Melancholy Death

1995 was certainly a definitive year for the New Wave of Swedish Death Metal. At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul and In Flames' The Jester Race were released that year, both albums seamlessly meshing the melodic ambition of old schoolers Iron Maiden and Judas Priest with the aggression of '90s death metal; boasting instrumental chops and gifted songwriting, those two bands helped define the face of Scandinavian metal for years to come. But one must not overlook Dark Tranquillity's contributions to the genre, specifically The Gallery, which may not be rightfully recognized as the bona fide classic that it is. While these Swedes' debut, Skydancer, was an ambitious and disjointed affair exhibiting more promise than solid tunes, sophomore platter The Gallery fulfilled that promise - and then some…

Goth 'n' Roll pioneers THE 69 EYES have been haunting stages all over the world for 33 years and seem to be a truly immortal part of the dark rock/metal scene. Widely known as the Helsinki Vampires, the quintet gained several platinum albums with "Blessed Be" and "Paris Kills" and not only reached #1 of the single and album charts in their home country of Finland, but also plunged the world into a sinful cosmos of love, death and melancholy, while outliving any other band emerging from the goth hype of the early 2000s. By developing their sound further into sleaze rock on "Devils" (2004) and "Angels" (2007) and not shying away from pitch black Elvis allusions in singer Jyrki 69’s dark voice and unique onstage dance moves, the band has established a worldwide following.

Fathers of Gothic Metal, pioneers of the English Doom scene and one of the 3 pillars, along with ANATHEMA and MY DYING BRIDE, in the creation of the Death/Doom sub-genre.PARADISE LOST is one of the most controversial Metal bands to date, their experimentation with their music a constant desire to evolve. This has led some fans to turn their backs to them, but others remained and with "Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us" the band shows that, in regard to some other bands, they are here for their fans.

"Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us" is the twelfth release for PARADISE LOST and picks up where "In Requiem" left. The rough production that is reminiscent to older albums such as "Icon" and "Draconian Times" is evident in this album. The calm and sometimes eerie intros to some of the songs lead to a musical storm with hard riffs, deep harmonics, powerful bass and drum lines and a deep emotional heaviness. The choice of 7-string guitars for this album, which is also the first time to be used by PARADISE LOST in the bands history, results to a deeper more foreboding guitar sound, that twist and turns from a melancholy to angry riffs and solos, such as in the songs "Frailty" and "The Rise Of Denial".

The guardians of the Gothenburg Sound, DARK TRANQUILLITY - still one of the most exciting bands in Melodic Death Metal. ”Construct” is the sound of perseverance. It’s also proof of the band’s ability to reinvent itself and stay relevant. It’s quintessential Dark Tranquillity while giving a fresh spin to the trademark sound.