Twenty seven years into their career, Paradise Lost has come full circle. The band’s recently released 14th studio album The Plague Within, sees the legendary English unit returning to their death metal roots, much to the delight of old school fans. Few bands in metal, or any genre for that matter, have taken such a wide creative arc in their careers. Aside from a few notable missteps, these guys have conquered everything from death metal to gothic synth metal to straight rock, and have even composed some things that would not be entirely out of place on a Depeche Mode record.

Check out the the video for the first single below.

But alas, the fans have been holding their breath for years hoping for a return to full-on death metal and, boy, did they get it! Apparently inspired by guitarist Gregor Macintosh‘s side band Vallenfyre and singer Nick Holmes recent work with Bloodbath, The Plague Within is a crushing master class in all things death metal.

This week’s Massive Metal Monday track is the first single from that album. Here is Paradise Lost’s official video for “Beneath Broken Earth.” Enjoy and be sure to pick up a copy of the album.

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PARADISE LOST – Beneath Broken Earth (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

When I was growing up in rural Indiana in the early ’80s, there was very limited access to heavy music. These were the days before MTV blew up with the whole hair metal, Headbangers Ball phenomenon. But on Sunday nights, there was a two-hour radio show that came from WOXY, just across the state line in Oxford, Ohio (home of Miami University of Ohio). It was called Massive Metal for the Masses, and I would wait all week for it to air. It was through this show that I was introduced to bands like Venom, Bathory, WASP, Michael Schenker Group, Slayer, and countless others. This Monday weekly column is my tip of the hat to that show. I call it Massive Metal Monday. Every week, I will pay tribute to defining moments by the artists that laid the groundwork for heavy metal to become the worldwide cultural bond for all of us metal heads.