Paradise Lost
Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us

(To protect my privacy, I'll call myself "I", and my friend Maurizio "Benjamin Lanzolla")

Short Message Service

5/10

I: "...did you listen to it?"

Benjamin Lanzolla: "Yes, just once... And you?"

I: "I don't have the courage, how is it???"

B.L.: "Well, let me ruin it for you: apart from that damn Greg who eats them all (trad. "who eats them all"), don't expect anything."

6/10

I: "...I've been crying since yesterday.."

Benjamin Lanzolla: "...cursed they be!"

I: "What damage have they done to me!"

B.L.: "So that's what happened to the black rabbit!" (Editor's note: reference to a phantom black rabbit that my friend and I hope will one day appear to bring depression and oppression to the syrupy world of Bunnytown).

I: "A frightening show of strength, odd times and double bass with a punch like they've never used before!! They've reclaimed the throne of dark music, never mind Opeth..."

B.L.: "They ate them all."

I: "But where does all this malice come from?!!"

B.L.: "There's something wrong with this CD though...a weak link I can't decipher..."

I: "Yes, the PERFECTION"

B.L.: "The black rabbit has now come out in the open."

7/10

I: "M A S T E R S. Period. Dark and suffocating death-doom, sometimes you glimpse a ray of light that you know you can't reach, and then you plunge back into the blackest despair..."

Benjamin Lanzolla: "And wait, I still don't know the lyrics yet..."

I: "Nothing, things like religion that doesn't console, the bitterest regret, the impossibility of moving and acting...you know, the usual rants :)"

B.L.: "Very good!"

I: "Ah, and the heaviness of the riffs? They used 7 strings, how cute "I Remain" and "Frailty", they shatter your bones!!!"

B.L.: "And now don't you say you need to get a tattoo of the cover?"

I: "By the way, my mom asked what music I listen to all night, because obviously, I don't sleep. What should I tell her?"

B.L.: "Eh, mom is always right..."

8/10

I: "In "Living With Scars" there are two, three passages that don't do your heart any good..."

Benjamin Lanzolla: "W I LOST! I LOST ARE THE BEST!"

9/10

I: "Every note a tiny cut, and they've put a lot of them, those bastards! But did you expect an album like this??!"

Benjamin Lanzolla: "...hush"

10/10

I: "Finally Saturday night! I'm going to the cemetery..."

(A FEW HOURS AND SEVERAL BEERS LATER)

I: "But the first three seconds of "Last Regret"...bass bass bass...what do you hear?"

Benjamin Lanzolla: "Chains?"

I: "And keys, did you notice?"

B.L.: "Cursed, every piece is an album"

I: "These guys are not well"

B.L.: "I cry"

I: "That sound scares me"

B.L.: "Do you hear your life in those notes? May I die screaming, do you feel it???!?"

11/10

Benjamin Lanzolla: "Do you think I can have sex with headphones on?"

12/10

Benjamin Lanzolla: "This album isn't good, in the sense that it's not good for you"

I: "My goodness "First Light"...!"

B.L.: "Just one proper listen and then you can press STOP FOR LIFE!!! I now see hourglasses on every tree..."

I: "Furthermore, this album really gives a nice twist to your latest social interactions..."

B.L.: "Are you afraid?"

I: "Not fear, awareness"

B.L.: "Finally the rain..."

I: "...so you don't see the tears"