The German gothic metal titans are back with the third part of their trilogy of albums released over the last year. It’s no secret that I’ve been loving them so far, so wanted to finally do a deep dive on the finale and see how it ends. The band are now 12 studio albums deep as of this releasing tomorrow, so to say they have honed their craft would be an understatement. Let’s sink our teeth into this!
The release starts in not only epic, but heavy fashion. Strings build up into a huge scream from Chris, and a massive industrial riff. It picks up right were Vol. 2 left off in the best way. It drops back for the verse, Chris’ powerful vocals leading us through a very LOTL melody and some great lyrics. Surprisingly, the first half of the chorus drops back even more, just some orchestral elements behind the vocals. However, it just means when that riff and scream kick back in, it’s even more massive and impactful than before! I also love the dynamics of the track in that the second chorus keeps the guitars and drums around, keeping it anthemic but feeling HUGE. It’s also a simple song structure, getting in and out after two verses and choruses. However, it works excellently, and sets the tone for the album perfectly! An easy early highlight!
The first of a good few guest-features us up next, with the incredible Alea joining the band for ‘I’m A Diamond’. It starts low, with the drums, vocals and a great, bassy synth. It builds perfectly with the harmonised vocals and guitars, all leading towards the massive, arena-filling chorus! It feels more like a ballad than the previous track, but is still pretty heavy with the instrumentation, following the bands formula perfectly. The bridge was pretty heavy too, at least until it drops out to the beautiful piano melody. It’s very much a radio track, but I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. It was a great choice for a single, and a track that easily makes our playlist!
Single ‘My Funeral’ heavies things back up again with a dark, gothic riff and melody. It follows a similar vibe and structure to the previous track, but doesn’t get quite as big, the chorus staying a little more subdued and industrial. It was a nice touch, changing things up and keeping the dark vibe. It’s a simple track in theory, but is executed to perfection by a band that have really nailed their sound and writing. And we still got some great screams in the bridge, it fitting the track to a T. This time round it was a bit of an interesting choice for a single, it felt slightly album-track-esque, but was still a good song in its own right!
Another single and another guest slot, this one is so Wednesday 13 I’m shocked it landed on this release and not his album from last year. It’s an industrial track full of attitude and venom, and lyrics that skirt the line between cheesy, excellent and relatable. The pair’s vocals fit together perfectly though, and the band do a great job of changing their sound to fit who they’re working with, which is on great display here! It’s another simple track from a structure standpoint, but is a lot of fun, and would go down a storm live! We even get a fun little guitar solo tucked away in the middle, showing off how underrated of a player Pi is. It’s definitely one to check out if you like more of the light-hearted, horror-infused sound Wednesday is known for, but it still has plenty of LOTL staples throughout too!
Tracks like ‘The Shadows Within’ and ‘La Vie Est Hell’ are truly epic ballads. The former, while having some heavy instrumentation still, feels like it is lead by the piano, and the steady pace works perfectly with the soaring vocals. The latter follows a similar vibe, but trades in the piano for a clean guitar and a more driving, plodding drum. It also featured some awesome vocals from Kissin’ Dynamite frontman Hannes Braun, him fitting surprisingly well into the moodier atmosphere. The track being performed and written in French and being a play on the famous phrase was also a nice touch. It’s a great song and another big highlight of the album for me! It was interesting to put two slower tracks one after another though, especially when we’ve had a few heavier ones in a row!
While still on the steadier end pace-wise, ‘Square One’ is a gothic synth track through and through. It reminds me a lot of Smash into Pieces, or at least a combination of them and Birthday Party Massacre. It’s a simple track that still builds to a massive, infectiously catchy chorus, and fits the band and albums style perfectly. It’s a great song that, while does feel slightly album-track-like, it breaks up the album amazingly, and is still great in its own right!
Another ballad in ‘When Did the Love Break’, a brutal breakup song featuring Xandria’s Ambre Vourvahis. It’s yet another example of how well the band work with other vocalists, and this is a truly beautiful, bittersweet duet. ‘Your Love is Colder than Death’ is another moody, gothic-industrial metal track, at least changing things up a little again following the previous track. It’s not a bad song, but was the point that I started to feel just a little fatigue with the album. It’s been a lot of slower paced stuff in a row and, while they aren’t exactly known for their thrash, the opening tracks had so much energy and having another one slotted in later on may have helped. Still, again, neither are bad songs by any stretch!
The final two tracks of the album are two more epic, ballad-like songs. However, both feel unique to each other, as well as the rest of the release. Cats in Space alumni Damien Edward’s kills it on the first, and the heavy, screamed bridge was an excellent touch. Meanwhile, the closer is a truly epic, grandiose soundscape, closing things off rather perfectly! It feels almost ‘Sound of Silence’-like with its orchestral swells and main focus on the powerful vocals and lyrics. The lyrics in particular are horribly relatable. It’s another huge highlight of not only the album, but the trilogy as a whole, and I couldn’t think of a better closing track.
Overall: This was a great album! I do have to admit right out of the gate that I think my expectations after the last two were rather high, and this didn’t quite hit them. However, as an album as a whole, it is still damn good, and serves to cap off the OPVS NOIR trilogy rather perfectly. And, as an album as a whole, it’s still a great Lord of the Lost release, up there among some of their best. I still think I prefer the previous two, with Vol. 1 now firmly being my favourite album from the band, but if you have the chance to sit and listen through all of the trilogy, I would definitely recommend doing so! They really are the kings of their style, and are proving it time and time again!
The Score: 8/10
