Latest / HEAVY Music Interviews / The Pioneers Return: PARADISE LOST’s Nick Holmes Chats With HEAVY

Transcript

The Pioneers Return: PARADISE LOST’s Nick Holmes Chats With HEAVY · HEAVY Music Interviews

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I'm Nick Holmes, vocalist of Paradise Lost. And
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: I guess we're touring in Australia in a couple of weeks.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: I think it is now. So, yeah, looking forward to it.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: First time in, I think it's 10 years, the last
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: time we came over there. So, yeah.
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: It is indeed, mate. Thanks for joining us this evening.
• 0:17
  Speaker 3: Cool. As you say, man, Paradise Lost returned to Australia
• 0:23
  Speaker 3: this month for the first time in nearly a decade.
• 0:25
  Speaker 3: Planned three shows at kickoff in Brisbane on October 18th
• 0:28
  Speaker 3: before hitting Sydney and Melbourne over consecutive nights. So the
• 0:31
  Speaker 3: big question is, mate, why have you neglected us for
• 0:34
  Speaker 3: so long? Ten years is a long time.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Well, that wasn't on purpose. It's just the way things
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: turn out. You know, I mean, we had two years
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: with the COVID thing. So that was two years straight
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: away there. That was taken away. from any touring activity
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: at that point. I don't know, I honestly don't know
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: where the time goes. I can remember the last one
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: like it was yesterday. It's just the way it turns out.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: We certainly haven't been neglecting any other place, but it's
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: just the case, it's just how it's turned out. But
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: we're here, hopefully they're going to be there soon, so
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: it's all good. Nice.
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: And what's actually changed with the band since you were
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: here last?
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: I think we've had probably maybe a couple of drummer
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: changes since then. Well, we definitely have had a couple
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: of drum changes since then. So we've probably done a
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: couple of albums, I guess. Yeah, at least one album.
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: Maybe two.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: So, yeah, no, it is kind of scary how fast
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: it's gone. But like I said, I can remember it
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: like it was yesterday, the last time we were there.
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: So it's strange.
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think from my record, the last time you
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: were here, you released two records. So you've had Obsidian
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: and Ascension. So you've got 17 albums all up now, bro. So, like,
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: how brutal do you have to be in the rehearsal
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: room when you're cutting songs to fit a set list
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: for fans who haven't seen you in a while?
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: It's always a bit tricky.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: I mean, we always try and base any set around
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: the newest album. We try and get a good cross-section
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: of the new album in. But then, obviously, you don't
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: want to neglect. albums in the past that may have
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: been very popular in the past. So, yeah, no, it's
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: always something that's a constant kind of, we're always spinning
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: plates with different songs and trying to keep, but we
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: try and base it around the new album, basically. And
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: then we kind of see which songs we know work
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: and which don't work over the years previous to that,
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: I guess.
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: Do you find that, like, in different countries, you have
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: to drop some songs because they don't work so well
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: there where they might work better somewhere else?
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: Well, I mean, yeah, I mean, it depends really. I mean,
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: we sort of stick to what we know works as
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: a set. If it's an hour or 90 minutes or whatever,
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: we stick to what we know works, where it's worked
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: in other places. So we try to stick to that.
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: There's not really been any incident where we've found something
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: kind of goes down worse than another song somewhere else.
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: But I guess it's the availability of the album in that.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: particular territory but now they're able to the internet you
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: can get whatever you want whenever you want so it's
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: it's not like it was years ago with distribution things.
