One of the greatest advantages of working in the otherwise pretty slimy music business is that simetimes and I repeat that, s-o-m-e-t-i-m-e-s you have the ultimate chance to hear an album by your favourite band even before its leakage in the net. Even though I'm sure it's not very kind of me to boast off, I must admit that such activity makes my day every now and then. What's more, in the end of the day you get paid for it. It's awesome, isn't it? Yeah, I know, you can hardly wait to learn the datails of your next job application, but, you know, there's much more important work I have to do for you right know. PARADISE LOST 's albums, bred through the years, proved to be very different beasts- from the childish vile of the debut and 'Gothic', which succeeded in creating a whole sub-genre through classic masterpieces like 'Icon' и 'Draconian Times' up to the experimental, almost post punk and dark wave approach in до 'One Second' and the most contemporary efforts to re-visit the original roots of the band. Those who follow PARADISE LOST won't be surprised to learn that my first impression from 'Faith Divides Us...' is that this time they have accomplished the heaviest piece if music since probably 'Shades Of God'. I don't mention this 17 years old album just by chance. There's a reason about it, believe me. The band might have followed similar principles back thenm as the sound of the new album is very dry and empty of unnecessary synths despite the existing technologies. This is not the one and only criteria by which 'Faith Dividies Us, Death Unites Us' is comparable to 'Shades Of God'. ‘The Rise Of Denial’ for instance is very similar in approach to 'As I Die' and 'Pity The Sadness'. Of course comparisons that I make are rather conditional. Do not expect to have a nice time travel. Nick's gritty and in the same time melodic (50/50) voice, complex compositions and the whole atmosphere very often reminds me of the recent PL's albums. Two years ago the then new album 'In Requiem' was recognized by lots of fans as a descendant of the bloodline of 'Draconian Times' and ‘Icon’. Is this an intentional tendency that can lead to new 'Gothic' and 'Lost Paradise'? I doubt it. Without being depraved of epic structures (which like in the old days were results if great guitar harmonies), the new album from the originators of gothic metal has its very metal accents like 'I Remain', 'Living With Scars' and 'Universal Dream'- songs full of riffs, that can make your lawn die-out, birds fall from wires, your thyroid gland fuck up and clouds slowly cover the skies above you. And when the earth beneath begins to shake with cold and melancholy of the apocalyptic finale of 'In Truth', all of a sudden there's a possibility the summer to turn into winter. I know you want that.