{"id":564895,"date":"2026-02-04T04:50:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T04:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/564895\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T04:50:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T04:50:17","slug":"lord-of-the-lost-opvs-noir-vol-2-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/564895\/","title":{"rendered":"Lord of the Lost – Opvs Noir Vol 2 Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Little did I realize when Napalm announced that Lord of the Lost<\/strong> was recording a 33-song trilogy that each album would release so close to one another. A mere four months following the release of Opvs Noir Vol 1<\/a>, we get Opvs Noir Vol 2, and it\u2019s just in time for stocking stuffer season. Vol 1 was my introduction to this one-time Eurovision finalist, and I came away impressed. So I was pretty excited to see this in the doldrums of our December promo bin. With the quick release of Vol 2, I can only assume Lord of the Lost<\/strong> wrote all 33 songs of the trilogy together, Lord of the Rings-style. One hopes Chris Harms and crew are able to keep up the same level of quality that the trilogy began with.<\/p>\n

Opvs Noir Vol 2 dishes out what you\u2019d expect as a follow-up to Vol 1, only it\u2019s more consistent. From start to finish, Lord of the Lost<\/strong> delivers melancholic gothic\/industrial metal with heavy doses of pop. Tracks announce their gothic intentions with plenty of sorrowful strings, pianos, synths, and even some organs, not to mention Harms himself, whose voice oozes gothy vibes. Compared to Vol 1, the guest spots are more limited, and the tracks don\u2019t stray much from the Lord of the Lost<\/strong> formula. Two guests, however, prove an exception. One is the manic Finnish rapper, K\u00e4\u00e4rij\u00e4<\/strong>, whose claim to fame is a second-place Eurovision finish in 2023 for his song, \u201cCha Cha Cha<\/a>.\u201d He provides an energetic rap solo on the techno-industrial dance number, \u201cRaveyard,\u201d that\u2019s sure to prove divisive, but there\u2019s no denying he\u2019s having a good time. However, Infected Rain<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s Lena Scissorhands takes the cake on \u201cWould You Walk with Me Through Hell.\u201d She and Harms prove a perfect match as they alternate cleans and growls, leading up to an explosive finale that gets the album off to a strong start.<\/p>\n

Through the lyrics and a mellower sound, Lord of the Lost<\/strong> reveals their sensitive side. The heavy presence of piano lends to this softness, from the piano ballad \u201cOne of Us Will Be Next\u201d to the piano opening on the more rousing \u201cScarlight.\u201d Don\u2019t confuse sensitivity with weakness, however\u2014these two tracks are absolute bangers. The gentle opening of \u201cScarlight\u201d only makes it that much more powerful when it erupts into a catchy and moving chorus. Harms empathetically sings \u201cTell me your fears, take all the time you need\u201d in a manner that both melts and pumps up your heart. Yet this tune is outdone by the poignant \u201cOne of Us Will Be Next,\u201d which will have you shedding tears while singing along in a blubbering voice. Be careful of your surroundings, however, as you might draw looks when belting out that the next thing one of us will do is die. The combo of well-written lyrics, moving vocal performances, and cinematic instrumental passages creates a heartfelt, touching record.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The greater consistency proves a double-edged sword. On one hand, it leads to a more cohesive album, but on the other, it\u2019s a risk-averse approach. The middle of Opvs Noir Vol 2 sags on a couple of tunes that, while pretty good, play it a little too safe (\u201cThe Last Star,\u201d \u201cWhat Have We Become\u201d). The variety on Vol 1 made it a more engaging listen throughout, yet Vol 2 does feel more like a Lord of the Lost<\/strong> record. And some of these \u201csafer\u201d songs are still engaging thanks to the charisma of Harms. He mesmerizes on the minimalist finale, \u201cSharp Edges,\u201d with his tenor and cadence. Similarly, \u201cWinter\u2019s Dying Heart\u201d morphs into a lovely ballad thanks to the combination of symphonics, heavy guitar rhythms, and Harms\u2019s performance. Vol 2 feels more mature despite being only a few months older, and while maturity may sound like a code word for boring, here it lends a greater pathos.<\/p>\n

Despite having the same score, I\u2019d rank this slightly below Opvs Noir Vol 1. Whereas on Vol 1, Lord of the Lost<\/strong> grazed the score counter, Vol 2 is firmly in the very good camp. I prefer the variety on the prior record, but I also appreciate the fewer guest appearances on this one, which gives us a better glimpse into Lord of the Lost<\/strong>\u2019s identity. Further, nothing on Vol 1 hits as hard as \u201cOne of Us Will Be Next,\u201d which will most definitely compete for my song of the year spot. Considering how consistently good the Opvs Noir albums have been so far, I am looking forward to the final installment to release in, perhaps, just a few short months.<\/p>\n

\ufeff<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: 3.5\/5.0
DR<\/strong>: N\/A | Format Reviewed<\/strong>: Stream
Label<\/strong>: Napalm Records<\/a>
Websites<\/strong>: Bandcamp<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Official Site<\/a>
Releases Worldwide<\/strong>: December 12th, 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Little did I realize when Napalm announced that Lord of the Lost was recording a 33-song trilogy that…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":564896,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[29],"tags":[1444,63696,246336,239064,171,87809,246337,118422,246338,246339,246340,975,246341,246342,246343,2290,11853,132116,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-564895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-1444","tag-3-5","tag-baby-lasagna","tag-dec25","tag-entertainment","tag-german-metal","tag-gothic-metal","tag-industrial-metal","tag-infected-rain","tag-kaarija","tag-lord-of-the-lost","tag-music","tag-napalm-records","tag-opvs-noir-vol-2","tag-pop-metal","tag-review","tag-reviews","tag-symphonic-metal","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116010564288194697","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=564895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564895\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/564896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=564895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=564895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=564895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}