PARADISE once ruled the Hollywood Sunset Strip thanks to an exciting live show, great rocking songs and a killer image. Formed in the mid-Eighties, between 1988-89 the band packed venues like The Troubadour, The Roxy, Gazzarri’s, etc, with fans eager to enjoy their melodic brand of hair metal / hard rock, and soon many record labels were interested to sign them.
However, PARADISE actually turned down major deals as all labels asked a change of image, a more commercial songwriting and even replace their drummer. Finally, in 1991 the band did a smaller deal with a German company for the release of their only album, “Do or Die”.
Now, after many years out of print, “Do or Die” is being reissued, remastered, with a couple of bonus and new artwork. Paradise’s style is like a crunchier version of Danger Danger, some Warrant, XYZ, etc, with catchy melodies, flashy guitar work, great clean lead vocals and all members contributing harmonies.
“Do Or Die” has a bright sound, production is crisp (handled by the later famous Jay Baumgardner) with all the sharpness needed for this type of American melodic hard rock / hair metal material.
Now seeing things in perspective it was a big mistake for PARADISE to decline the juicy record deals offered in the second half of the Eighties. They decided for their artistic integrity, but missed a huge opportunity.
By the time the band recorded “Do Or Die”, the hair metal / melodic hard rock musical genre started to decline, especially in America. Anyway, the band moved to Europe and presented the album live on many gigs, even being the opening act for the first leg of the Bon Jovi and Extreme tours that year.
Paradise was still in a position to make some waves in the old continent but due unspecified internal troubles they decided to part ways. The last two shows were in front of a big crowd at the Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany.
It’s a shame PARADISE never make it big. The songs on “Do Or Die” are pretty awesome slabs of melodic hard, riff driven rockers with a clean, polished sound yet crunchy, energetic — glammy / hairy but much more punchy than most of their contemporaries.
This is a welcomed reissue – planned as a 30th Anniversary from the 1992 original, but delayed to 2023 – of this very good US melodic hard rock album, ironically never released in America before.
Highly Recommended (contributors get the album today)
1 Nightmares
2 Voices
3 Firin' Line
4 Fever
5 Need A Little Love
6 Ghost Town
7 When You're gone
8 I want More
9 Undercover
10 You're 16
11 Love Machine (bonus track)
12 Satisfaction Guaranteed (bonus track)
Limited Edition, CD/DVD box w/32 pp. booklet with unreleased pictures, lyrics and liner notes. DVD Pro Shot from Country Club, 1990
Paradise – Do or Die 2023 ,MP3+FLAC+DVD [30th Anniversary Edition]
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