Dark Elegance with Lord of the Lost – OPVS NOIR Vol. 1 – Album Review

The Band

 

Lord of the Lost is a German dark rock band formed by singer Chris Harms in 2007 as a solo project, then added other musicians to play live, and that’s how the band started.

 

Band Members

• Chris Harms – vocals, guitars, cello 
• Pi Stoffers – guitars 
• Benjamin Mundigler – guitars, keyboards 
• Class Grenayde – bass 
• Gared Dirge – piano, keyboards, percussion, guitars, theremin
• Niklas Kahl – drums

 

 

The Album

 

This album is the band’s thirteenth studio album. Opvs Noir is a trilogy. OPVS NOIR Vol. 1 was released on August 8, 2025. OPVS NOIR Vol. 2 will be released on December 31, 2025, and OPVS NOIR Vol. 3 is expected in 2026.

 

 

The Songs

 

1. Bazaar Bizarre. The first track begins super operatic and then transforms into a synth tune. The instruments return to a more metal song, with a beautiful piano; the operatic epic feeling remains throughout the whole song. Violin and cello played by Chris, plus some heavy and chaotic parts, accompanied by harsh vocals and screams. Great opener.

 

2. My Sanctuary. Dark vibe, catchy, short, and sweet with a nice guitar solo. A song for introverts. In solitude, we create our world and our best work, where we find peace.

 

3. Light Can Only Shine In The Darkness. Featuring the Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation, their singer Sharon den Adel, and her lovely voice start this song, then Chris joins in on the second verse. Screams in the breakdown and a beautiful piano in the end, a beautiful song. Great collaboration, two gothic icons. Pretty love song.

 

4. I Will Die In It. I adore the instrumentation here: cello, keys, and synth; they lend a melancholic tone to the song, a grandiose feeling.

 

5. Moonstruck. The choir is performed by the a cappella band from Berlin, Stimmgewalt. The keys in the beginning sound like a horror, but are sweet like a Tim Burton movie track, a charming song.

 

6. Damage. In here, they sing with the Swedish industrial metal band Deathstars. A song that combines industrial and gothic styles. Heavy breakdown.

 

7. Ghosts. Tina Guo, the American cellist, plays along with Chris. Nice.

 

8. Lords Of Fyre. For this, they join forces with the German medieval metal band Feuerschwanz. Another great collaboration and super catchy song.

 

9. The Things We Do For Love. Starts very softly with Chris singing and the music gently playing in the background, which was just the first verse, though. It has its heavy parts too, like a power ballad. I like the rhythm changes.

 

10. The Sadness In Everything. Featuring the British symphonic metal band Tales of Time. It begins heavy. This is a gorgeous collaboration. I didn’t know the featured band. Their singer, Anna Maria Rose, has a pure and delicate voice. This is one of my favorite songs on the album.

 

11. Dreams Are Never Alone. The last track, a calm song to end a great work.

 

Final Thoughts

 

Chris Harms’s deep voice, Pi’s and Benjamin’s guitar riffs and solos, Class’s bass lines, and Niklas’s drumming sound amazing. But one of my preferred things in this album is the keyboards, piano, and synth played by Gared and Benjamin, which elevated this work for me.

The band has great collaborations here that made great songs.

Besides the music side, I’ve always liked Lord of the Lost videos (big productions), but the ones of this album have surpassed them. Beautiful, elegant, mostly in black and blue tones.

My gothic heart, which is sometimes hidden from time to time, resurfaces and is very happy with this new album.

Now we’ll have to wait for the other albums in this trilogy, yet I can imagine they will be delightful too.

 

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🎵 Album mentioned in this review:

👉 https://amzn.to/4aEzNAD

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Tracklist

 

1. Bazaar Bizarre

2. My Sanctuary

3. Light Can Only Shine In The Darkness

4. I Will Die In It

5. Moonstruck

6. Damage

7. Ghosts

8. Lords Of Fyre

9. The Things We Do For Love

10. The Sadness In Everything

11. Dreams Are Never Alone