Paradise Lost: Rock band set for Bradford venue return after 28 years

Paradise Lost vocalist Nick Holmes said watching Metallica play in Bradford as a teenager helped him fall in love with the "more extreme end of music"

A rock band from West Yorkshire are set to play their first concert at a Bradford venue for 28 years - despite regularly rehearsing in the city.

Paradise Lost, from Halifax, formed in 1988 and have sold two million albums worldwide during a career lasting more than three decades.

The band, credited with creating the gothic metal subgenre, are set to play St George's Hall on 14 December.

Vocalist Nick Holmes said the band last played there in 1995.

St George's Hall, which holds about 1,550 people for standing concerts, is not currently a common haunt for rock bands - but attracted some of the biggest names in metal during the 1980s.

"I went to see Metallica playing there as a kid in 1986," 52-year-old Mr Holmes recalled.

"There was a mosh pit going and I remember being a bit scared, I'd never experienced anything like that before."

The concert, which saw the metal giants promote their classic album Master of Puppets, proved a defining moment for the young music fan.

"The more extreme end of music completely spoke to me on so many levels, I just fell in love with it," he said.

Paradise Lost have gone on to record 16 studio albums, building up a worldwide fanbase.

Paradise Lost's Embers of Europe tour will go on tour in cities including London and Bradford

Their latest tour, called Embers of Europe, would mark 30 years since their Icon album was released.

They recently re-recorded the album to gain full ownership - in a move similar to that of pop superstar Taylor Swift.

"It's exactly the same reason," he said.

"A lot of bands of our ilk back then signed record deals where they didn't really own their own material, it was just the done thing back then."

The singer said the album re-recording sessions involved matching his original vocals in a meticulous "line by line" process.

"You've got to get it as close to the original or there's no point," he said.

The band are set to be supported at St George's Hall by the Bradford-formed doom metal band My Dying Bride.

Bradford was a key location for concerts in the band's early days, Nick added.

The group still had a long-term rehearsal space in the city used for preparing for concerts, he said.

The tour includes dates across Europe, including Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece and Portugal.