Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us is not an album I’ve consistently gone back to, but for some reason, I recently clicked open the folder of promo mp3s from which the review was written and gave it another shot. It’s still formulaic, but as I stood with the copy of it in my hands and debated taking it to the register, I realized formulaic was exactly what I wanted. There’s no question there’s some filler toward the record’s back half — I know that now even more than the first time around — but that’s what I wanted. A metal album. Something I could put on and not think about. A couple catchy choruses, some decent guitar work, and done. Mind-boggling complexity is wonderful, but sometimes you just want to relax.

I felt way back in August and still feel “As Horizons End” is the strongest cut on the record. It’s the one that led me back to Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us, and a good portion of motivation for any subsequent listens will be to hear that one song. But what follows it, at least for the next four songs until you get past the title track, isn’t half bad either. I doubt the purchase will instill in me a wholesale new affection for the album, but hey, at least I know it’s on the shelf should I decide to pay it another visit half a year from now.

If there are any resonant trademarks that have existed throughout the many phases and faces of Paradise Lost, they are result of the consistency of the players, who apart from new drummer Adrian Erlandsson (ex-At the Gates, The Haunted, Cradle of Filth, etc.) are the same today as they were in 1988. Happy to say the riffing of Gregor Mackintosh and Aaron Aedy brings serious metallic weight to tracks like opener ?As Horizons End? and the start-stop cadence of ?The Rise of Denial.? Erlandsson also turns in a remarkable performance on the latter, tapping his ride cymbal to lend the song an accent that blends well with Stephen Edmondson?s subtle bass work.

The title track and slower ?Last Regret? provide the requisite balladry, Mackintosh?s keyboard playing piano under the emotional vocals of heralded frontman Nick Holmes. On ?Last Regret,? he could be Jonas Renkse of Katatonia and on ?Frailty,? his growls pervade over shots of double bass and churning deathly riffs produced with that machine-distortion tone so identifiable with Fascination Street Studios, where the album was recorded by Jens Bogren. As they began a turn toward darker, heavier sounds on 2007?s In Requiem, so now Paradise Lost continue that path with Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us, treading further into a soulful abyss while incorporating elements from the many sonic directions the years have found them taking. And on that level, they?re still growing, still pushing themselves and still refining who they are creatively. Not to mention some of these songs are almost unbearably catchy.

They make no bones (at least in the presentation of the album) about working with a songwriting formula. The 10 tracks of Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us are doubtless exactly what the contract called for, but the quality of the material holds up throughout the four-to-five minutes (5:27 for the opener) of each song and Paradise Lost show that quality songwriting doesn?t necessarily require 15 minutes to get the job done. It?s very much a collection of tracks, but there is a flow underneath that sets up Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us as an engaging listening experience that will appeal to longtime fans of the band without necessarily alienating those who prefer one era over the other. Newcomers as well should take note.

Paradise Lost on MySpace

Century Media