are sad and we're here with you.

[@tropiq]

its a wonder you've never checked any Paradise Lost, one of my favorite bands, a few style changes throughout their history but a consistent lineup since the beginning (aside from the drummer spot) have made their music retain a certain consistency even played in a different way, i think the title of a live dvd they released is very appropriate to the band "The Anatomy of Melancholy" you could separate their discography into segments first album was death doom and very early on in the formation of that subgenre next 4 albums starting with Gothic explored what would later be named gothic metal sometimes attributed to the name of that album next 4 albums starting with One Second went very heavy into pop and synth, much lighter sound, full clean singing, as you might imagine this divided the fanbase quite heavily after that they went back into the earlier heavier sound but with new perspective and each album since they are trying to somehow tie in all their previous work, i feel like especially their last album was very balanced in all the elements but for me personally PL is one of those bands that doesn't have many 'bad' songs, i like nearly all albums front to back

[@thegrimner]

An overdue band on the channel, they basically invented the "flowy lead guitar over heavy rhythm" that Katatonia would later run with, and I mentioned them in the context of Katatonia as well. PL started as plodding, slow death metal, which became hugely influential in the doom metal scene, moved on to gothic metal, and were openly flirting with synthpop for a couple of albums. Unlike Katatonia, who progressed incrementally out of their old sound, Paradise Lost eventually embraced their roots with the benefit of decades of experience and are back to the doomy/death/goth sounds that made them so popular. You're on point in the overall analysis, a lot of their themes deal with feelings of world weariness and depression. Not so much the vulnerability and fragility present in Katatonia, but that kind of contradictory feeling of existance making you somewhat weary, It's not about giving up, quite the oposite; it's about keeping on going even when life seems to sap you of its motivation. Living is the actual task, even when it seems ponderous to do so. And yes, PL is chuggy. But you may find their more experimental output interesting, regardless, and they keep it as an occasional tool in the arsenal, even if at some points, like many other bands with lengthy careers, they're playing it safe and not deviating from the sound they perfected. Greg McIntosh, the lead guitarist, does possess a ver unique guitar voice, though this song doesn't quite show the extent of that uniqueness.

[@CriticalReactions]

I was pointed in the direction of something that reminded me of Depesche Mode and was further pointed towards Host, a side project of the singer and guitarist. It's wild that this band has seen so many phases and has been around for so long.

[@thegrimner]

@@CriticalReactions Host is also the name of the PL album that "strayed" the furthest from metal, so it's a logic step. Both singer and guitarist also feature in side projects, the guitarist has his own death metal projects named Vallenfyre and Strigoi and Nick Holmes is currently the vocalist for Bloodbath alongside the main composers from Katatonia, playing very heavy punky death metal. It's amusing how it comes full circle.

[@Deathmetallad]

This band invented Gothic Metal 35 years ago and have mastered extreme, melodic metal, imo.

[@MustObeyTheRules]

They just wrote good sounding music. Stop with the goofy labels

[@Superhiknapada]

No one created a single genre, it's all copying previous bands, more of them

[@RedSol]

That's like saying Metallica invented thrash metal. All these great bands that endure and get national or international followings are all products of their social/music scene, and for every band like Paradise Lost, there are a dozen other death/doom bands that never broke beyond recognition within their local communities. Something like this is the product of collaboration between bands in the scene, each lifting something from each other and from bands that came before and combining them in novel ways.

[@ElizaSkold]

This was one of my first favourite bands back when I first got into music, and one of the only ones from that long ago that I'm still in love with and haven't 'grown out of' for the lack of a better phrase. I think to this day I own more Paradise Lost t-shirts than any other band's, and that PL t-shirt pile continues to grow =P Greg Mackintosh was one the biggest inspirations for me to pick up guitar too and remains one of my favourite guitarists. They're one of those rare bands that often gets credited with pioneering two sub-genres, however true that may or may not be - first the admittedly relatively niche death-doom metal along with their label-mates at the time My Dying Bride and Anathema, and then gothic metal with the appropriately titled Gothic in 1991, though Type O Negative were doing it in the US at the same time too. Either way they're a very influential and well respected band among others in the genre. I saw them live for their 25th anniversary back in 2013 where they had Katatonia and Lacuna Coil open for them, and both bands said a few words about how much they owed to Paradise Lost and how they wouldn't be the bands they are without them. As others have mentioned, they have a fascinating career path too, going from death metal to gothic metal, Depeche Mode style synthpop, industrial metal, to exploring some more symphonic elements in recent albums (they have a pretty neat live album with a full orchestra and choir too). Much like Ulver it's a very fun band to be a fan of and see the evolution of with every album.

