ALBUM 1
INSIDE EDGE OF DARKNESS
Learn How Paradox of Ravens Built Their Debut
Edge of Darkness Album released 6th October 2025
Formed in 2024, Paradox of Ravens are an 80’s electronic styled goth duo, who have quickly carved out a sound that feels both nostalgic and unsettlingly new. With pulsing synth lines, shadowed atmospheres, and a clear taste for the darker edge of emotion, they’ve shaped a musical identity that lingers long after the last note fades. Released in October 2025, Edge of Darkness marked their first full-length album and on this page, you are invited into the story behind it. Learn how the tracks were written, how the mood was crafted, and how the duo transformed late-night ideas into a debut defined by grit, elegance, and darkness.
Ever thought about starting a Band? Well that’s what we did in July 2024 which seems a long way away now from our early discussions on the direction and promotion of the band image and name. We thought long and hard about the name and it was definitely a joint decision. Sara was reading about the meaning of Paradox, and I was busy writing a track that would later appear on the album “Edge of Darkness”, called Ravens.
Writing tracks has always been something I aspired to, as my songwriting goes well back to the 80’s when playing original music was all the rage. Where bands would play gigs in the hope of just trying to be recognised by an A & R man, who had decided to go to a local gig to see if you could spot the next up and coming talent.
Those days have definitely gone as nowadays it’s all about online activity and streaming, in a wash of music that is updated continually as bands fight to be noticed. A lot of my musical friends have drifted into covers to make a living, which is fine but for me the joy of writing a piece of music still inspires me.
I am a great believer in Fate and as fate has it, I had just parted company with another band and was at a loose end when I bumped into Sara. She had never sung before in a group, but I was curious enough to have a listen to what she could do. What struck me straight away was the ability to hold the note in tune. I love writing melodies and in Sara I found someone who would follow my lead on the keyboards.So I started to put pen to paper and write some music.
Where do you start? Well for me it was just connecting chords and putting counter melodies over them. I tend to layer sounds and work with a “Reason” programme. Each layer or sequence of notes creates a Stem which I assign a particular sound, whether that be a violin, synth or choir. In fact this in itself will develop the musical piece and maybe after creating 50 to 100 stems I would finally begin to feel the development of a song.
This is very intense as I prepare the first draft after a few long sessions burning the midnight candle and then I would chop and change the structure.
I like writing strong melodies and after a few months we were beginning to understand the direction the group needed to take musically. I have been classically trained on piano, and my first composition was done during half term when I created a rag time piece of music.
When I played it to my teacher she said, “put the book away and keep writing as that’s what you need to do”. So I got up, walked out the lesson and saved my Mum, a load of money!
I played in many bands in the 80s and now it was time to resurrect my music, take a step back in time and finish the job that I began then. Fate is a wonderful thing, so don’t knock it.
Well, we had put together about 7 songs and was invited to perform them in Plymouth at a Convention. Sara now in the spotlight paraded around like a lost tiger before the gig, as the realisation of performing suddenly hit home. Yes, we had a few teething problems, who wouldn’t, but there’s nothing like performing live. Unfortunately we couldn’t afford a full orchestra, so we used the backing tracks for the song and then I superimposed the piano playing alongside the music. It worked a treat and we got through the gig to a very attentive audience.
For me, vinyl records have always been my passion and instead of adding tracks to a streaming platform and be lost in the ocean, we decided to promote ourselves through selling Vinyl, CDs and Cassettes. The Hard copies which are definitely making a comeback. So after writing another 4 tracks we ventured into the studio to record and get a professional mixing guy to work with.
This is without doubt the most important aspect of our development, as mixing is a skill in itself. We touched base with a number of studios and went in to record a few tracks. It’s important to choose an engineer who appreciates the genre you are working in, as that way he or she will bring out the best in you. So remember the cheapest is not always the best. Again after a few attempts we came across an engineer who liked the challenge and complexity of our music.
So, we had finally found our engineer and many sessions later we had completed the recording of our music with the vocals recorded as well. The theme of the music has always been a dark feel we wanted to aspire too and as the tracks got mixed the album developed in front of our eyes, or ears depending which way you looked at it.
Now, I am a great believer in presentation and for that reason we went to a graphic designer to illustrate the album using images that we purchased online and built up an interesting cover. This worked well as we presented and built up a network of vinyl shops that would take our music. Building up a relationship with retail outlets is paramount to encourage them to take stock of the album. This requires long trips out to faraway places and at times can be sole destroying on the road, but nevertheless it’s an essential part of the development we wanted to take.
So now with the release of the album in October 2025 we had the shops ready to offer the album and cemented the release date with an appearance on Doc Masons Show the night prior to the release.
I will be giving a brief on the second album “Eye Of The Storm“, as we look back at our first album with some excellent reviews and encouragement.