DATE OF INTERVIEW:
PARADISE LOST
26th April 2012
METAL DISCOVERY: The album’s being made available in various formats and packages, like various colours of vinyl; a deluxe box set…
AARON: The deluxe box set looks really nice actually.
(Aaron Aedy on the video for new single 'Honesty in Death')
"The premise we gave to the director is we wanted a video that’s a similar sort of line to follow as the movie ‘The Road’. We just liked the feel and vibe of that and the guy pulled all the stops out."
Interview & Photography by Mark Holmes
RELATED LINKS
Official Paradise Lost Website:
Official Paradise Lost Facebook:
PARADISE LOST DISCOGRAPHY
Albums
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to Sarah Lees for arranging the interview
Aaron Aedy outside the Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, UK, 26th April 2012
Photograph copyright © 2012 Mark Holmes - www.metal-discovery.com
AARON AEDY
Lost Paradise (1990)
Gothic (1991)
Shades of God (1992)
Draconian Times (1995)
One Second (1997)
Host (1999)
Symbol of Life (2002)
Paradise Lost (2005)
In Requiem (2007)
Icon (1993)
Believe in Nothing (2001)
Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us (2009)
Tragic Idol (2012)
MD: It comes with a Paradise Lost army cap as well?!
AARON: I’ve not seen them.
MD: Did the band have any input into those different sets?
AARON: You do with some stuff. You get to look at all the artwork and what they want to do art-wise, especially with the limited editions and that, you get a bit of input. But, normally, you let the people who are good at doing that sort of thing just do what they do. You see the artwork and you okay the artwork and things like that.
MD: Are you gonna get a copy of all the different coloured vinyl for yourself?
AARON: I hope so but probably not!
MD: Are you still a vinyl man?
AARON: Do you know what, all of my vinyl got ruined in a flood about twelve years ago. It was asbestos in the water. There was a flood from a pipe upstairs where I was living and it just wrote it all off. By the time they got it all sorted, all the sleeves and everything were stuck to it…I mean, I probably could’ve cleaned ‘em up but I was so upset and my friend who is a real vinyl collector, I gave him all my vinyl. And the insurance company gave me them on CD but most CDs don’t sound anywhere near as good. I love vinyl and I kind of wish I still had it because there’s something magical about it.
MD: Definitely.
AARON: I mean, I know there’s a lot of romanticism about vinyl but you put on vinyl on a good deck with a great valve amp and it just sounds massive.
MD: It’s making a little bit of a resurgence at the moment.
AARON: Yeah, and my dad’s got an old Quad valve amp; he’s had it since the early seventies and he’s got an old deck. It still sounds mentally good. The cabinet’s solid oak and it’s three drivers. He’s had it forty odd years and it still sounds better than most things now because most stereos these days seem to push the bottom end. It’s because they’re made for dance music so it’s hard to find a stereo that’s good for rock and guitars.
MD: Did you lose any rarities then in your vinyl collection?
AARON: The only one that was slightly rare was an original pressing of ‘Axis: Bold as Love’. It was like putting a black forest gateau on your turntable; it weighed a ton! And that was a shame. But it wasn’t the original sleeve, it was like the second pressing or something but it was a late sixties one and I was gutted. But, you know, there are a lot of albums which are the soundtrack to your life you miss for sentimental reasons. But a shame.
MD: There’s a guy called Valnoir who did the artwork, a French artist I gather…
AARON: Yeah.
MD: It’s quite a surrealist piece I think, like a surrealist representation of death.
AARON: Yeah and, like I said, the limited edition box set you were on about, inside they’ve done it…the gold leaf is very bright, it’s like…it looks great. It’s the best packaging we’ve ever had in a limited edition. He’s done a really good job and he’s a Paradise Lost fan as well so he’s been coming to see us since 1993 or something. He’s loves ‘Icon’ and all that.
MD: Did you give him free reign with the artwork?
