Paradise Lost have announced that their 15th studio album Medusa will be released later this year.
The follow-up to 2015’s The Plague Within will launch on September 1 via Nuclear Blast, with the album described as “melding crushing doom metal with Nick Holmes’ harsh death growls and raw organic sounds, heralding a new era of pure Northern misery.”
The band have also revealed the Medusa cover art, which was created by Branca Studio.
Guitarist Greg Mackintosh says: “While we were writing Medusa and realising what the new songs were becoming, we had to find an artist to reflect this direction.
“After searching around for a while, I found Branca Studios. They have a keen eye for design and their modern take on retro artwork really fit the bill.
“What they have come up with is a blending of colourful yet retro styling, while maintaining the classic Paradise Lost feel.”
View it below.
Frontman Nick Holmes has also revealed details about why they decided to name the album after the infamous figure from Greek mythology.
He says: “I was intrigued about a greater meaning and thinking more along the lines of what Medusa represents metaphorically.
“Medusa as a title works in many ways. From a Nihilist perspective, when I read the description of Medusa on Wikipedia: ‘Attempts to avoid looking into Medusa’s eyes represents avoiding the ostensibly depressing reality that the universe is meaningless’ – the title was pretty much in the bag!”
Paradise Lost are about to embark on a run of European festival dates, which will be followed by further live shows throughout the rest of the year.
Find their full tour itinerary below.
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Paradise Lost 2017 tour dates
Jul 07: Athens Rockwave Festival, Greece
Jul 14-15: Gävle Gefle Metal Festival, Sweden
Jul 21: Katowice Metal Hammer Festival, Poland
Jul 22: Esslingen River-Side Festival, Germany
Jul 30: Barcelona Rock Fest, Spain
Aug 03-05: Wacken Open Air, Germany
Aug 11: Graz Metal on the Hill, Austria
Aug 13: Kortrijk Alcatraz Festival, Belgium
Aug 18-20: Saint-Nolff Motocultor Festival, France
Aug 25-26: Worrstadt Neuborn Open Air, Germany
Sep 27: Esch-SurAlzette Kulturfabrik, Luxembourg
Sep 28: Herford X, Germany
Sep 29: Copenhagen Pumpehuset, Denmark
Oct 01: Oslo John Dee, Norway
Oct 03: Helsinki Nosturi, Finland
Oct 07: Aarhus Voxhall, Denmark
Oct 10: Brno Fleda, Czech Republic
Oct 11: Bratislava Randal, Slovakia
Oct 13: Belgrade Dom Omladine, Serbia
Oct 14: Zagreb Boogaloo, Croatia
Oct 15: Budapest Dürer Kert, Hungary
Oct 18: Nuremberg Hirsch, Germany
Oct 19: Frankfurt Batschkapp, Germany
Oct 20: Saarbrücken Garage, Germany
Oct 21: Geneva L‘Usine, Switzerland
Oct 28: Fontaneto D’Agogna Phenomenon, Italy
Oct 29: Munich Theaterfabrik, Germany
Oct 30: Pratteln Z7, Switzerland
Nov 03: London Electric Ballroom, UK
Nov 04: Leeds Damnation Festival, UK
Nov 06: Utrecht Pandora, Netherlands
Nov 07: Tilburg 013, Netherlands
Nov 08: Cologne Live Music Hall, Germany
Nov 09: Berlin Columbia Theater, Germany
Nov 10: Weissenhäuser Strand, Germany
