2010s technical prog (speared in more popular avenues by Periphery) has gained a reputation of combining its now-commonplace crystal clear progressive metal sound with orchestral elements, but there was also a time where they were using sounds inspired from videogame music (which isn’t surprising given Misha Mansoor’s love for the culture). Paradise Plaza is an Indo-French 4-piece metal band that takes this very clean and sterile sound and, well, pretty much keeps it there; the extra flair is provided by atmospheric synth sounds that take cues from the now-ubiquitous synthwave movement that quietly dominated the previous decade. This isn’t the furthest reach to be fair, because progressive metal has branched out into using influences that aren’t rooted in the genre. Therefore, ‘Hopeless’ does it successfully and with some personality to boot.

It should be said that the band gets the meat and potatoes of the song right to begin with. You can remove every audible frill from the track and you’ll still be left with some really good vocals, strong riffs and pounding, heavy drums. The intro features a spacey and bright collection of synth sounds, and these are what form the more ambient part of the mix for the rest of the song. However, what matters is that one side doesn’t overpower the other. The retro sounds stay in the background and provide a clear and light companion to the emotive vocals (that span the entire ‘Sotelo range’; that is a made-up term but it makes the point) and heavy, distorted instrumentation. At the end of it all, ‘Hopeless’ is about its well-chosen vocal melodies and well-written riffs. And there are many of those. In fact, they maintain a very high quality throughout the song’s hard-hitting four minutes. Even the game-y outro doesn’t overstay its welcome. This song is a story of balances, and Paradise Plaza are on point with those.