CONCERT REVIEW: PARADISE LOST WITH TROUBLE AT THE BRIGHTON MUSIC HALL

Joanna Gleason
20 hours ago
3 min read

On May 21, 2025, The Brighton Music Hall welcomed Paradise Lost, an English gothic metal band. Formed in Halifax, West Yorkshire, in 1988, Paradise Lost are considered to be among the pioneers of the death-doom genre and regarded as the main influence for the later gothic metal movement.

Opening the night was Trouble, the American doom metal band from Chicago, Illinois. Formed in 1978, the group set the tone for the evening. They are often considered one of the pioneers of doom metal and have been referred to as one of the genre’s “big four” alongside Candlemass, Pentagram and Saint Vitus. The band created a distinct style, taking influences from the British heavy metal bands Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, and psychedelic rock of the 1960s.

Trouble’s first two albums, Psalm 9 and The Skull, are cited as landmarks of doom metal. They have released eight studio albums. Core members include guitarists Rick Wartell and Bruce Franklin, drummer Garry Naples, vocalist Kyle Thomas, and bassist Rob Hultz.

At The Brighton Music Hall Trouble was terrific. Taking influences from the early heavy rock bands of the 1970s such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Budgie, and Black Sabbath, and psychedelic rock of the 1970s, Trouble’s music has been some of the slowest tempos being written at a time when NWOBHM and thrash metal bands were playing at increasingly faster speed.

At 9:30 p.m. Paradise Lost hit the stage. Originally coming from death metal, Paradise Lost exerted a decisive influence on the development of death doom and gothic metal in the early 1990s, with their 1991 album Gothic being considered one of the best heavy metal albums of the year. The band experienced a considerable shift in style between 1997 and 2002, on their albums One Second through Symbol of Life.

One Second, the sixth studio album released by Paradise Lost, marks the group’s transition from a gothic metal act to a more electronic direction. It is the bestselling record of their career and enabled the band to sign with the German branch of major label EMI. It is also Paradise Lost’s first album recorded in digital format. In 2020, it was named one of the 20 best metal albums of 1997 by Metal Hammer Magazine.

Symbol of Life re-establishes a heavier gothic metal tone. It is the ninth studio album released by Paradise Lost. It marks a departure by the band from their synth-based approach and returning to a much heavier sound, although not abandoning the keyboards altogether. This album was the final release featuring drummer Lee Morris.

Believe in Nothing released on 26 February 2001 moved the band to a more alternative rock direction. It is one of the last albums in the much lighter sound which characterized the band’s sound since One Second. There were a lot of negative critics of the album. In 2007, Nick Holmes confessed:

“We were never really happy with the production on that album. I think the songs on the album were good, but I definitely wouldn’t rank the album overall amongst our top five albums ever. We were all very confused by a lot of things going on around us at the time, and I think that’s reflected in the rather dour tone of the songs. Practically all of us were on prescribed drugs at that time! (Laughs) I was taking such strong anti-depressants at the time that I didn’t really know what was going on at the time. The artwork for the album is a classic example where our brains were at the time. There were just bees in my head…”

As a professional rock music photographer, I did not shoot a lot of Heavy Metal Bands, but I was intrigued by Paradise Lost and Trouble. When I entered The Brighton Music Hall, the atmosphere was unique, with more men present and many wearing motorcycle jackets, while the women had heavy makeup. Both groups loved Heavy Metal Bands and were very enthusiastic to see these bands, Trouble from Chicago and Paradise Lost from England. It was effectively a great night of music.