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: Like that yeah very true now you'd be hitting the
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: triffid in brisbane you got the factory theater in sydney
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: and max watts in melbourne so they're fantastic sweaty high
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: energy rooms but they're a world away from the massive
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: european festival stages where you've been so i know they're
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: both different scenarios mate but as a performer is there
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: any different way that you approach say the bigger outdoor
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: festivals for the inside.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: Ones I guess if you're playing indoors, you know, you've
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: got the, it depends on the size of the place,
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: but I mean, you know, you've got the luxury of
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: a light show if it's a particularly bigger indoors place,
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: but a smaller place, then you just got to accommodate
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: and make the best of what you've got. I mean,
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: it depends on what you're playing. I mean, we've played
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: every size venue you can possibly think of. So, you know,
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: we play a lot of outdoor festivals in daylight, which
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: isn't our ideal medium, but at the same time, there's
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: usually a lot bigger crowds, obviously at big festivals. So
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: it's a European festival. But I mean, we played every
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: single size venue, literally, you could think of. We played
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: like shoeboxes, practically. I mean, we've done everything. And arenas
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: a lot. So, as long as we can all fit
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: on the stage and there's electricity, then we just.
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: Do what we can. Yeah, nice. So, Ascension is your
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: latest album, mate.
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: So, which of the new tracks from that are you
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: most eager to play for us over here in Australia? Like,
• 4:35
  Speaker 3: have songs like, you've got songs there like Serpent to
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: the Cross or Savage Days. Do they evolve much in
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: the live setting from what they were on the album?
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: Serpent to the Cross, for sure. We'll definitely be playing that.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: We might be playing the song Salvation.
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: Depends.
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: And the song Sound Like the Grave. Sounds like the
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: greatest one we've been playing on. I mean, there's other
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: songs on that album which we haven't explored live, which
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: we might do next time. You know, there's certain songs
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: that are kind of first out of the gate in
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: a live situation and they kind of jump out at
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: you after you've recorded them as well. But then you
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: can explore other songs as well, like you said. So it's,
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: you know, we sort of initially go with the gut
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: feeling of the initial ones for the first part of
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: touring and then we might look at things later on,
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: you know.
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, right. Have a look at the routing for the tour, mate. Like,
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: it's pretty wild, too.
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: Like, you're hitting India and China for the first time ever,
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: and you return to Japan for the first time in
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: 30 years, and.
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: You come to Australia. So do you have to sort of.
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: Prepare for a run that spans so many different cultural
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: and geographical shifts in one go?
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: It's not so much cultural as you're not there long
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: enough to even notice anything other than an airport and
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: an hotel room. This is the thing. I mean, it's...
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: you don't really have the luxury of tightening with a vacation,
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: which many, many years ago, you maybe have a few
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: days off or you would spend a few, you know,
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: you spend a week there and maybe do three shows.
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: But now you don't do that. You do one show,
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: then you fly out and you do another show.
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: It's kind of, you just kind of forget where you
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: are from one day to the next. And then you've got, um,
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: you know, time zones as well, which is also a
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: bit of a killer. I've just done a run in
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: South America, a similar kind of thing with Bloodbath, my
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: other band.
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: It's, you kind of feed on touch the ground. It's, it's, um,
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: But it's really great to play. We've never played China,
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: we've never played India. And obviously Japan, summer year since
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: we played there. So I'm really, really looking forward to
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: trying out those places to play. So it's always great
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: to play places we haven't been before.
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: True that, true that.
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: You've had Jeff Singer step back behind the kit for
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: this year in the band too.
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: So how's having him back in the fall altered or
• 6:40
  Speaker 3: sort of locked in the live dynamic and energy on
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: stage during this cycle?
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: He was great when he was in the band the
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: first time round. When his children were very little, he
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: wanted to spend more time at home with his children
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: growing up. He came back very naturally. We're still mates.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: We've always been friends all the way through anyway. He
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: fits totally in with his age. He has the same
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: sense of humour. He just fits totally in. He's very
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: professional about what he does. He cares about what he does.
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: He's been absolutely fine. He's a real asset to the band,
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: you know.
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah, sweet.
• 7:16
  Speaker 3: And you recently marked the 35th anniversary of your landmark
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: sophomore album, Gothic. So you pretty much helped name and
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: build an entire subgenre with that album, mate. So looking
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: back from where you sit now, how do you feel
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: about the way Gothic metal has evolved and shifted and
• 7:33
  Speaker 3: been interpreted over the years? I don't know.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: I mean, it's just a couple of words put together, really,
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: isn't it?
