Is it possible to review one album of a trilogy, especially if that is the concluding volume? Well, that’s what I am trying to do here with the final chapter in the Opvs Noir trilogy by Lord Of The Lost.
Lord Of The Lost – Opvs Noir Vol 3
Release Date: 10 April 2026
Words: Paul Hutchings
My knowledge of this German band is limited. A name that has been around for nearly two decades, and who got to the final of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, their European pomp is not a genre I usually dive deeply into. I will be honest, anything with a Eurovision vibe usually gets the swerve. But in for a penny, in for a pound as the saying goes.
Volumes 1 and 2 were released in 2025, so this is a swift follow-up. Kill The Lights opens things up with dynamic bravado, a heavy edge lurking underneath the melody and over the top keys that drench the band in a dark electronica.
String sections flood I’m A Diamond, flashes of Modern Metal and the guest vocals of Saltatio Mortis from Alea, the German Medieval outfit. It is big, dramatic, and sets the pace.
Although the band has a distinctly European sound, they straddle many genres in their delivery. Despite the darkness that the band create, My Funeral echoes Sabaton with friendly riffs and a hook big enough to catch Moby Dick.
It is here that founder and band leader Chris ‘The Lord’ Harms comes into his own, with a dominant gothic vocal that adds to the overall atmosphere. The band’s combination of electronica and chunky riffs will not endear them to all, but when Wednesday 13 joins the band on the horror punk tinge of I Hate People, a song about equality, you are either singing along or reaching for the off button.
The album is littered with guests. Kissin Dynamite’s Hannes Braun joins in on La Vie Est Hell, a track drawn from the book of poetry Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire. Sung partly in French, this is a big, bombastic, industrial-tinged track.
Later on, the arrival of Damien Edwards from Cats In Space adds quality to the duet Take Me Far Away and that is before we get to the ethereal singing of Ambre Vourvahis (Xandria), who provides the necessary female element to When Did The Love Break?
It is a right mix of styles, from operatic drama through to more crunching performances and capped off with a ballad The Days Of Our Lives.
Cinematic soundscapes are painted throughout, and I will be honest, although it is not my bag, I did enjoy many aspects of this release. The production is high-end, the songs are well-crafted and beautifully performed. The conclusion of the trilogy is complete, the next question is one which I assume Lord Of The Lost have already planned.
Lord Of The Lost release Opvs Noir Vol 3 on 10 April 2026 via Napalm Records. Pre-orders are available from lnk.to/LOTL-OPVSNOIR, with the early formats already sold out.
