The new album feels like a natural progression from In Requiem except that here the band has delved into their entire back catalogue and this really is the most cohesive album the band has recorded in a while. These riffs could have been on any PL album Icon onwards and the entire album has a comforting vintage Paradise Lost feel to them. There are surprises right through the album though and the band has finally managed to incorporate their melodic softer side with their heavy doom metal on this new album.

Stand out tracks include the awesome opening two songs with As Horizons End sounding like vintage PL and something that could have been on Icon while I Remain does a stellar job of mixing the older doom vibe with the modern sounds of the self titled album complete with some signature Gregor Mackintosh solos. The first half of the album in fact shows the band off in top form. First Light shows off the gothic tinge that the band acquired over the years and incorporates the atmosphere and melody of Host with some heavy lumbering doom riffs and some very cool guitar lines. Frailty starts off with a gentle keyboard melody and while I was prepared for a ballad what I got instead was what I can only describe as some clean black metal riffing at the verse and vintage Paradise Lost song craft when it gets to the chorus. The title song rounds out the first half of the album and is another song that mixes soft, gentle melodies with heavier parts and comes across almost like some gothic doom rock and works really well. The Rise of Denial mixes the whole Draconian Times sound with some modern chug and a melodic solo spot while Living with Scars once again shows the band trying something new with the riffs and the song structure and not really confirming to the tried and tested. The album closes with the awesome In Truth that comes complete with big riffs, melody, the odd electronic noise and Nick Holmes’ best impersonation of Dave Gahan.

Mackintosh and Aedy haven’t sounded this good in a long while and the entry of Adrian Erlandsson behind the drums has really given the band some much needed back bone. The only slight downside is that Nick Holmes is about half the singer he used to be 10 years ago. Consider the band has been around for a little more than twenty years though and it’s a minor complaint because the man can still sing circles round most people.

Not all of it is great and a couple of the songs like Universal Dream and Last Regret are a bit dull. Having said that, this is the best the band has been in a long while. The songwriting for much of this album is top class and at just a shade over 45 minutes Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us is too short to get boring. This is the album I’ve wanted to hear from the band for a while now and Paradise Lost has finally come up with an album that pretty much touches on everything they’ve done before without actually coming across as self plagiarizing. Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us is easily the band’s best effort in a long while.

Label - Century Media

Year of Release - 2009