AARON: He sent us a few sketches and, one or two, we were like, “no, not that direction; try this.” And then, all of a sudden, he just came out with something amazing and, “oh, fucking brilliant.” He’s very talented.
MD: What was your instant gut reaction when you saw the final artwork?
AARON: The first one I was like we just needed to tell him that’s not the right direction. The good thing is, he was actually doing hand sketches and scanning the sketches and sending ‘em to us, which is really nice when you can be that involved that early on. I think, in the end, Nick did most of the mailing with him. Nick’s a pretty good artist as well, he’s really involved with that, so he spent most of the time going “yay, nay, yay” with him.
MD: You recently filmed the video for ‘Honesty in Death’…a pretty grim video!
AARON: Yeah, it is a bit!
MD: It’s a very good, powerful piece of filmmaking. I was going ask what the final message is supposed to be when the kid looks into the camera really despondently; what’s that supposed to represent?
AARON: That kid is really good at acting.
MD: It was all good acting in the video actually.
AARON: The premise we gave to the director is we wanted a video that’s a similar sort of line to follow as the movie ‘The Road’. We just liked the feel and vibe of that and the guy pulled all the stops out. I mean, the guy cut all his hair off as well for the video.
MD: I gather Decibel mag are giving away a free flexi-disc with their June issue with the track ‘The Last Fallen Saviour’…
AARON: I know, a song I wish that was on the album as well.
MD: They’re calling it a B-side which seems a bit strange!
AARON: It’s not a B-side! I wanted that song on the album. When we write an album we make it as a complete unit and then, for business reasons, they want one of ‘em to use as an extra track for a special edition or something or they want a special to give somebody else. That song should’ve been on the album for me. I mean, I’m very pleased – Decibel have been a very big supporter of us and it’s pretty cool; they’ve got a very good song there! But I wish it had been on the album. It’s just one of those things. When you create a body of work you want it as a complete thing and, you know, it’s a shame. It would’ve added a nice, different colour to the way the music flows on the album.
It reminds me of Stonehenge! I was driving on the A303…when I got the mix of the album I was going to London for a bit of a break with my missus and I got the mix of the album, we had it on in the car, and just as I came over the hill, because Stonehenge is right by the side of the road…the first time I saw it a number of years ago I was like, “bloody hell, Stonehenge!”…but, yeah, just as we came over the hill ‘The Last Fallen Saviour’ kicked in and it was one of those moments, like I always think of Stonehenge when I think of it! It’s a really good song.
MD: Was that a bit of a Spinal Tap moment for you then?!
AARON: Yeah, that meets ‘Wayne’s World’…tapping the steering wheel…!
MD: I did a phoner with Greg last year about the ‘Draconian Times’ reissue and I think it was not long after you’d played the Close Up cruise. He said it was rough seas and the show was good but not a generally good experience and one you wouldn’t want to repeat soon. But now you’re booked to play on…
AARON: Barge To Hell…
MD: Yeah, Barge To Hell in the States at the end of this year. So you decided after all to have another bash at the old cruise thing?
AARON: Yeah, well, the guy’s been very keen, the promoter. He’s a fan and he’s very keen for us to do it. It’s a pretty cool idea. It’s a bit weird that you’re stuck in the middle of all the fans, you know, the people who are actually at the concert for four days. But it’ll be interesting…[laughs]
MD: Hopefully the sea won’t be as rough this time!
AARON: Yeah, and the other thing as well when we played the Close Up boat, we should’ve gone on the night before we did because everyone had the worst hangover! You could tell people were just like feeling ill in the crowd!
MD: Seasick? Or seasick and beer?
AARON: Alcohol mainly. You know what Scandinavians are like! They like a tipple!
[laughs]
MD: Finally, if you had to sum up in three words how you feel where you’re at with Paradise Lost right now, what would they be?
AARON: Really bloody ‘appy!
MD: Marvellous. Good closing words, that’s all you need to say!
AARON: [laughs]
MD: Cheers very much.
AARON: Thank you very much.