'Lord Of The Lost' is a German formation which made itself known in a rather dark metal style like their compatriots 'Mono Inc.', their two last album 'Thornstar + 10 Thorns' dating from 2018. For this third part of 'Swan Songs III' (the 2 previous ones dating from 2015 and 2017), they decided to surround themselves with classical musicians, which means that the opus is entirely acoustic. In terms of content, it contains two CDs for a duration of approximately one hour and forty minutes (I withdraw the 4 minutes of the white title '4: 33' in a nod to that of the American composer 'John Cage') : first of all the first CD consists of original titles which were therefore composed with orchestral arrangements, then the second CD includes covers of different titles of the group rearranged for this orchestral version and finally the icing on the cake, a long and remarkable 18-minute epic and symphonic fresco.
Regarding the first album, 'A Splintered Mind' sets the tone with a clean first track that begins calmly with the piano/voice duo, the vocals of 'Chris Harms', with that deep register so characteristic of tuning perfectly in this atmosphere, then the strings are added then accentuating the melancholy side which is in a way the mark of the group, then, 'A One Ton Heart' continues in this quiet atmosphere with a new beautiful melody. Follows 'Dying on the Moon' with the participation of the pop singer, author and composer 'Joy Frost' which brings a welcome diversity on the vocal level, then 'Zunya' offers a composition in three-beat that could be described as a 'melancholy waltz' while 'Unfeel', after the slow introduction, is much more spirited, the strings bringing a certain lightness. The album's sequel scrolls, a dark 'Deathless' with its slow tempo, a heartbreaking 'Agape' filled with emotion, 'Hurt Again' and 'Amber' continuing in that poignant vibe, and that's with the melodic gem 'We Were Young' and its melody that never leaves you, embellished by the magnificent performance of the choir 'Heaven Can Wait Choir' that the first album ends, the last three tracks containing the anecdotal '4:33', the cover of 'Dying on the Moon' without 'Joy Frost' and another cover of 'We Were Young'.
The first 7 tracks of the second CD are therefore covers of old albums with 'Loreley', 'Morgana', 'Black Halo' and 'Cut Me Out' taken from 'Thornstars' from 2018 (which had already been covered in a clean version in '10 Thorns'), 'In Silence' from the album 'Empyrean' from 2016, 'Seven Days Of Anavrin' from the album 'Antagony' from 2011 and 'My Heart Is Black' from the album 'Die Tomorrow' from 2012. And then, to finish in style, 'Letters to Home', with its 18 minutes (it's almost a shame to have put this magnificent title last which comes after almost an hour and a half of music, so I advise you to listen to it alone), offers us an epic showing the trademark of this original formation, in the form of a symphonic work which takes us into a composition in several drawers making us go through all kinds of feelings, alternating the intensities while passing from a refined style piano/voice to the power of orchestra and in which ‘Chris Harms’ gives us an engaging vocal performance from start to finish, adapting to the give off ambiance of every moment.
In summary, this latest album from the Germans of 'Lord Of The Lost' is remarkable in every way and shows a symphonic facet quite far from the power of metal but which brings a whole different vision of the melancholic and melodic compositions which are the trademark of the group and which, even if some early metal fans will not necessarily find their account there, will certainly appeal to another audience adept at classical arrangements and orchestration in modern music... | |
