Proclaimed by the press materials as taking "a more raw, organic, less polished direction," the album actually manifests those qualities in a negative way, as stunted creativity and lack of sophistication. It's like listening to a heavier, charmless version of Lake of Tears. There's something kind of flat about the whole thing, particularly the vocals. Already handicapped by his voice's unignorable similarity to James Hetfield's, Nick Holmes renders himself even less of an asset by being simultaneously deadpan and over the top at the same time, a style better suited to something more tongue-in-cheek, like Reverend Bizarre. To his credit, he tries to mix things up with some softer, smoother singing but often seems stilted or mechanical, as in "Ash & Debris," and makes some embarrassing choices: the silly, bouncy "Goth" voice in "Beneath Black Skies," and in "Unreachable" the very odd exaggeration of the final 's' in words like "memories" and "this" a la Queens of the Stone Age mascot "Bulbie." A reduction of sung parts and longer guitar-oriented instrumental ones might give the album a more defined atmosphere and improve its overall quality.

Paradise Lost were surpassed long ago by hosts (no pun intended) of bands who took Gothic metal much farther than they ever have, and their efforts to step outside of that genre have been notoriously unsuccessful. Although welcomed by those clinging to Paradise Lost's glory days, In Requiem is unlikely to win over anyone else.

written by Maud

Playing time: 45:08