HOST, the new darkwave project from Paradise Lost guitarist Greg Mackintosh and vocalist Nick Holmes, will release its debut album «IX» - on February 24th, 2023 via Nuclear Blast Records.
First single «Tomorrow's Sky» - cascading synth-pop track driven by an insatiable new wave vocal - good example of upcoming HOST sound. The official video was directed and produced by Ash Pears (AshTV). Second single «Hiding From Tomorrow» will premiered this Friday November 25th.
«HOST is something that I had in mind for a few years but never had the time to do it justice until now. It's taking the concept of what we attempted to do on the Paradise Lost album «Host» but approaching it in a modern context. It's part '80s goth, part electro, part rock but none of them specifically. The emphasis is on hooks and atmosphere. It's quite a challenge to make miserable music catchy and hopefully we've achieved that to some degree.»
While Holmes and Mackintosh were already certified heavy metal stars, they were equally drawn to the new wave and goth music scenes. The pounding rhythms, sublime melodies and undercurrent of darkness drew them in, creating immediate earworms and a desire to delve further. Mackintosh finally put plans into motion during the pandemic for a venture that would merge his penchant for sound design with the moods and atmosphere of 1980s synth-pop and goth. The project was originally a solo pursuit until he asked Holmes, his longtime Paradise Lost songwriting partner, to join. HOST was selected as the name as a tip of the hat to the aforementioned album that found Paradise Lost in an unprecedented period of experimentation that eschewed their metal roots and also challenged their fanbase in ways like never before.
«We always stood by «Host» as an album. This project is not totally connected to that album, but some of the ideas are extrapolated. We're taking the basic premise and trying it out now. And, really, it was something fun and interesting for us to do. We've been doing Paradise Lost for a long time and got an itch to try something different from where PL is now. I could take PL down this route again. Who knows? It may happen if we live long enough, but I thought, 'Why not now?' I had the time to do it.»
Their debut album, «IX», is an eclectic, stirring collection of songs that forges a unified front of darkness that is interwoven with orchestration and textures. Complemented by carefully placed guitar lines, the album is yet another realization of Mackintosh’s songwriting intuitiveness and restless creative spirit. To create the songs on «IX», Mackintosh relied on the approach of starting with a piano line. His chord sequences or piano lines were then volleyed to Holmes for vocal ideas. Once the pair found a direction, Mackintosh embellished each song with lavish but haunting soundscapes — often blurring the distinction between guitar and keyboards.
Check new HOST «Tomorrow's Sky» official video - here.
Complete information about HOST «IX» tracklist and formats - here.
Info submitted by Nuclear Blast Records.