Obsidian (Paradise Lost album)

Obsidian is the sixteenth studio album by British gothic metal band Paradise Lost. It was released on 15 May 2020 via Nuclear Blast.^[10] Music videos were released for the songs "Darker Thoughts" and "Fall from Grace". Metal Hammer named it as the 11th best metal album of 2020.^[11] Obsidian is the band's last album to feature Waltteri Väyrynen on drums, who went on to join Opeth in 2022.

Obsidian
Studio album by Paradise Lost
Released	15 May 2020 (2020-05-15)
Genre	Gothic metal, death-doom^[1]
Length	45:35
Label	Nuclear Blast
Producer	Jaime Gomez Arellano
Paradise Lost chronology
Medusa (2017) Obsidian (2020) Icon 30 (2023)
Singles from Obsidian
"Fall from Grace" Released: 20 March 2020 "Ghosts" Released: 24 April 2020

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	90/100^[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[3]
Classic Rock	^[4]
Consequence of Sound	A^[5]
Kerrang!	^[6]
Metal Hammer	^[7]
Metal Storm	8/10^[8]
Sputnikmusic	4.8/5^[9]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Darker Thoughts"	5:46
2.	"Fall from Grace"	5:42
3.	"Ghosts"	4:35
4.	"The Devil Embraced"	6:08
5.	"Forsaken"	4:30
6.	"Serenity"	4:46
7.	"Ending Days"	4:36
8.	"Hope Dies Young"	4:02
9.	"Ravenghast"	5:30
Total length:		45:35

Deluxe edition

No.	Title	Length
10.	"Hear the Night"	5:34
11.	"Defiler"	4:45
Total length:		55:54

Personnel

Paradise Lost

• Nick Holmes – vocals
• Gregor Mackintosh – lead guitar
• Aaron Aedy – rhythm guitar
• Steve Edmondson – bass
• Waltteri Väyrynen – drums

Other personnel

• Alicia Nurho – violin (1 & 7)
• Heather Mackintosh – backing vocals (8)
• Jaime Gomez Arellano – recording, mixing, and mastering
• Federico De Luca – layout
• Adrian Baxter – artwork

Charts

Chart performance for Obsidian

Chart (2020)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[12]	5
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[13]	11
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[14]	16
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[15]	31
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[16]	2
French Albums (SNEP)^[17]	105
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[18]	2
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)^[19]	8
Italian Albums (FIMI)^[20]	59
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[21]	187
Polish Albums (ZPAV)^[22]	5
Portuguese Albums (AFP)^[23]	31
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[24]	4
UK Albums (OCC)^[25]	32
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)^[26]	1

References

1. "Paradise Lost - Obsidian". metalstorm.net.
2. "Obsidian by Paradise Lost". Metacritic. 25 May 2020.
3. "Obsidian - Paradise Lost | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
4. "Paradise Lost's Obsidian: turning bleakness into beauty". Metal Hammer. 25 May 2020.
5. "Paradise Lost's Obsidian Finds the Goth Metal Pioneers as Sharp as Ever: Review". Consequence of Sound. 14 May 2020.
6. "Album Review - Paradise Lost Obsidian". Kerrang!. 15 May 2020.
7. "Paradise Lost's Obsidian: doom majesty meets old school goth bangers". Metal Hammer. 15 May 2020.
8. "Paradise Lost - Obsidian review". metalstorm.net.
9. "Paradise Lost Obsidian". Sputnikmusic. 14 May 2020.
10. "Obsidian: Paradise Lost". Nuclear Blast. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
11. "The 50 best metal albums of 2020". Metal Hammer. Future plc. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
12. "Austriancharts.at – Paradise Lost – Obsidian" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
13. "Ultratop.be – Paradise Lost – Obsidian" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
14. "Ultratop.be – Paradise Lost – Obsidian" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Paradise Lost – Obsidian" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
16. "Paradise Lost: Obsidian" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
17. "Top Albums (Week 26, 2020)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Paradise Lost – Obsidian" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
19. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2020. 21. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
20. "Italiancharts.com – Paradise Lost – Obsidian". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
21. "オブシディアン | パラダイス・ロスト" [Obsidian | Paradise Lost] (in Japanese). Retrieved 12 December 2021.
22. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
23. "Portuguesecharts.com – Paradise Lost – Obsidian". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
24. "Swisscharts.com – Paradise Lost – Obsidian". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
25. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
26. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 May 2020.