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.

When we left off with the first part of my review of this show day, my 12-year-old son Jesse and I had just finished meeting At The Gates at their in-store appearance at Vacation Vinyl on Sunset Boulevard before their headlining gig at The Wiltern Theater with Converge, Pallbearer, and Vallenfyre.

It was nearly 5:30PM when we left Vacation and Vallenfyre was to go on first at 7:00PM sharp, so we figured we’d grab some grub at the Denny’s next door before heading on in to the venue. After acquiring said sustenance, we walked next door under the marquee of the gorgeous landmark Wiltern Theater, cleared security, and headed inside with 10 minutes to spare before the show began. Just enough time for a stop by the merch booth to check out the wares. I have to say that I was heavily impressed that every t-shirt from all 4 bands was priced at $20, no more, no less. Converge had so many amazing-looking designs that it was hard to pick one! There were of course pricier items like a really cool At The Gates hoodie featuring the artwork from their new album At War With Reality for $40 as well as some cheaper items such as hats and posters.

When At The Gates announced that they were working on their first album in nearly two decades, hardcore fans such as myself were both excited and a bit apprehensive. They had, after all, gone out on a high note with their 1995 masterpiece Slaughter of the Soul. So imagine our collective sigh of relief when At War With Reality was released in late October of last year and picked up right where its predecessor had left off. The album was so amazing, in fact, that it ended up tied for the number one spot on my Best Metal Albums of 2014 list. Adding to that rush of excitement, it was announced not long after the album’s release that the band would be touring North America in the Spring of 2015 headlining the Decibel Magazine Tour and they would be bringing along three of the most kick-ass bands on the planet to boot. At The Gates, Converge, Pallbearer and Vallenfyre all on the same bill? The wait until March would surely kill me!