Three years after the gloomy, heavy and intense Medusa, gothic metal icons Paradise Lost offer a most diversified effort with Obsidian. The songs meander from slow, melodic and airy elements incorporating dreamy keyboard sounds and smooth clean vocals over more dynamic, gripping and rhythmic passages with excellent drum play and sluggish guitar riffs to short emotional outbursts in form of discordant guitar solos and haunting growls. Obsidian fluidly combines Paradise Lost's different styles, soundscapes and identities throughout the years. This album can be seen as an excellent introduction to the band for new fans but also as a concise summary of the band spirit for occasional fans.

Highlights include the slow, melodic and haunting ''Fall from Grace'', the rhythmic ''Ghosts'' with its domineering bass guitar sounds and the sinister, sluggish and discordant ''The Devil Embraced''. Just as on Medusa, Paradise Lost has included two brilliant bonus songs on the limited edition that are actually better than most regular tracks. ''Hear the Night'' convinces with longing and discordant guitar sounds, dynamic rhythm section and excellent combination of dreamy clean vocals and throaty growls. This mixture reminds of a combination of Septicflesh's experimental era two decades ago and early Crematory two and a half decades in the past. The other bonus track ''Defiler'' convinces with melodic heavy metal guitar play that slowly shifts for atmospheric, dreamy and otherworldly soundscapes. This instrumental voyage concludes a strong record on an inspired note.

If you plan on purchasing Paradise Lost's very good new record Obsidian, make sure to get your hands on the excellent limited edition with the two outstanding bonus tracks. The creative guitar play, sinister bass guitar, steady drums and variable vocals evoke gripping atmospheres that should please anyone who appreciates doom, gothic and even melodic death metal. The record isn't as intense as the excellent predecessor Medusa but proves that the genre veterans are currently experiencing a much convincing renaissance.

Final rating: 80%