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, true.
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: When we started out, it was all about genres and sub-genres,
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: you know, and everyone was trying to find a footing with, obviously,
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: thrash metal, death metal, black metal, and there was very,
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: very few sub-genres when we started it. And I guess
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: things kind of change over time and they evolve. I mean,
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: what's considered as black metal isn't the black metal that
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: I grew up with. Black metal was just like pretty
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: much Venom and nothing else at one point. And then
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: it became the kind of more Baffy-orientated type music. And
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: that kind of became what that is. I mean, I
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: guess gothic metal means... someone who's a teenager doesn't mean
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: what we do at all. It's probably more like something
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: like Evanescence or that kind of thing. So, or even,
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: I mean, even, yeah, I mean, I don't, I mean,
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: I kind of try not to get too bogged down
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: in that kind of stuff.
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you get lost, don't you?
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: We basically, I mean, we came up with that expression
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: because there was pretty much, we were really into kind
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: of the goth side of music. We also were into
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: death metal and we said, well, what can we call this?
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: And we said, we'll just call it that. And that's
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: pretty much the way. where it came.
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: From stuck.
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: That's sort of along those lines man like paradise lost
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: and never been afraid to experiment musically you've explored every
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: corner of the genre from the dark brooding material to
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: sludgy doom death territory and recently you've got like cinematic
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: elements in there so how do you find the balance
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: of styles and experimentalization in the creative process.
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: It's about what you're into at the time i mean
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: if you You know, you can't put your heart into
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: something if you're not actually into it necessarily. I mean,
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: whatever it is at the time, whatever album we've released
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: is what we were into at the time. It's totally...
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: It's based around that and the very sort of organic
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: reasons for everything that happens when we record it. It's
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: not about trying to jump on... I mean, you've got
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: to be aware of things that are out there and
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: shifts in, you know, taste in the music and all
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: that kind of thing. But ultimately, you've got to follow
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: your heart with it because it's... If you don't do that,
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: you're not going to be convincing in anything you do
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: if you're just trying to purely jump onto a bandwagon
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: without really having your heart in it. So it's about that.
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: We've always done that. We've been like that since we started.
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: We haven't really changed in that aspect. When it comes
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: to songwriting, we have as much passion about songwriting now
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: as we did when we were teenagers. you know, and
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: it's as simple as that, really.
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: Yeah, no, I said before, man, like, you're 17 albums in,
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: you're nearly four decades playing music, mate, so do you
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: ever think you'll get to the stage where you actually
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: start to play it safe instead of experimenting so much
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: because either it's too much trouble?
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: The last few albums have a certain sort of similar
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: sort of vibe to it. I mean, the kind of
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: stuff we did on the last album is pretty much
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: where it's a real... we really like that kind of
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: very heavy, very dark. I mean, that's what the band's
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: about anyway. Even when we weren't as heavy, it was
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: still very dark. Everything we do is always very dark.
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: That's just the nature of the songwriting and how we are. Yeah.
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: But it's, yeah, I mean, we're very self-comfortable in the
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: last sort of few albums, that sort of area that
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: it's in, you know, it's sort of a nice spot
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: for us. And it's pretty much like we started the band,
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: you know, it's not maybe as death metal oriented, but
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: still that, leading that way is very much where we're,
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: and we still love that, you know, that genre. It's
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: our teenage years, you know what I mean? So we're
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: still going to always love that, you know.
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, very nice.
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: All right, Nick, well, thanks very much for your time, mate.
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: Paradise Lost Start in Australia for three shows from October 18th,
• 11:03
  Speaker 3: starting in Brisbane, mate.
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: So best of luck and travel safe.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I appreciate it, man.
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: Thanks.
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: Nice to speak to you. Thanks.