Can we get any info on this album at all?
According to Wikipedia, the theme of the Paradise Lost album was revealed as early as 15 months early. It was released on June 26, 2007, but Michael Romeo confirmed the theme of the album as early as March 18, 2006. (
source). In an interview filmed in Sweden, Michael Romeo and Russell Allen said that there was a huge pile of material left over from PL, and they would be going through it and creating a new work out of it. (See youtube link below).
We participants of this forum have been chastised for not being sufficiently enthusiastic about the upcoming release, but the fact is that nobody wants to say anything until we actually have some kind of fact -- or even semi-fact -- to sink our teeth into. If
something were revealed, anything whatsoever, I think the level of enthusiasm would ramp up.
I know it's not fashionable among the SX cognoscenti to enjoy the PL album too much, but I personally think every single song deserves a rock-solid five stars. (I'm excluding the brief intro track). If SX is ready to produce an album with the same energy and musical prowess as PL -- either with or without the same level of aggression -- and a little bit more thematic arc, then SX would have another huge sensation on their hands. I dare say a blockbuster.
If I'm not mistaken, the main argument against PL is that "it's not V," which, if I can be serious for a minute, really means that the songs are too independent of each other. It seems SX was trying to gain more radio play, and I can't blame them at all. SX is the direct descendent of Kansas, a band that balanced very successfully between radio play and progressive music. If SX can capture even a percentage of Kansas's success, I will be very happy. And as I said above, every song on PL is a hard-rock / heavy-metal masterpiece. Michael Romeo is at his songwriting and guitar-playing peak, and Russell Allen proves beyond all doubt that he is the best hard rock singer in practice today.
But each song on PL is a masterpiece by itself. It's kind of a latter-day Divine Wings. (The album, not the song). Each song is excellent, but the album overall is not tightly connected. If their new album is truly a follow-up to PL, and if it can create more connections between the individual tracks, I think this forum would explode with unmitigated delight.
Bottom Line: I am very exciting by this news, but I'm kind-of sitting on my hands until I have a little bit more info to chew on. Do I dare go out on a limb and predict that this album will be to PL what V was to DWOT...?
P.S. Youtube link here:
