Ascension is the latest album from the legendary Paradise Lost. We caught up with vocalist Nick Holmes, who fills us in on the album, today’s promotion process, videos, touring, the status of a new Bloodbath record and other topics.
Chad Bowar: What led to drummer Jeff Singer’s return?
Nick Holmes: Jeff left the band for very humble reasons, he just wanted to see his family grow up. He’s played with us on and off throughout the years, so this time for him to walk back into the band it just made total sense. We’re all good friends, we never stopped being friends, so it’s like he’s never really left.
17 albums in, is it easier to write songs because you’ve written so many, or more difficult since you have to try not to repeat yourselves?
I wouldn’t say it’s it’s easier, it’s a lot harder to start writing. I think once you start it’s very tough to know where you’re going to go, but after about three or four songs, you start to get an idea of where the album’s going and the songs and how it shapes up, but it’s always difficult to write a new album. Every album has felt similar for me.
What led to Greg solely producing this one, the first time in a while you haven’t worked with Jaime Gomez-Arellano?
We do know how we want things to sound and as far as production goes. The songs, they’re arranged, we don’t need an external voice to come and tell us how to arrange our songs or where to put a chorus. We’re quite capable of doing that ourselves after all these years, so to use an external producer is really not necessary at this stage in our careers, I don’t think.
What will be your strongest memory of the recording of Ascension?
A bit of a tough one really, because when we record, we just record, we just get on with it, so it’s not like there’s any massively memorable moments other than just recording it in Sweden really.
What was the biggest challenge in its creation?
I think the biggest challenge in the creation of any album is actually writing it, just writing it all and making every song different to the last one. The writing is always the biggest challenge for sure.
The album is available in limited edition vinyl. Are you a vinyl collector?
I’m not a big vinyl collector. I have lots of vinyl from the ’80s which is somewhere in my house. I have lots of friends that are record collectors though and I’m sure they’ll be looking forward to having this album as an addition to their collection.
You filmed a few videos for the album. Do you enjoy the process, or is it a necessary evil for promotion?
I neither love nor hate doing videos. It’s pretty much what’s expected when you release a new album and it has been for decades, so we just do it. But again, I have no massive opinion either way in that regard.
Speaking of album promotion, the process has changed a lot since you started. Do you prefer the old school way with more mystique, or the modern way with a lot of transparency and interaction?
I definitely prefer the old school way. I like a bit of mystery, it’s a bit of mystique, it’s not always good to know everything about everybody. It’s quite interesting to discover things or there’s a bit of a veil or a bit of a shroud over something. I prefer that. It was very much the way when I was a kid growing up with music and bands that I liked and I really admired that aspect and it’s a shame that’s gone, but that’s life.
Do you have plans for a North American tour this album cycle?
Yes, we hope to get back to North America on this album cycle. Hopefully next year we’ll be able to do a lot more shows, hopefully East and West Coast and everything in between. So I guess just watch this space.
Where haven’t you played live that you’d still like to get to?
We’ve never played in India, we’ve never played in South Africa, we’ve never played in Antarctica, we’ve never played in China. Any of those places we would be glad to visit should the opportunity arise in the future.
With so much material, how do you go about picking a set list for a tour?
We’ve obviously got a lot of songs to choose from. We just play it by ear, obviously we want to play some songs of the new album each time we do a new tour. Apart from that, we just try and pick songs we know are tried and tested, people like to hear it live. But we also want to play songs hopefully that we haven’t played for a few years or for a few decades even. But it’s very obvious which songs are most popular live, judging by the crowd’s reactions.
What’s the status of a new Bloodbath album?
There is no Bloodbath album as of yet. We haven’t started to write one. We may do soon, who knows, but we’re still booking, putting in gigs for next year. But as far as albums go, there’s nothing on the horizon as of yet.
What are some of your non-musical hobbies and interests?
My hobbies apart from music are watching movies. I like a lot of TV shows, I’m a big fan of many TV shows, many films. I love thrillers, I love horror movies, massive fan of horror movies. I like retro horror films from the 1970s.
What’s one thing you do better than anyone you know?
I can run very, very fast.
Anything else you’d like to mention or promote?
Thank you for the interview. I hope you like our album; check it out, hope to see you on tour.
(interview published September 17, 2025)
Watch Paradise Lost – “Tyrants Serenade” Video
