The Cult - Beyond Good And Evil (2001)

With exactly a week to go 'till The Cult give us Choice of Weapon, I am preparing for the imminent arrival by acquainting myself with their often overlooked 2001 comeback album Beyond Good And Evil. More than six years after the ill-received self-title effort a.k.a "The Black Sheep Album", Billy Duffy & Ian Astbury reunited with some former & some new collaborates to produce one of The Cult's most distinctive albums. After Electric, The Cult built a career as a duo of volatile Bluesy Hard Rockers with hankerings toward Native American themes, paired with a revolving door line-up of bass players & drummers. Beyond Good And Evil however is darker & heavier than the The Cult's trinity of Electric, Sonic Temple & Ceremony. Replacing bite with bludgeon, & straying from the "He-Dog Sound" to bring forward darker songs that conjure a more Gothic & gritty atmosphere. The mesmerisingly murky American Gothic, misty Ashes And Ghosts & the charged Rise are magical moments of unique & hazy beauty lacquered in black with slight lashings of self-destruction, love, hate & torment. Alt. rock tinged cuts Speed of Light & Libertine further showcase Beyond Good And Evil's experimental & vital spirit, the album is far from the usual Cult style, Beyond Good & Evil is a standout in their discography & therefore is essential for any fan of The Cult.

Best Tracks: War (The Process), The Saint, American Gothic, Ashes And Ghosts, Speed Of Light & Libertine

Paradise Lost - Tragic Idol (2012)

Out for almost 3 weeks & still top of my listening charts, Paradise Lost's newest offering is a compelling testament of bleakness & hope rapped in strong but beautiful melody. Currently in the 24th year, the gloomy Yorkshireman have a reputation of pounding out solid albums (aside from their Synthpop phase), & this album, their 13th is no exception. I would even go far enough to say that it stands shoulder-to-shoulder to their classic albums, Icon & Draconian Times, maybe not as ground-breaking, but beautifully woven together with not a riff or lyric out of place. Slight hints of Alt. Rock & Dark Pop filter through, but Tragic Idol is squarely & staunchly Metal, gloomy Metal. Despite not being Goth, the album & the band in general could be described as Gothic, in the older sense of the word. Defined melodic leads & grinding riffs permeate standouts Fear Of Impending Hell & the title track. Other notable additions are pianos present of Solitary One & a magnificently soaring chorus on To The Darkness. A must have for anyone who has a romantic fascination with gray skies, dark lonely nights & darkly tormenting nightmares. & overall a hallmark for a band who at their age can still pummel, long after many of their contemporariness have fizzled out, or become self-parodying self-tribute acts.

Best Tracks: Solitary One, Fear Of Impending Hell, To The Darkness & Tragic Idol

Darkest Era - The Last Caress of Light (2011)

Although the release of the album was very low key (especially that it is out on Metal Blade, only one of the top 5 metal labels on Earth) this album is full of fire. From the first strums of epic opener The Morrigan, Ireland's Darkest Era conjure gray & sodden landscapes filled with druids & Celtic warriors & other epics goings-on. At this point you may go "cheesy Folksy Medieval Metal crap", but no !!! Anything but. No keyboards. No samples. No giddy violins. Just strong melodic guitars, hardy rhythmic underpinnings & one epic voice. The bands secret is Krum, their singer. Although singer doesn't do him justice, Wailing Wind-Caller is a more appropriate. All songs, bar non have hearty choruses, far from poppy but irresistible to sing-along too. Lyrically the album follows suit to it's epic sound and the subject matter is what most Old-time Singing bands should be writing. The battle hymns of The Morrigan, the celestial sorcery & mournful introspect of Beneath The Frozen Skies & the dark druidry of Heathen Burial are shining examples of Ballad-like story-telling in the Metal context. The album nears a conclusion with an actual Irish folk song Poem To The Gael & then finally closes with the eleven minute saga of The Last Caress Of Light Before The Dark. Crashing like the waves on the black rocks of Ireland's shores, the album is a must-hear

Best Tracks: The Morrigan, Beneath The Frozen Skies & The Last Caress Of Light Before The Dark