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Paradise Lost Ascends To Another Level In London With Messa And High Parasite

Great lineups can be like buses. You'll wait ages for one, then two come along at once. Only last week, Testament rampaged through the UK with Obituary, Destruction and Nervosa, and now fans of Gothic doom have their own dream tour as Paradise Lost embarked on the UK leg of their first European tour to promote their new album, "Ascension." It's an exciting time to see Paradise Lost, as "Ascension" has been hailed as an instant classic, with some going so far as to call the seventeenth outing their best yet, which is no easy feat considering their legendary status. It's not just Paradise Lost with a buzz about them on this tour, as joining them on the trek are Messa, the Italian doom band whose latest album, "The Spin" is also a contender for album of the year, and High Parasite, the "death pop" band fronted by Aaron Stainthorpe, whose departure from My Dying Bride after thirty five years was confirmed on the first date of the tour.

Speaking of which, it was High Parasite who got the evening underway, and very quickly too, hitting the stage mere minutes after the front doors opened. They released their debut album, "Forever We Burn" last year and it's another record full of superb tunes, gripping atmospheres and impressive song writing, so I for one was very eager to hear how the music would sound in a live setting. As it turns out, it sounds even better. High Parasite performs with enormous energy, getting the crowd moving and clapping along to a number of songs from the get go with the opening number, "Parasite." Stainthorpe himself is in tremendous form, his voice sailing across the room with majesty and force, like a ship charging through stormy waters.

Of course, there's more to the band than their most famous members and every one of them put in a great shift to make this set as fun and memorable as it could be. The singles "Wasn't Human" and "Let It Fail" sounded fantastic tonight and while not everyone was familiar with their work, those who were sang along to every word they knew, particularly on these two songs. "Hate Springs Eternal" was another highlight of the set, before they concluded their short time with the title track from "Forever We Burn." This was an exhilarating performance and, even though they'll be getting Lacrimas Profundere, I feel bad that mainland Europe won't be seeing High Parasite on this tour, as they fit in perfectly and are guaranteed to make new fans with every show.

As mentioned, Messa's new album "The Spin," which was released via Metal Blade Records in April of this year, has earned them widespread acclaim, and rightly so. Such is the hype around the record, that they dedicated six of their seven songs tonight to songs from the record, only omitting the album's first track, "Void Meridian." Those of us who dived deeper into their back catalogue may have been disappointed not to hear the likes of "She Knows" and "Tulsi" from their sophomore album, "Feast For Water," but then again they only have a limited time and a new release to promote.

When it comes to the performance itself, it was absolutely mesmerising. While she was a little difficult to hear at times, especially during the first song, "Fire On The Roof," Sara Bianchin has an enchanting voice. It's the kind of voice that almost stuns the listener, knocking them back and making them think, "I am in the presence of a true talent." Just as impressive was guitarist Alberto Piccolo, whose intricate playing flowed like water and helped to create an eerily beautiful sound. "At Races" and "The Dress" are perhaps the most popular cuts from "The Spin," and indeed both were great, but the highlight was "Immolation," which was almost tear inducing in its pristine and heartfelt delivery. "The Spin" set a high bar for Messa to jump, but they cleared it in style and I can't wait to see them again in less than a month at Damnation Festival.

So with two bands that most would dread to follow now finished, we come to Paradise Lost. Legends, pioneers, innovators, these are all terms that have been given to the Yorkshire quintet over the years, and would probably be modestly laughed off by the band themselves, but there's no arguing that they made a huge impact on the world of metal music. Indeed, they were happy to showcase just how long they've been making their presence known, with thirteen of their seventeen studio albums being represented tonight. As one might expect, "Ascension" got the most attention, though there were only three selections picked out, including the opener, "Serpent On The Cross." This was followed by "Tragic Idol," and then "True Belief," the first bonafide classic cut on display which caused fans to sing, shout or scream along to the chorus.

What's interesting is that it seems that the massively positive reaction to "Ascension" has rubbed off on the band, as they were in good spirits throughout the show, with vocalist Nick Holmes sharing some sarcastic jokes and barbs with the crowd, noting "We have a few fans of the 'Host' album... Few!" before the group performed "Nothing Sacred" from said album. Even "Believe In Nothing," which Holmes again humourously addressed as "the one with the bees on the cover... Don't ask me why," got a little love, with "Mouth" being played so well that it may have been one of the best received songs of their set. Of course, "One Second" was showcased via the title track and "Say Just Words," a Paradise Lost "hit" if ever there was one, while the classic "Draconian Times" album had "Once Solemn" to bear its flag.

There'll be fans who were disappointed not to hear "Ember's Fire," "As I Die" or "The Last Time" to name a few notable omissions, but with such a huge catalogue, there's going to be some casualties. One could argue that they could have fit at least one of these songs into the encore, which concluded with "Silence Like The Grave" from the new opus, something of a risky move, but it worked. After such a long career, Paradise Lost could be forgiven if they became too comfortable, but instead they're still taking creative chances and when it comes to the live show, this was easily the best performance I've seen from them yet. For those of you in mainland Europe reading this; do not miss your chance to catch this tour!