PARADISE LOST

Three‑and‑a‑half decades after they coined the term “gothic metal,” Paradise Lost still write the rule book rather than reread it. Formed in Halifax in 1988, singer Nick Holmes and guitarist Greg Mackintosh now steer the veteran quintet alongside long‑time allies Aaron Aedy (guitar) and Steve Edmondson (bass), with Milan‑born drummer Guido Zima Montanarini—officially welcomed in 2023—adding fresh muscle behind the kit. Their 2020 album Obsidian proved how effortlessly the band can swing from crushing doom to eerie melody, and Mackintosh recently confirmed that its follow‑up is already halfway tracked and pencilled for a September 2025 release. When they roll into Rockhal, expect a set that stitches together early death‑doom flashpoints, era‑defining anthems like “Gothic” and “Say Just Words,” and a taste of what’s next—a reminder that melancholy, in the right hands, can hit as hard as any riff.