Paradise Lost

As Paradise Lost celebrate their 25th anniversary with Tragic Illusion 25, the range of sounds on this collection of rarities offers a sense of the ground the band has charted over the years. To fully appreciate the record requires an appreciation of that journey, as well as some openness to a few sonic digressions. The two covers (originally by Spear of Destiny and Everything But the Girl) document Paradise Lost's lighter, gothier predilections, while two orchestral collaborations reveal some intense melodrama, in a mix of show tunes and neoclassical film soundtracks. Other tracks lean more towards sleaze rock ("Cardinal Zero"), radio rock "(Back on Disaster"), groove ("Sons of Perdition") and industrial ("Godless"). However, several are more straightforward, at least in Paradise Lost terms, intertwining gritty doom and eerie leads. Most of the tracks come from special edition releases — often the Japanese version of one of the last few albums — but three are new recordings: 2013 versions of "Gothic" and "Our Saviour" (applying new production values and skill to classic songs), as well as all-new track "Loneliness Remains" (capturing much of the same "updated classic" vibe). This makes for an interesting grab bag of goodies, but there are no gems, just curiosities. This may be enough for a Paradise Lost completist, and there's some pleasure in finding this material gathered in one place, but it's a tad underwhelming.