When John Milton wrote his timeless classic he could not foresee that he would energize one of the most creative, versatile and eclectic bands in heavy metal. And just like "Paradise Lost" (and "Paradise Regained") inspired much Christian (not necessarily biblical) tradition, Paradise Lost birthed two powerful genres: doom/death (along with Anathema and My Dying Bride) and gothic.

Paradise Lost, which always included Nicholas John Arthur Holmes (vocals), Gregor Mackintosh (lead guitar), Aaron Aedy (rhythm guitar) and Stephen Edmondson (bass) but frequently rotated drummers, quickly moved through "Morbid Existence", eponymous and "Frozen Illusion" (1989) demos, initially making little impact with their debut LP, "Lost Paradise" (1990), yet with the excellent "Gothic" (1991), they simultaneously paved a way for countless doom/death and gothic bands. A member of the so called Peaceville Trinity (after the Peaceville label) , along with Anathema and My Dying Bride, while their labelmates continued on for a while horizontally within the genre, the Halifax, England quintet, began to just as quickly depart from what they’ve made, and while the excellent "Shades Of God" (1992), the phenomenal "Icon" (1993, my point of entry into their catalogue) and the excellent "Draconian Times" (1995) still bore much of their signature sound, they began to shed the metal armor on the more synth/pop gothic rock/metal "One Second" (1997), finally abandoning it altogether for Depeche Mode-ian synth/pop of "Host" (1999). Mackintosh openly expressed his fascination with Depeche Mode (signs were already on "Draconian Times" for a discerning ear), especially "Songs Of Faith And Devotion" (1993), the biggest influence on "One Second" and "Host" so it was only a matter of time until Paradise Lost went that way, eventually Greg turning into a type of Martin Lee Gore (to match Nick’s David "Gahan" Callcott) for a Depeche Mode-like image Paradise Lost maintained from the music to clean-cut member looks. Then, as they moved through alternative rock (Believe In Nothing, 2001), industrial/punk gothic (Symbol Of Life, 2002) and heavy rock (eponymous, 2005), Paradise Lost begun to wane in inspiration, flashing occasional brilliance here and there for a consistent disappointment in quality.

The Paradise was regained with the excellent "In Requiem" (2007) where Nick returned to his growls to compliment his ever improving cleans. The excellent "Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us" (2009) and "Tragic Idol" (2012) both brought back the signature guitar leads, the death/doom heaviness and excellent songwriting, but it was Greg’s tenure in his death/crust project Vallenfyre (where he did commendable growls of his own) which really darkened "The Plague Within" (2015) and "Medusa" (2017) (with even some black metal ov