[@CriticalReactions]

That's awesome that they had such an impact on you as well as other bands. And it's wild how influential and diverse their music is. They seem like one of those rare, once a decade, kind of bands that change so much of what they touch.

[@jonathanhenderson9422]

Paradise Lost are one of the OG gothic death-doom bands. They were also my favorite of those bands back when I was exploring that sub-genre. I probably stopped keeping up with their albums before this came out, so this was a fresh listen to me. I think this is a solid song and it does exemplify their penchant for catchy choruses and weighty, chuggy riffs inspired by classic metal (ala Sabbath). I don't think there's anything particularly outstanding about this, though, and I don't think it's as good as their best on albums like Icon or Draconian Times. Still, nice to get such an influential band on the channel. There's a ton of gothic and doom metal bands that wouldn't exist without those early Paradise Lost albums of the late-80s/early-90s.

[@johnseward2934]

"This isn't sloth, this is fatigue" *chef's kiss

[@GregsWhiskyGuide]

Hi Brian, good to see you finally cover this famous Gothic Metal (initially a Gothic Doom/Death Metal band)band which evolved a lot (they even had a new wave-rock period), with a song from a great album...If you want to discover their best debut album, check out a song called "Gothic" (yes they are the inventors of the "Gothic Metal" genre) which is different, and then songs from the album "Obsidian" (such as "Darker Thoughts" or "Ghosts"), their latest album...

[@CriticalReactions]

Thanks for the direction through their varied (and kinda confusing) evolution.

[@GregsWhiskyGuide]

@@CriticalReactions Thanks, Brian, well, their new wave period is quite short regarding their 34 year old career...One album really, I'd say...so it is mostly one highly controversial album 'Host" (1999) with often mentioned influences from Depeche Mode, but for me way more influenced by The Cure (the song "Behind the Grey" behind a complete Cure rip off of "A Forest", leitmotive wise, mixed with some New Order, a them also present in the first song "So Much is lost", btw) & varied other New Wave & Pop-Rock bands (...). I like "Host", that said, for what it is, a Goth-Rock-New Wave lighter album, but not all titles, some being really lazy composition & lyrics wise...(I can recommend those ones though : "So Much is Lost", "Nothing Sacred", "Harbour", "It's Too late"). Besides, this band was at a time influenced also by The Sisters of Mercy & even did a cover of their song "Walk Away". But before 'Host", there is a way more interesting album (with non-Metal & also "Cureesque" elements, but more convincing for me) you might wanna check which is called "One Second", 1997 (recommended highlights : "Lydia", "One Second", "Disappear"), while most of fans are stuck to the album "Draconian Times" (1995) which they consider as their best..(for me it is a good album but has some weaknesses), but for me the best is most probably between 2005 & 2020 albums, while some of their great albums continue to have a few weaker songs...as always, only my opinion, mind you...

[@yibril17]

Albeit vague on apparience, Paradise Lost's lyrics are just like poetry: obscure enough as supposed - to convey the ideas they intended to. Here it goes this heads up for you: look carefully at the album cover, since it appears in the video too. Can you see who is depicted there, pushing a brain-like rock? Sisyphus! Now see how everything fits - the dragging of the feet; the stumbles; the undying, hopeless effort ;)

[@Jester1411]

PARADISE LOST - Darker Thoughts next

[@annodomini1991]

Finally a reaction to this band.

[@leonardovillegas1119]

You need to react to "Beneath broken earth" by PL also.

[@timvantinteren4918]

Would love to see this one!

[@jpaulcrosby]

I really enjoy paradise lost, but I haven’t heard this one. Really compelling song, to my mind.

[@mad-zr8wy]

Shades of god always crushes me.

[@CorTec]

Nice breakdown, I think some context would help you. Try these two. Enchatment , & Embers Fire. The catalogue is off the charts, as others mentioned they are "the" pioneers of Gothic Metal

[@CorTec]

oh yes one more, lyrically they are great, try Your Hand in Mine any of the older stuff for sick lyrics

[@davidkoblentz]

it almost pains me to hear new PL, for people to not understand the journey of PL... "gothic" was earth shattering... and all these albums since have been building on that foundation (as well as Icon, Shades, Draconian and more)