The Great Collection Rediscovery

Album: A Twist in the Myth

Old Rating: 4/5

Verdict: Following on from what I said about this on the A Night at the Opera entry, I've actually listened to this more than that album, yet I do think that overall that album is the stronger of the two. This one does though have quite a lot of great songs that I feel inclined to play outside of the context of the whole record, but I've never shock the feeling that A Twist in the Myth is lesser than the sum of its parts. 

New Rating: No Change. 

Album: Believe in Nothing

Old Rating: 3/5

Verdict: Same deal as Host, this only made it's way into my collection after this project started, but again, I'm going all the Paradise Lost albums in order. They brought back the metal on this one, but existing somewhere between gothic and alternative now, with some industrial. Not a bad album per se, but it is perhaps Paradise Lost's dullest release, with no real standout tracks for me. 

New Rating: No Change. 

Album: One Second

Old Rating: 4/5

Verdict: Paradise Lost start to enter their goth rock phase, but this one is still pretty heavy on the guitars with it. Historically I've tended to cap this album at 4 stars because it's a bit outside of my usual interests and it was also one of the first two I got from them and I was listening to the other one, In Requiem, a whole lot more, but I've grown to really appreciate this one over time. Perhaps a step down from Draconian Times, but still a great record and another unique Paradise Lost album entry.

New Rating: 4.5/5

Album: The Old Man and The Spirit

Old Rating: 4.5/5

Verdict: A damn fine prog metal debut here from a band that showed hell of a lot of promising for the coming decade when it dropped in 2012...yet it's still their 'current' album. A real shame.

New Rating: No Change. 

Album: Electric Pentagram

Old Rating: 5/5

Verdict: I'm really just including this in this blog because A) it was in my collection when I started this and B) it's been out since January but everything I want to say about this is going to be in a proper review that will be posted shortly. For now, just a rating change, which is happening a lot with albums once they get out of the honeymoon period. 

New Rating: 4.5/5

I'm a bit like that with this one. It's like if you get the hankering for AiC with Layne you reach for Facelift and Dirt and then this one if those haven't sated you. Or you might just listen those again first.

Album: In The L..L..Library Loft

Old Rating: 3.5/5

Verdict: This is certainly an album that those who really know my taste may be surprised that I have (I mean I have this but no Kayo Dot, come on right?) but this represents one of my most unusual second hand shop finds as well as a cautionary tale in regard to not being liberal with MMA tagging. You see when I noticed this album I immediately recognised the name Toby Driver and knew of this album and that it had been filed under Avant-Garde Metal on MMA. It was an instant buy. So imagine my surprise when I listened to it that it really wasn't that metal at all, just a few scattered elements here and there within music that wasn't even rock. As it happens I did somewhat enjoy the album and all these years later have found a bit more appreciation for it even though this will never be something that I listen to very often, but still, it's something to bear in mind with why we need to have our tags right here. 

New Rating: 4/5

I'd consider myself an old school fan, in that I had all the previous albums. Personally, I still loved this, but I've always been in somewhat of an insular bubble with few real life metal acquaintances.