Fast rising Brit stoners OF CONCRETE GODS have unleashed their epic new debut single, ‘Obsidian‘ through all platforms.
Coming at you from Luton and originally formed in 2018, OF CONCRETE GODS were kicked into action by their mutual desire to create real music that reflects their stoner roots. With a collective affection for hard rockers Alice in Chains and Stone Stour, metal icons such as Black Sabbath and Metallica, and stoner bands like Down and Elephant Tree, OF CONCRETE GODS embrace a philosophy of: “if it sounds good in the garage, we go for it.”
Although OF CONCRETE GODS played their first live show only in the Autumn of 2019, the individual band members are no strangers to the grind, as they have over five hundred gigs under their collective belts from previous acts. Their debut show was an outright success and further live performances continued until the covid-19 pandemic halted further trajectory. The band write intensively and rehearse constantly, and have just recorded their debut single ‘Obsidian‘ at Signal House Studios (Drones, Kodama). Vocalist Nik Scott discusses the track: “We consider ‘Obsidian‘ to be a song in three acts, with a melancholic introduction, a deeply frustrated centre, and a finale built around acceptance and moving on. Lyrically it is about the realisation that maybe connecting with other people isn’t on the cards for you, which can leave you black and brittle like the stone it is named after.”
Upon listening to ‘Obsidian‘ it becomes abundantly clear that OF CONCRETE GODS are something special, and their new single is an absolute epic journey of the senses.
The masters of gothic metal Paradise Lost have shared the video for new single ’Fall from Grace’ which is the first track from their new album ‘Obsidian’ released on 15th May via Nuclear Blast.
The book has been closed but the story is not over: Paradise Lost sharpen their pens and add another chapter to their dark, glooming history of death doom and gothic metal. In difficult times, the British legends from Halifax are the drug that numbs the pain, the lover that takes away the sorrows, the story that craves to be told. ‘Obsidian‘, the new album from Paradise Lost, will be released on 15th May (Nuclear Blast)
To get your hands on one of the exclusive bundles with tickets for Paradise Lost‘s release show at The Warehouse in Leeds on 17th September check out the Crash Records’ online shop:
Nick Holmes states: “As a global crisis, it goes without saying Covid 19 has affected everyone and everything, including every aspect of the music industry. As a result, our record label Nuclear Blast offered us the chance to postpone the launch of our latest album ‘Obsidian‘ to a less volatile time later in the year. Taking this into consideration, and the fact the live music circuit is currently in lockdown, we think it’s unnecessary to postpone the release as we think our fans wouldn’t want to wait. Music can be enjoyed in practically any environment, so therefore we are going ahead with the same release date 15.5.20, and we sincerely hope our new album helps to lift your spirits, and is a beacon of light in the dark during these uncertain times! Thanks for your continuous support through the years and see you on the road!”
Nick Holmes adds: “This is a song about struggling through difficult times, and a point blank refusal to accept that the end is within range.”
Guitarist Greg Mackintosh adds: “The first song written for ‘Obsidian‘ so probably one of the closest in style to the previous album ‘Medusa‘. It has quite a few different elements to it but is essentially a classic PL song. Doom laden, but hopefully heartfelt and subtle in places.”
The sixteenth Paradise Lost studio album, ‘Obsidian’ eschews its immediate predecessors’ gruesome, myopic approach in favour of a richer and more dynamic deluge of black shades. From the deceptive elegance and dual atmospheres of opener ‘Darker Thoughts’ through to the crushing, baroque doom of war-torn closer ‘Ravenghast‘, ‘Obsidian’ reveals a band in masterful control of a broad array of vital ideas. Most noticeably, the record boasts several songs that draw heavily from the much-loved, Kohl-encrusted days of ‘80s gothic rock: in particular, newly-minted PARADISE LOST anthems ‘Ghosts‘ is a guaranteed dancefloor-filler at any discerning goth nightclub.
