I absolutely love the Rockpalast series. It’s a German show dating back to the ‘70s that captures variety of bands in a live setting. They captured some historic performances, and many of them are officially seeing the light of day.
Paradise Lost is recorded here in 1995 during their Draconian Times tour. Many consider this to be the finest hour of the band. (Although with so many different phases of Paradise Lost, the fans often disagree as to what that hour exactly includes.) Either way, this is some great and furious music played by the band on its way up. I clearly remember trying to get this show through tape trading back in the ‘90s. At that time, Paradise Lost wasn’t really established as a live band in the United States.
As a recording itself, this is very raw, but at the same time, it is incredibly powerful. This show wasn’t meant for a live album when recorded. There is no over-the-top mixing, but it rocks hard. Initially, this was a TV show, and now it has been split into a CD and a DVD, which is absolutely great.
The odd thing about this split is when you watch the film, it feels absolutely perfect, but when you listen to the CD, you notice a few imperfections. It’s funny how your senses react to what is being offered, or removed in this case. Nonetheless, this release is absolutely great as historic document, and an essential one to have.
The show is about 65 minutes long, and the band gets things going with “Enchantment.” The set list is hot, no fillers here. Songs like “Forever Failure,” “Remembrance,” “True Belief,” or “As I Die” always deliver. To this day, many of these tracks are played live and enjoyed by the fans.
This also marks the end of this chapter for the band. Paradise Lost continued to evolve and experiment with various sounds through the rest of the ‘90s. The band eventually came back to its doomy approach with much richer concept. Again, it’s another aspect of Paradise Lost that many fans are divided over.
Live At Rockpalast catches the band at a very special time and place. The combination of audio and video is simply winning. I believe this release is limited, so if you love Paradise Lost, grab it today. One day this will be a collector’s item.