No Celebration: The Official Story of Paradise Lost: Expanded Edition

by David E. Gehlke

432 pages, hard covers, colour/gloss section included. The fascinating story of the ever-evolving masters of doom and gothic metal, Paradise Lost, is finally told with full cooperation with the band themselves. Created by author David E. Gehlke, this mighty tome is built around in-depth interviews with the core members of this pioneering English group, Greg Mackintosh, Nick Holmes, Aaron Aedy and Steve Edmondson – as well as past members Matthew ‘Tuds’ Archer, Lee Morris and Adrian Erlandsson. Together with their insights the author follows the group through the highs and lows of their remarkable 30 year career in detailed and candid fashion, exploring their musical shifts and the challenges of keeping the band alive for over three decades. The book includes illustrations and photos throughout, many exclusive, and features additional written contributions from those who have worked most closely with the band. This includes their producers, insiders at labels such as Peaceville, Music for Nations and Century Media, and members of such iconic bands as My Dying Bride, Anathema, Katatonia, Bloodbath, Within Temptation and Septicflesh, not to mention a foreword from Bolt Thrower/Memoriam frontman Karl Willetts. Originally released in the US in 2019 where it was available exclusively from Decibel’s webstore in a limited run of 1000 copies, this expanded edition makes the work available worldwide. Completely redesigned, it is also expanded to include 60 pages of extra text, including a new chapter and period interviews from the 90s, as well as a new colour/gloss photo gallery.

Genres: Music

Hardcover

Published March 31, 2022

Reviews

[Simon McMurdo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paradise Lost love a good moan and David Gehlke has endured a good chunk of it. This expanded edition of No Celebration journeys through the band's entire discography from early demos and Lost Paradise to the doom return of Medusa (and an additional chapter on 2020's Obsidian amongst other bonus articles).

No Celebration is fascinating in the way it shrugs and groans through a genuinely incredible career to date. Now that's not to say the band come across as unlikeable, not at all - they're very self-aware in their nonchalance and have a marvellouslly British sense of humour. If nothing else, it's fitting that a band noted for their miserable music aren't excessively cheery characters (save for Aedy who often spikes some timely enthusiasm into his contributions).

There is a refreshing honesty to the book that is often missing in the capitalist optimism of music marketing ("Paradise Lost release their best album yet", ""it's their heaviest album ever!!!"), all records fairly benefitting from the benefit of hindsight. Even recent releases Obsidian and Medusa get a fair assessment - Greg Mackintosh confessing to wanting a full out doom affair on the already bleak Medusa until Nick Holmes convinced the necessity of at least one faster tune ('Blood and Chaos' if you're curious).

If being petty, some of the quotes from band members could have been edited down and the meat extracted more thoroughly. A few times you'll get a series of two or three paragraphs of different band members all making the same point. Again, petty condidering that most coming into No Celebration will revel in the excess that pushes it to its near-400 page total. "It's a bit much for a casual Paradise Lost fan" you might think - thankfully for Gehlke, precious few of those will make up the loyalists enjoying his enormous undertaking.

[Jimbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me this is the quintessential rock music biography. It focuses on the music and recording of the albums as well as giving us a fantastic insight into the personalities of all those involved. Paradise Lost were a favourite of mine before I read this but they had inched up to number 8 on my all time list of favourite artists after reading this.

Being a miserable northern bastard myself, the book really stuck a chord. It let me deep into Greg's mind and send new light on old recordings.

The writing style was just right and the expanded edition included a couple of excellent interviews as well as a chapter on the (then) latest album.

This isn't a cheap book, which is what put me off getting it for so long, but I am so long I shed out the £'s for it now. I will no doubt revisit it regularly.

I would love to see an additional chapter posted online covering the recent, and excellent, Ascension album.

[Damniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

...mors et vita duello conflixere mirando: dux vitae mortuus, regnat vivus...