{"id":171237,"date":"2025-09-26T19:04:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T19:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/171237\/"},"modified":"2025-09-26T19:04:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T19:04:12","slug":"i-liked-heavy-metal-because-everyone-hated-it-paradise-losts-nick-holmes-on-dodging-plant-pots-nearly-severed-fingers-and-why-nu-metal-ruined-metal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/171237\/","title":{"rendered":"“I liked heavy metal because everyone hated it.” Paradise Lost’s Nick Holmes on dodging plant pots, nearly-severed fingers and why nu metal ruined metal"},"content":{"rendered":"

The black heart of the British metal scene, Paradise Lost<\/a> have been handing out auditory gloom for over 35 years. Together with fellow Northerners My Dying Bride and Anathema, the Yorkshiremen established the \u2018death\/doom<\/a>\u2019 subgenre, but quickly branched out, helping to coin \u2018gothic metal<\/a>\u2019 with 1991\u2019s Gothic, then carrying the subgenre to international acclaim before offering sorrowful takes on alt rock and synthpop.<\/p>\n

With the exception of their drummer, they\u2019ve kept the same line-up throughout. Frontman Nick Holmes has seen them through euphoric highs and tumultuous lows alike. As a result, he has plenty to share, touching on everything from stupid bets to the pitfalls of defying metal\u2019s conventions.<\/p>\n

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\"A\n<\/p>\n

MISERABLE WEATHER, MISERABLE MUSIC<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know why Yorkshire is such a breeding ground for miserable metal. It could have something to do with the dark, Satanic mills, or the weather. It\u2019s the same with Sweden. Sweden\u2019s bred some very dark bands \u2013 and the weather\u2019s similar there a lot of the time!\u201d<\/p>\n

YORKSHIRE IS A BIG COUNTY WITH A SMALL METAL SCENE<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Dying Bride lived in Bradford and they all moved to [Paradise Lost\u2019s hometown] Halifax. When they moved in, we\u2019d already moved out. Aaron [Stainthorpe], the singer, I can see his house from my mother\u2019s bedroom window. It\u2019s quite a small, tightknit place.\u201d<\/p>\n

SOMETIMES PASSIONS FALL BY THE WAYSIDE<\/p>\n

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\u201cI used to be heavily into BMX racing, and Aaron [Aedy, Paradise Lost rhythm guitarist] was as well. We used to race at a track in a little village called Greetland in Halifax. He wouldn\u2019t admit it, but I was better than him. I\u2019ve got about 20 trophies to prove it. I last did it about 15 years ago, and nearly broke my fucking legs. I tried doing a 360 and it nearly snapped me in fucking half! I\u2019m not doing that again \u2013 I\u2019m too old.\u201d<\/p>\n

BEING AN OUTSIDER IS AWESOME<\/p>\n

\u201cI liked heavy metal<\/a> because everyone hated it. It was always frowned upon. It felt rebellious: there might have been, like, two guys in the entire town that liked it. I liked that. It was like having your own little team, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

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A BET IS A BET<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded [1995 album] Draconian Times at Ridge Farm in Surrey. There was an indoor swimming pool, but it was fucking freezing. Paul Harries, photographer, was on about getting a shot and Steve [Edmondson, bass] said he\u2019d jump in the pool for 50 quid. Paul said, \u2018Alright!\u2019 Steve jumped in holding a bottle of champagne and he got straight out, absolutely freezing. Paul was fucking pissed because Steve cashed the cheque. What did you think he was gonna do? He\u2019s from Yorkshire!\u201d<\/p>\n

CROWDS THROW WEIRD STUFF<\/p>\n

\u201cI like playing to big crowds \u2013 even if they\u2019re throwing things. Donington [1996], when we played with Kiss and Ozzy, everybody got shit thrown at them. Someone threw a potted geranium. It landed just behind me and I couldn\u2019t stop thinking, \u2018Who the fuck brings a potted plant to a gig?!\u2019 There were jugs full of piss and stuff like that, but you could see them coming from a mile off. You had to dodge them like in that Donkey Kong game! Ha ha!\u201d<\/p>\n

THERE IS NO \u2018NEW METALLICA\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cKerrang! once called us \u2018The new Metallica<\/a>.\u2019 We were just laughing about that. The new Metallica is Metallica, because they went on to get even bigger than they were at that time I guess it was a hookline to make people go, \u2018Oh, hang on. Who are these guys?\u2019 Needless to say, we weren\u2019t the new Metallica.\u201d<\/p>\n

MAKE IT IN AMERICA AND YOU\u2019LL MAKE IT ANYWHERE<\/p>\n

\u201cWe neglected America in the 90s. We had the opportunity to spend more time there and we shunned it, which I regret. We toured there in \u201993 and we didn\u2019t go again for decades. We had a very bad time on that tour. We were very young, and it was the first time we\u2019d been away that long from home. We did seven or eight weeks, which is too long when you\u2019re some little teenage boys from Halifax.\u201d<\/p>\n

