Napalm Records
8 August 2025
Genre: Industrial Metal
Line Up:
Chris Harms – Vocals, Guitar
Pi Stoffers – Guitar
Benjamin “Benji“ Mundigler – Guitar, Synths
Klaas Helmecke – Bass
Gerrit Heinemann – Piano, Synths, Percussion
Niklas Kahl – Drums
Tracklist:
1 Bazaar Bizarre
2 My Sanctuary
3 Light Can Only Shine In The Darkness (& Within Temptation)
4 I Will Die In It
5 Moonstruck (& Stimmgewalt)
6 Damage (feat. Whiplasher Bernadotte)
7 Ghosts (feat. Tina Guo)
8 Lords Of Fyre (& Feuerschwanz)
9 The Things We Do For Love
10 The Sadness In Everything (feat. Anna Maria Rose)
11 Dreams Are Never Alone
Following their Eurovision Song Contest appearance for Germany, touring alongside Iron Maiden, co-headlining with Feuerschwanz, and performing at increasingly larger venues worldwide thanks to Blood & Glitter, most would expect the Germans to continue mining their successful glam/goth metal formula for easy profits. But that’s not their way. Rather than coasting on past achievements, Lord Of The Lost deliver the opening 11 tracks from a ambitious 33-song project, featuring 15 collaborative pieces with 5 appearing on this Opus Noir Vol.1. While unnecessary—they had a proven formula that could have sustained effortless growth—Lord Of The Lost consistently push their own boundaries. This album examines the band’s musical evolution and influences, honoring their past while weaving everything into a framework that defines the current Lords Of The Lost.
Concerns about their artistic direction vanish rapidly, and after My Sanctuary has battered my skull around the room through countless replays, it’s clear something remarkable is taking shape.
The collaboration featuring Within Temptation’s Sharon den Adel integrates seamlessly, working as effectively here as it would on a WT record. This uplifting, powerful track highlights the vocal contrast between Chris Harms and Sharon beautifully. Despite my initial skepticism on paper, the result is gorgeous—worth the album purchase alone.
Damage pairs them with Deathstars’ Whiplasher Bernadotte in what seems the most natural collaboration. When planning these partnerships, Bernadotte’s name practically writes itself at the top of the list. The track succeeds effortlessly—how could it fail?—leading perfectly into Ghosts featuring cello virtuoso Tina Guo. Seven tracks deep with vastly different approaches throughout, yet each unmistakably Lord Of The Lost. It leaves you wondering if there’s any combination they can’t transform into brilliance. Opus Noir proves the ideal title, and this represents merely the first third.
Band followers will recognize that their Feuerschwanz tour spawned The Lords Of Fyre, another flawless pairing that represents both acts equally in title and sound. Dragons, armor, goths, children of darkness—combinations that shouldn’t succeed but somehow, with intelligent creative minds at work, achieve perfection once more.
The album concludes with three additional tracks, including a vocal duet with Anna Maria Rose on The Sadness In Everything. Despite the title’s implications, sadness isn’t what you’ll find here. Instead: intelligence, uplift, brilliance, beauty. And much more!
Ratings: 10/10
Editors Pick 
Reviewed by Adrian Hextall
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