Paradise Lost - The Anatomy of Melancholy (Dvd Review)

Paradise Lost have had a long and interesting 21 year career as one of England’s finest musical exports. The band have a large and interesting back catalogue which makes for interesting listening and for an even more interesting new live Dvd entitled “The Anatomy of Melancholy”. The Dvd opens up with new track “The Enemy” which takes on a whole new life compared to the original and average sounding album version. From here on in the band storms through some of their more recent back catalogue with tracks off their self titled and “Symbol of Life” albums. Here is where they throw in a curveball in the shape of the track “So Much Is Lost” from their experimental album “Host”. The track however goes down a treat and even the most ardent haters of the “Host” album would have to admit that this is a great track in a live setting.

As the Dvd goes on the band continues to storm through some of their older tracks which haven’t gotten an airing in years. Tracks such as “Pity the Sadness”, “Forever Failure”, “Once Solemn”, “As I Die” “Embers Fire”, “Eternal”, “True Belief” and “Gothic” all sound as fresh and new as the day they were first recorded. The band throws in another new track in the shape of “Praise Lamented Shade” which takes on epic proportions and really shows that Paradise Lost have truly returned to form. The band closes with the expected track “Say Just Words” from the “One Second” album which is nothing short of an anthem for them.

The production and the band’s performance on the Dvd cannot be faulted in anyway. Everything sounds crisp and clear yet skull pounding heavy at the same time and with the addition of new drummer Jeff Singer the band have never sounded so tight and cohesive as a unit. The one weak point of Paradise Lost in a live setting has always been the vocals of Nick Holmes. A perfect example of this is on their previous live Dvd release “Evolve” in which he sings out of tune for at least three quarters of the performance. On this new Dvd however Nick Holmes is at his vocal peak with not one “bum note” in the whole thing. It is without a doubt the best vocal performance of his that has been captured with his vocals reaching new highs.

Without a shadow of a doubt this is one of the best live Dvds I own and one of the best ones that I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. It has everything that you could want from a music Dvd, great packaging, a great performance, and an even better set list. For any Paradise Lost fan this is a must have. Period.