Paradise Lost Successfully “Infect” Zagreb (2015)

Arhiv Arhiv Last updated 11 June 2026

Author: Primož Novak
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik

Location: Zagreb / Vintage Industrial Bar / Croatia
Concert date: October 27, 2015
Attendance: 500
Ticket price: €22.00

For the pioneers of English doom/gothic metal Paradise Lost, the good reception of this year’s album The Plague Within meant it was time for some extensive promo in the form of gigs. The band hit the road for a European tour, evidently wanting to win back even those who had given up on them. The Plague Within (review HERE) goes back to the days when the band played more doom/death metal, while of course dressed up in a modern outfit, so it’s counting on newer fans too.

The turnout at Vintage Industrial Bar in Zagreb gave the impression that interest in the band is far from fading. Maybe it has even grown. The hall with its bar is a bit reminiscent of Orto Bar, except VIB has more room. The beer selection is varied and the prices are friendly too.

No support acts? Of course not, not this time either. Before the headliners, Lucifer took the stage, aiming to enchant with the sounds of psychedelic and occult rock. The band partly rose from the remains of the German outfit The Oath, but the more important fact here is that Gaz Jennings was holding the guitar, a heavyweight of the English doom scene who played in the legendary Cathedral. As expected, Lucifer’s music, which doesn’t bring anything new, is full of catchy stoner rock and doom metal moves. But the vocals spoiled it. The cute Johanna Sadonis just doesn’t have the right timbre for this kind of music. She’s too bright and doesn’t mesh with the heavy riffs the band serves up. Maybe she was just coming down with a cold (though she doesn’t convince on the album either). That’s where Lucifer’s promise fizzles out. And bands like this with female vocals are a dime a dozen these days anyway.

Paradise Lost opened their set with the new No Hope in Sight, which made it clear that singer Nick Holmes is in more than solid shape. His growl was strong, while the clean singing was less pronounced, or rather a lot quieter. With his calm, apathetic and melancholic attitude throughout the whole show, Holmes did justice to the band’s music, which was never exactly cheerful. The band also played with a stand-in drummer. Their current official one is too busy touring with At The Gates, so young Waltteri Väyrynen sat behind the kit and did his job solidly, without any notable mistakes. Nothing to remark on with the rest: the bassist is still calm, while the Mackintosh/Aedy guitar duo sway along quite nicely. Mackintosh looks more and more like Al Jourgensen (Ministry), only he doesn’t seem so wrecked from drugs. As a whole, the band was as tight as you’d expect for their years.

The crowd wasn’t always thrilled with the whole repertoire. True, the band did play a few older songs, like Widow, The Painless and Enchantment. On The Painless the female vocals were still coming off the backing track, which sadly was anything but original. On top of that, the band threw in the »gem« Erased, from the period when they veered more toward pop and added elements of industrial rock. Paradise Lost have always tried something new and evolved, but that era isn’t exactly the most popular. When the crowd didn’t show the best signs of enthusiasm for the song choices, Holmes calmly remarked: »If you don’t like our music, there’s a bar over there.« But there wasn’t much to complain about regarding the performance itself. It was solid. The band is capable of giving more, but this tour is evidently grueling, so they take some dates easy and play the whole thing more on autopilot, which you could feel at times this time too. You could also nitpick Holmes, who in certain parts had needlessly pre-recorded vocals. The band said goodnight after 12 songs, but at the crowd’s call they came back and tried once more to win people over with new material, and on top of that added Faith Divide Us, Death Unite Us and the closer Say Just Words.

Logically, the emphasis was on the new album, which the band really dedicated themselves to and wanted to present in the best light. Paradise Lost showed that, despite their years, they can still muster some roughness and energy, so reviving the doom/death metal element worked, fitting nicely with the band’s trademark style. Next time, let’s hope for no more of those moments when it all felt like routine.

Setlist

PARADISE LOST:
1. No Hope in Sight
2. Widow
3. The Painless
4. Erased
5. Flesh from Bone
6. Praise Lamented Shade
7. Victim of the Past
8. Enchantment
9. Beneath Broken Earth
10. As I Die
11. Requiem
—encore—
12. Return to the Sun
13. Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us
14. An Eternity of Lies
15. Say Just Words