Paradise Lost have done a retrospective compilations before—The Singles Collection, Reflection, and more recently 2012’s Lost in Time—but none of them are as special as Tragic Illusion 25, a collection of old and re-worked tunes celebrating the Brits’ 25th year as a functioning, productive outfit. And by re-worked, we’re not talking something stupid like an “in dub” mix or something worse like Pitchshifter remixing “As I Die.” No, we’re talking Paradise Lost—specifically frontman Nick Holmes—going back to the earliest records and re-recording the classics with death metal vocals.
The thing about Tragic Illusion 25 is that it’s extremely limited. In the U.S. only three hundred (300) mint-green 10″ vinyls will be available for sale, and that includes the accompanying CD, so you don’t have to wreck your collector’s edition vinyl. Along with “Our Savior 2013,” Paradise Lost have also included an updated version of “Gothic” called “Gothic 2013.” But, hey, you can hear “Gothic 2013” elsewhere. We got the juiciest of the classics with “Our Saviour 2013.” And, because we’re bros, we were able to nab Paradise Lost guitarist Gregor Mackintosh for an exclusive quote.
“‘Our Saviour’ was one of our present drummer’s favorite songs when he was a teenager,” says the axe-slinger, “so when we were deciding on a really early track to re-record, this was high up on the list. This version is not meant to be better or even comparable to the original, which was of a certain time when perfection was not the order of the day. It was a time when music had charm and innocence. This new version is simply an affectionate look back on that time, and hopefully we did it justice.”
From one Paradise Lost Painless to another, Gregor, you certainly did the original justice.
** Paradise Lost’s Tragic Illusion 25 is available in limited quantities on November 29th, 2013 on Century Media Records. Pre-order Tragic Illusion 25 HERE.
