Paradise Lost

One Second

Dark, moody, a great album.

Review Score:

(10/10)
When this album was initially released, the first word out of many mouths was "sellout"-- a term used far too often and usually by unimaginative blockheads who favor musical consistency over growth. After many listens and in light of what has happenned with this band since, I wouldn't say this album qualifies as a "sellout". Overall it's not half bad, especially when compared with the garbage shoved down the public's throat on the radio airwaves. "One Second" is a foray into a much different brand of dark music for Paradise Lost, and one many fans were not ready for. It's also a little ungainly, which is to be expected when an artist tries something new.
While their earlier albums progressed from one to the other naturally, "One Second" is strikingly different in instruments and style. Paradise Lost abandon much of their guitar-driven sadness in favor of a darker, more miserable keyboard based sound here. Vocalist Nick Holmes adopts a new singing style, favoring melodic wailing and brooding whispers over the gutteral roar and on key yelling of his previous work. The production (handled by Sank)reflects the more quiet misery of the new style, with watery textures and cold sterility best describing the overall feel.
And it works well-- on about half of the songs. Despite the awkwardness of some of it, high points like "Mercy", "This Cold Life", and "Take Me Down" are a promising indication that the band is capable of growing in the new direction they've chosen, i.e., away from the trusty chugging guitar riffs the fans had gotten used to. These songs and a few other notables are excellent examples of what good dark music sounds like, and are a refreshing alternative to the grandstanding pseudo-goth...offered up by the likes of Marilyn Manson.
Unfortunately, the band's best efforts on "One Second" don't fill the void left by the great guitar work of their earlier albums. The flow of the songs is not as natural as, say, "Draconian Times." The songs in which the guitars do come to the forefront sound stilted and awkward, as if the old riffs have been shoehorned into the new playing style so as not to make too big a jump into new music. (Examples: "Blood of Another", "Soul Courageous")
All in all, a good album marred by a two-fold disappointment-- the first being the complete change of sound for those of us who fondly remember the guitar-powered and Simon Efemey produced days, and the second lesser disappointment of the disjointed and unsteady nature of the band's new music.

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