Shades Of God

Music For Nations, 1992

Paradise Lost’s first two albums had charted a gradual upswing from raw extreme metal to something more grandiose. Shades Of God was the point where the evolutionary curve suddenly rocketed upwards.

Mortals Watch The Day and the grinding Crying For Eternity still had their feet planted in the doom/death metal arena, but this demonstrated a new maturity: the stark classical guitar that punctuates Daylight Torn showed there was more to them than sludgy noise and CookieMonster growls. Closing track

As I Die was the sound of a power ballad being dragged through the nine circles of hell.