DON\u2019T BELIEVE EVERY ROCK\u2019N\u2019ROLL DRINKING STORY YOU HEAR\u2026 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe could drink with the best of them, especially in the 90s, but we never really talked about it much [in interviews]. A lot of the stories I hear should be taken with a pinch of salt. Before the internet, people used to play stuff up all the time, because there were no cameras. Stories about throwing television sets out the window; I know a few people who have done that, but it\u2019s such an expensive thing to do. If you did that now, you\u2019d probably get put in prison!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2026BUT WE HAVE A COUPLE OF CRAZY ONES<\/p>\n

\u201cAt one of the Dynamo festivals, I jumped off some furniture onto [veteran music PR] Andy Turner\u2019s back. He hit the floor like a ton of bricks. My big, thick, gothic ring filleted through my finger as it hit the floor. It embedded itself right in my finger and the skin was all the way over it. I had to go and get it removed in the hospital, and I was fucking hammered as well. It was bleeding like mad. Two months later, the ring turned back up \u2013 Andy had had it fixed for me and sent it back to my house.\u201d<\/p>\n

METALHEADS REALLY DID CARE ABOUT HOW LONG YOUR HAIR WAS<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got the green light to cut our hair when James Hetfield cut his off. People were properly upset about it. For three years, everyone\u2019s first question was, \u2018Why did you cut your hair?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

METAL HAS BECOME MUCH LESS RESISTANT TO CHANGE<\/p>\n

\u201cBy [1997\u2019s] One Second, Greg [Mackintosh, lead guitar] had already started getting more interested in keyboard-orientated music. We thought there was a real darkness in keyboards that you weren\u2019t getting with metal. You could do an album like that now and get away with it, but at that time, everything had to sound like it was meant to sound. You couldn\u2019t wander too far out of your lane and, if you did, God help you!\u201d<\/p>\n

PARADISE LOST – Tyrants Serenade (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO) – YouTube
\n\"PARADISE<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING IS CONTROVERSIAL, DOESN\u2019T MEAN IT\u2019S NOT EXCELLENT <\/p>\n

\u201cSongwriting-wise, Host [PL\u2019s divisive 1999 synthpop album] is a great album. There are some great songs on there and it was always about that. It was never about playing them at rock festivals or anything like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

NU METAL<\/a> RUINED EVERYTHING<\/p>\n

\u201cNu metal<\/a> reinvented metal, but in a shit way. I was like, \u2018What the fuck is this?!\u2019 Linkin Park are a great band with great songs, same with Korn, but there was a whole glut of fucking garbage that came with all that. The best of the crop are still around, and for good reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

YOU NEVER KNOW WHO WILL MAKE IT BIG<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Korn<\/a> were picking up steam, Greg said, if they get big, he\u2019ll eat his hat. He\u2019s still trying to get through it. Ha ha! I had something like that with Snow Patrol. We were at an afterparty in a London hotel and I\u2019d had a few drinks. I asked one of them, \u2018What\u2019s the name of your band?\u2019 He said, \u2018Snow Patrol.\u2019 I remember saying, \u2018Fucking Jesus! You won\u2019t get anywhere with that fucking name!\u2019 Then they went on to be one of the biggest bands in the world and one of them\u2019s dating Courteney Cox.\u201d<\/p>\n

THE SLIGHTEST THING CAN COST YOU A JOB<\/p>\n

\u201cJeff [Singer, drums] first auditioned for the band in \u201994. It was one of those times where one little thing could make you change your mind on someone, and he had a pink drum kit. He said it was \u2018cherry rose\u2019, which just made it worse. We thought, \u2018No.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

EVEN THE UNLIKELIEST SONG CAN BECOME A HIT<\/p>\n

\u201cGreg was dead against covering [Bronski Beat\u2019s] Smalltown Boy, but I\u2019ve always loved that song. It\u2019s surprising [that it\u2019s become PL\u2019s most-streamed song]. It\u2019s great at festivals. You see death metal<\/a> guys nodding their heads and wishing they weren\u2019t. It\u2019s quite funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

BEING IN A BAND GIVES YOU A GREAT SOCIAL CIRCLE<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve done PL for so long that it\u2019s hard-coded into my existence. I can\u2019t imagine not doing it. When you do something for this long, what else can you do? It keeps your social networks going. A lot of my friends my age don\u2019t have a great deal of friends around them, but we\u2019ve got loads of mates in other bands and in the crew. It\u2019s not to be taken for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ascension is out now via Nuclear Blast. Paradise Lost’s UK tour starts in Manchester on October 9. For the full list of dates, visit their official website<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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