I know I often speak about the differences between goth rock and heavy metal, but one of the bands that bridges the two forms with ease is Paradise Lost. They created the entire gothic metal genre with their album "Gothic," which was death-metal rough but had power because of it. This is not some lame mainstream version of melancholy but full-on "sounds like a haunted cathedral" melancholy. Then they released "Icon," which refined their sound with better vocals and songs. Next was "Draconian Times," which is often described as a cross between older Metallica and the Sisters of Mercy. They took an interesting detour with "One Second" which featured smooth vocals and an almost Depeche Mode sound, which was fully defined on their next album "Host." Their next couple of albums kind of lost me, but their most recent album "Paradise Lost" shows kind of a synthesis of all that came before. This band is real "goth metal."

They'll be on tour in America later this year with the fine power metal act Nightwish. Go check them out.
Derek