Paradise Lost
Host

THE REVIEW

While waiting for the new Paradise Lost album, "In Requiem", I am about to review what might be their most criticized effort by fans. 'Host' belongs to that period when these Englishmen were following in the footsteps of Depeche Mode, and it closes the diptych opened by "One Second". Besides closing it, it is also the most authoritative representative, in the sense that it is perhaps the only one of their albums where there isn't the slightest trace of metal. In short, nothing to do with albums like "Gothic" or "Shades of God", nor with their latest work "Paradise Lost".

Indeed, one can accuse it of a certain lack of originality, another characteristic not typical for the band in question: personally, I found this album too similar not so much to "Exciter" by their inspiring muses, as to many of their early albums. However, there are some very interesting tracks: I found "In all honesty" the best overall, also for some riffs that appear in it (one can note a curious vocal resemblance to Dave Gahan); very interesting too is "Wreck", a particularly dreamy piece that also slightly recalls groups like Enigma or Positively Dark. Worth mentioning as well are "Harbour", another particularly calm and vaguely symphonic piece, "Made the Same", a more commercial track, and finally "Permanent Solution" and "Deep", characterized by more dark tones than the rest of the album.

In short, it's the most relaxing of their works, not bad even if not brilliant. An album absolutely for the fans, which, despite everything, does not detract from this amazing band that continuously tries to evolve and at its beginnings gave life and name to an entire genre, Gothic Metal: in this regard, it would be very easy to notice how this definition has often been abused and attributed to some bands that have nothing to do with the genre (like Evanescence), if one were to listen, even a bit inattentively, to the first three works of Paradise Lost, especially "Gothic". Honor, therefore, to these Englishmen, for better or worse.