Decibrity Playlist: Greg Mackintosh (Paradise Lost)

British legends Paradise Lost will release their thirteenth album on Tuesday, the latest entry in a discography that is quickly approaching a quarter-century worth of releases. To celebrate this achievement, we asked guitarist Greg Mackintosh to a pick a non-PL record that related in some way to each of the thirteen full-length PL records that he’s played on since 1990 (i.e., all of them). Given the wide parameters—where his head was at musically, something that he remembers being really into at the time or that just represents any given period to him—we think you’ll find some of his selections quite surprising. We’ve compiled Greg’s picks into a convenient little Spotify playlist, which you should feel free to subscribe to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_j7PUtoXTA&feature=player_embedded

Lost Paradise (1990) :: Celtic Frost’s Morbid Tales
This was a very important record for us when we started out, and it continues to be as relevant to me today. This was vile, primordial stuff that had an air of classiness that many of its contemporaries lacked.

Gothic (1991) :: The Sisters of Mercy’s First and Last and Always
I was pretty wrapped up in doom and death metal at the time, but I always had a soft spot for The Sisters. They were dark and brooding, and I wanted to add a few tablespoons of that to our doom/death soup. This paved the way for gothic metal I guess.

Shades of God (1992) :: Black Sabbath’s Master of Reality
I reverted to more of a classic doom metal phase with this record, and who better to look to for influence than the founding fathers. This album in particular had that sludgy edge that I was craving with tracks like “Into the Void”.

Icon (1993) :: The Cult’s Sonic Temple
I liked a lot of The Cult’s early stuff as well. They did the stadium-rock-meets-goth-thing surprisingly well. I think adding in influences such as this into the mix really helped us find our sound.

Draconian Times (1995) :: Queensrÿche’s Empire
I wasn’t a Queensrÿche fan, but [PL vocalist] Nick [Holmes] played me Empire, and due to a newfound interest I had in production techniques, I found it quite a fascinating record. I thought if we can get sounds as clear as albums like this and still retain the songwriting ethic of Icon, we would create a great record.

One Second (1997) :: Depeche Mode’s Songs Of Faith And Devotion
I had been touring and recording nonstop for four years, and I was burnt out with the gothic metal thing, so we needed a change. We started to experiment with more electronic elements and different production techniques. It was more about keeping it interesting for us, and we respected bands like Depeche Mode that were pushing the envelope.

*Stay tuned for the second half of Greg’s playlist next week. In the meantime, pick up a copy of Tragic Idol when it hits shelves on Tuesday or order it here!

**Photo: Paul Harries

***Previous Decibrity Playlists:

Torche
“Best of” Meshuggah
Astra
Pallbearer
Barren Earth
Shane Embury (Napalm Death) (Part 1) (Part 2)