Lord of the Lost : "OPVS NOIR Vol. 1"

These guys are back with their grandiose take on metal that feels like it's gotten bigger this time around, and midway into the opening track, you can hear how they are moving up the bill on European festivals with this album. This comes after opening slots for Iron Maiden, which made them step up their game. Though they are sticking to what they have been doing up until this point in their careers and not dumbing things down for an American audience, so you are either into this or you are not. Yes, the ahrsher vocals might appeal a little more to Western audiences, but they're only one aspect. 

I liked the darker, brooding verses of "My Sanctuary," which flirted with a gothier sound, but the chorus was too upbeat in its anthemic declaration, which feels like something the 69 Eyes might have done. Sharon den Adel from Within Temptation lends her voice to "Light Can Only in the Darkness," bringing a symphonic metal sound to the forefront, which is the dominant element of the overall sound. This album sounds very European, as heard on "I Will Die In It", which works, but things start to get a little for theatrical on "Moonstruck" 

"Damage" finds the symphonic elements colliding with the more industrial influence to feel like VNV Nation jamming with Dimmu Borgir. It works better than some of the more flowery flourishes of the other songs. "Ghosts' follows a very similar formula to the previous song. To his credit, Chris Harms is one of the better singers to rise in prominence in recent years. "Lords of Fyre" sounds like they wrote this with Andrew Loyd Weber for a folk metal musical. It does build into a heavier section, and this album feels more metal than most of what I've heard from them. 

Predictably from the title alone, "The Things We Do Love" starts off as more of a ballad. When the drums kick into the verse works much better, and Harms' vocal phrasing is interesting to redeem the song of its sappier elements. "The Sadness In Everything" touches too closely into the sonic neighborhood of Nightwish for me. It does not feel dark or heavy, but like something from a more aggressive Disney musical. There is a similar drama to the last song, but it is more balanced with darker moods. Overall, this is an ambitious album. I appreciate the emotive qualities, sometimes they are just done in a manner that is not my thing, but I can still hear how they made the album they set out to make, for their fan base that wants this sort of thing so for that reason I will give this a 9.  

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Lord of the Lost - "Weapons of Mass Seduction"

 

They open this covers album with their take on Billy Idol's "Shock to the System". This is fitting because I have thought Harm's sounded like Billy Idol on parts of their previous albums, so this influence is not a surprise. For a band to take the time to learn another artist's song and then take even more time to record it must mean that the song holds value to them. Or they would be focusing on their own songs. This makes their choices more telling. They obviously are fans of modern pop music as the cover of  Sia's "Unstoppable" indicates. 

Without the falsetto vocals Bronski Beat's "Small-Town Boy" which was once an underground gay anthem, is much less haunting, not really conveying the same inner struggle of the original. Speaking of gay, the same could be said of Judas Priest's "Turbo Lover" which captures the feel of the guitar, Harms goes into more of a vocal fry scream than a powerhouse falsetto. His baritone is more flexible than most singers of his kind. The Ultravox cover captures the feel of the song well enough.  Not a huge fan of the original either. 

Never gave Micheal Jackson's "Dangerous" album much of a listen so I am less than invested in the cover of "Give In To Me". I do know this was the album's "Dirty Diana" so the guitar parts were already well prepped for the band, who up to this point has been making these songs their own. I am not that familiar with Bishop Briggs, so her "River" does not do a great deal for me. Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know" is too sappy for my tastes, I guess they make the most of what they have to work with here. 

"Died In Your Arms Tonight" is turned into a duet. This plays to the favor of his baritone allowing the female vocal to take the higher parts. However, I think it would have been more interesting for him to have sung the "it must have been something I said " parts. Aside from this, it might be the album's best song. It is probably my first time hearing Zealia Day's "High" and I can only imagine that the band is making some improvements as they go. I do know the Pretty Reckless' "House on a Hill". I think I prefer her version. I will give this album an 8.5, I know there is another version being released with more songs on it but the label gave me this one so that is what I am going with, it works pretty well more often than not and I always enjoys Harms' performance. 

Corlyx : "Blood in the Disco"

 

You got to love a band that refuses to make the same album twice. This time they are veering off into more of a 90s electro pop sound in the vein of bands like Curve. The vocals purr over the bass driven grooves, while they shadow of the core sound have not fade but give room for upbeat pulse of the song. Male vocals chime in on "Raindrops" which takes a smokier approach to the direction they were heading in when the album opened. It rides that line where cold wave meets pop. Lyrically things have more depth this time around. "The Echo" is more in line with where they were heading on their previous album, though marginally more upbeat. This album does explore a broader range of synth sounds. 

 Caitlyn's vocals on this album have sexier smokier feel on this album. There is something more tangibly sensual about how they slither over the songs. This amplifies the message of songs like "Take off Everything:  Chris Harms of Lord of the Lost joins them for " Never Love" which comes the closest to melding with the current goth landscape.   Harms voice adds some grit in places. This album reminds me that many of the so-called goth icons when they had their heyday in the 80s were basically making pop music. The way the back off into a more melodic side for "Incinerate: my point is further proven. Which is also to say the songwriting is really great on this album to inspire such a comparison. In some place her voice is like the sultrier tone Kate Bush touches on when striking a similar chord. 

"Lace and Latex" is one of the album's darkest moments with the band cruising through a sonic zip code similar to Switchblade Symphony. In terms of mood the latter part of the album haunts similar shadows. It flows very well and grows on me with each listen. This album is also benefits from the production value stepping up in terms of the pristine mix these sounds are delivered in. There is more of a post-punk feel to "the Threshold". The last song splits the difference between the more melodic pop ambiance the delved into at the onset of the album and their dark wave side.  I will go ahead and round this up to a 10 as it is still growing on, me but fans of the band should embrace these new sounds.

Gothtober- Lord of the Lost : "the Heartbeat of the Devil"

 This German band I have always lumped into the offspring of Rammstein who bordered more on the side of nu-metal than goth. This ep which is predominantly cover songs, challenges that preconception. The singer's voicer is more like Billy Idol than Jonathan Davis on the original song that opens the album. It is pretentious and grandiose in the orchestration this song flows around. Of all the covers on this album I am least invested in "Judas" . It's Lady Gaga, and while I have heard her songs in passing, I have never listened to one of her albums. I like it is fortunate to be unfamiliar with the source material in this case. What they are doing works for me, I can hear how this chorus is constructed reflects what Lady Gaga does, I think the things I do not like about her music these guys balance out with their Mushrommheady attack, 

Now at the other end of the spectrum when it comes to artists, I am invested Iron Maiden is going to be at the top of the list. Choosing "Children of the Damned" is a bold move. This guy does not have Bruce's pipes. However, to his credit he works with what he has, while there is a great deal of orchestrated pomp and circumstance, hanging off what they have done here. It works. DO they nail the big build this song swells into, mmm well he does hit a falsetto note. But overall, not so much. Granted there is a huge stylistic gap between what they do and what Maiden does/ Does Maiden out gun them at every angle when it comes to musical prowess? Yes. They squirm their way around this fact somewhat gracefully

I think Hedwig's "Wig in a Box" is another bold move. However, his voice is more suited for it. This guy has impressed me as a singer, and I will give their stuff a shot from this point on. The piano version of the title track is not as effective as the more balls to the wall version they opened this album with.  I will give this one a 9, it is very effective for what it does and shows me who these guys are even if they do not play their own songs more often than not.