LIVE REVIEW: Paradise Lost @ Gorilla, Manchester
Gorilla is a venue that stands as one of the hidden gems of the Manchester live music scene. Built into the archway of the railway bridge near Deansgate Locks, and situated right across the road from The Ritz, it has developed a solid reputation for putting on excellent, intimate live shows by world class bands. Intimate shows can often provide a great deal more intensity to a live performance, and more often than not, it makes for a much better experience for fans and musicians alike. Nonetheless, it feels strange to see a band of the calibre of PARADISE LOST play there; they are a band that feel more at home at festivals and in large halls, in front of massive crowds, as opposed to a smaller club venue like this one, having carved out a respectable following over the course of thirty years and fifteen brilliant studio albums. But for a band with as much live experience as they have, and with great support bands in tow, this ultimately proves to be another great gig in an equally great venue.
KING GOAT open proceedings with an impressive aural assault of tar-thick, sludgy and prog-inflected doom. This Brighton band have been taking the live scene in the UK by storm for the last few years, and they command the stage and the crowd as if they were headlining, and it does feel as though they should have featured higher up the bill, as opposed to opening the show. Although suffering from some minor sound issues initially, they manage to put on a great, atmospheric show, comprising of three long, powerful songs, that do a great job of warming the crowd up for the rest of the evening.
Rating: 8/10
Next up, we have Sweden’s OUTSHINE, who are practically impeccable onstage tonight, putting on a musical display that is easily performance of the night. They are, in many ways, reminiscent of the headliners, both in the hard rock tinged, gothic tones of their music and the quality of their stage performance. They play the crowd with an assured confidence and impressive showmanship, and it’s hard to find fault with their show. The only issue that can be found is that they didn’t get anywhere near as much time onstage, as their allotted time of 45 minutes comes to an end far too quickly. Today marks the release of their fifth studio album, 1313, and as a result, the setlist calls upon plenty of the new material, with five of their nine song set coming from that new record. It’s essentially an album launch show, and helps herald the dawn of this band’s newest musical chapter with a bang. Without sounding too cheesy, they live up to their name and out shine both of the other bands they are sharing the stage with.
Rating: 9/10
Speaking of which, the evening is fast approaching its climactic moments, and it’s finally time for PARADISE LOST to hit the stage; Their set borrows heavily from their latest record, Medusa, with five of the album’s eight tracks appearing at some point throughout the set. Songs like Blood and Chaos, The Longest Winter and To The Gallows sit well alongside established fan favourites like Enchantment, True Belief and Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us, which is a testament to the quality of the new music. This set also featured tracks from the band’s mid-era, synth-Rock output, which helps give a good scope of PARADISE LOST‘s entire recording history, and goes down incredibly well with audience. Strangely, no tracks from the soon to be re-issued Host were played, and there were a couple of their more well known songs that were conspicuous by their absence, most notably The Enemy and Forever Failure. The band perform expertly, the crowd eagerly lap up every moment of it and by the time that the final song comes to a close, there’s no doubt that the evening has been capped off with another amazing performance.
All in all, each of the three bands put on stellar shows tonight, and they all manage to make the most out of the more intimate setting of the gig, turning what would have been great shows regardless into excellent ones. Both KING GOAT and, in particular, OUTSHINE, managed to put on shows that were respectively on par with, and in the latters case, even surpassing, their more well known and accomplished tour mates. For PARADISE LOST, it acts as a showcase of a band that are, even three decades into their career, at their absolute peak, both creatively and as a live unit. If nothing else, tonight affirms the fact that PARADISE LOST are, secretly, still one of the best metal bands in the UK, if not the world.
Rating: 9/10
Check out our photo gallery from the night’s action in Manchester from Em Coulter Photography here:
