UMUR "Symbol of Life" is the 9th full-length studio album by UK goth/doom metal act Paradise Lost. The album was released through GUN Records (Europe) and Koch Records (USA) in October 2002. Paradise Lost started out in the late 80s/early 90s as a doom/death metal act with a dark and rather brutal sound, but soon added gothic atmopsheres and melancholic lead guitar melodies to their sound. After a couple of more albums Paradise Lost focused even more on the gothic element of their sound but also began to use keyboards more extensively, culminating in the electronic oriented heavy rock album "Host" from 1999. At that point Paradise Lost had shed almost every heavy metal element from their sound, and while "Believe in Nothing (2001)" brought back a more guitar driven sound, it wasn´t the most hard edged gothic metal album either.

On "Symbol of Life", Paradise Lost is back doing what they do best. And that´s to write and play gothic/doom metal. They haven´t shed the keyboards or the occasional use of electronics, but the heavy doom laden riffs and rhythms are back, and lead vocalist Nick Holmes also sounds more commanding on this release than he did on the last couple of releases.

The album opens with the heavy "Isolate" and continues with one of the album highlights in "Erased". The latter features additional female vocals by Joanna Stevens, who perfectly compliments the low register male vocals by Holmes. Other highlights include "Pray Nightfall", the title track, and "Mystify". "Symbol of Life" also features a couple of slightly faster and (relatively) more aggressive tracks in "Self-Obsessed" and "Channel for the Pain", which provide the album with some dynamics and variation. The limited edition of the album features two bonus tracks, which are both worth a mention. The first is a cover of "Xavier" by Dead Can Dance, and the second is a cover of "Small Town Boy" by Bronski Beat. Especially the former is quite the brilliant cover. The latter mentioned is also great, but as "Small Town Boy" was already covered by Depressive Age a couple of years prior (on their 1996 album "Electric Scum"), it feels a bit more redundant here.

Paradise Lost enlisted producer Rhys Fulber (Fear Factory, Nailbomb, Front Line Assembly) to work on "Symbol of Life" and he is more or less the perfect fit for the band´s gothic/doom metal style with keyboards and electronics. Fulber has created a heavy, clear, and detailed sound production, which suits the material perfectly. So upon conclusion "Symbol of Life" is a slight return to form for Paradise Lost after a couple of more questionable releases. It´s not a perfect album, and it does feature a couple of unremarkable tracks (or fillers if you like), but the best tracks and even the second best tracks are high quality material and a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

Warthur Of all the albums of Paradise Lost's mid-career cruise through gothic rock/gothic metal territory - commencing after they more or less abandoned their old death-doom sound on One Second before crawling back towards doom metal territory in their late career - Symbol of Life might be their most instantaneously accessible blend of synth-happy gothic rock in a Sisters of Mercy vein with more gothic metal guitar riffage.

With heavy guitars making a welcome return to their sound, the band manage a really nice, smooth fusion of the different styles, producing something which is accessible enough to have gained a certain amount of commercial traction (at least, it's the Paradise Lost album from this period I saw most heavily promoted in my neck of the woods) whilst at the same time feeling like the band actually believe in what they're doing here more than they did on the slightly directionless Host.

Those for whom a Paradise Lost separated from their extreme metal roots is no Paradise Lost at all will likely turn their nose up at this album, but for those with an appetite for more pop-oriented metal, Symbol of Life finds Paradise Lost adjusting their musical direction and really hitting on an appealing new course, with the lessons of Host and Believe In Nothing fully integrated whilst at the same time the band allow their metal instincts to come back to the fore. On the whole, surprisingly good: I genuinely didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did.