Tracklist:
Darker Thoughts
Fall From Grace
Ghosts
The Devil Embraced
Forsaken
Serenity
Ending Days
Hope Dies Young
Ravenghast
Formed in Halifax, West Yorkshire, in 1988, Paradise Lost were unlikely candidates for metal glory when they slithered from the shadows and infiltrated the UK underground. But not content with spawning an entire subgenre with early death/doom masterpiece ‘Gothic’ nor with conquering the metal mainstream with the balls-out power of 1995’s ‘Draconian Times’, they have subsequently traversed multiple genre boundaries with skill and grace, evolving through the pitch-black alt-rock mastery of ‘90s classics ‘One Second’ and ‘Host’ to the muscular but ornate grandeur of 2009’s ‘Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us’ and „Tragic Idol“ (2012), with the nonchalant finesse of grand masters. The band’s last two albums – ‘The Plague Within’ (2015) and ‘Medusa’ (2017) – saw a much celebrated return to brutal, old school thinking, via two crushing monoliths to slow-motion death and spiritual defeat. Consistently hailed as one of metal’s most charismatic live bands, Paradise Lost arrive in this new decade as veterans, legends and revered figureheads for several generations of gloomy metalheads. In keeping with their unerring refusal to deliver the expected, 2020 brings one of the band’s most diverse and devastating creations to date.
Obsidian… dark, reflective and black: it’s a pretty decent description of the music that Paradise Lost have been making over the last 32 years, even though this most resilient of British metal bands have stoically refused to be pinned down to one easily defined formula. Powered by a lust for creativity and a stout devotion to haunting heaviness, Paradise Lost have defied the odds by coming back stronger than ever over the past decade .
“Obsidian”, the new album of Gothic legends Paradise Lost will be released on 15th May.
Today, the band releases a snippet to tease the fans with a a short piece of that masterwork:
Singer Nick Holmes comments about the new album:
“One of the most eclectic albums we have done in some time, we have miserable songs, sad songs ,slow songs and faster songs. Did I mention miserable?”
The sixteenth Paradise Lost studio album, ‘Obsidian‘ eschews its immediate predecessors’ gruesome, myopic approach in favour of a richer and more dynamic deluge of black shades. From the deceptive elegance and dual atmospheres of opener ‚Darker Thoughts’ through to the crushing, baroque doom of war-torn closer ‚Ravenghast’,„Obsidian” reveals a band in masterful control of a broad array of vital ideas. Most noticeably, the record boasts several songs that draw heavily from the much-loved, Kohl-encrusted days of ’80s gothic rock: in particular, newly-minted Paradise Lost anthems‚Ghosts’ is a guaranteed dance floor-filler at any discerning goth nightclub.
Tracklist:
Darker Thoughts
Fall From Grace
Ghosts
The Devil Embraced
Forsaken
Serenity
Ending Days
Hope Dies Young
Ravenghast
Formed in Halifax, West Yorkshire, in 1988, Paradise Lost were unlikely candidates for metal glory when they slithered from the shadows and infiltrated the UK underground. But not content with spawning an entire subgenre with early death/doom masterpiece ‘Gothic’ nor with conquering the metal mainstream with the balls-out power of 1995’s ‘Draconian Times‘, they have subsequently traversed multiple genre boundaries with skill and grace, evolving through the pitch-black alt-rock mastery of ’90s classics ‘One Second‘ and„Host” to the muscular but ornate grandeur of 2009’s ‘Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us‘ and ‘Tragic Idol‘ (2012), with the nonchalant finesse of grand masters. The band’s last two albums – ‘The Plague Within‘ (2015) and ‘Medusa‘ (2017) – saw a much celebrated return to brutal, old school thinking, via two crushing monoliths to slow-motion death and spiritual defeat. Consistently hailed as one of metal’s most charismatic live bands, Paradise Lost arrive in this new decade as veterans, legends and revered figureheads for several generations of gloomy metalheads. In keeping with their unerring refusal to deliver the expected, 2020 brings one of the band’s most diverse and devastating creations to date.
