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With Eurovision and a spell touring with Iron Maiden in their rear-view mirror, the next record from Lord Of The Lost had to be something appropriately ambitious. Enter Opvs Noir Vol. 1, the first in a trilogy of albums that ushers in a darker, more melancholic era. The German darkwave metallers aren’t reinventing themselves, however: Vol. 1 is a kind of reintroduction to the band that existed long before they were ever on our television screens.
That’s not to say they’ve left their glam industrial-goth sound behind but, having previously dabbled in orchestration on the 2015–2020 Swan Songs albums, they’ve now brought that element back, adding a robustness and theatricality that suits the album’s grand intent. Opening track Bazaar Bizarre, with its pummelling symphonic metal intro, pulsing 80s synths and Chris Harms’ unmistakeable baritone, tells you right out of the gate who the band are today.
That convergence of the industrial and orchestral ends of the gothic metal spectrum is a hallmark of LOTL’s sound in 2025, and it suits them. The transition from Moonstruck – a thrilling symphonic metal anthem with haunting choirs – into the driving industrial beat of the highly danceable Damage, featuring Deathstars’ Whiplasher Bernadotte, is probably the best example here of the band connecting their past to the present.
They also know how to pick their collaborators. The distinctively sweet voice of Within Temptation’s Sharon Den Adel on Light Can Only Shine In The Darkness lifts the song’s instantly memorable chorus, while Lords Of Fyre, featuring Feuerschwanz, is destined to be a live favourite on the bands' co-headline tour this autumn.
Opvs Noir Vol. 1 is not a perfect record, and some of the more straightforward, mid-tempo tracks such as My Sanctuary are overshadowed by the highlights, but it’s a smart, thoughtful and personal statement from the band, with many darkly glittering moments.
Opvs Noir, Vol. 1 is out on August 8 via Napalm
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