German genre-bending metal act LORD OF THE LOST are back at it with “Blood & Glitter,” the 8th album of their impressive catalog. The album was released on December 30, 2022, via Napalm Records and it’s a curveball, to say the least. But if you’re familiar with their work, this album should not come as a surprise as much as it should amuse you. Allow me to explain why.
Not sure if I’m right or wrong, but I have a theory on why this album is the way it is, why it sounds like this, and why its lyrical content is the way it is. Since some of their “fans” labeled LORD OF THE LOST as a cringe metal band, this album leans into that a little bit. I mean, I should believe that the same band that released such masterpieces as “Judas” and “Thornstar” has now written and composed this mixed bag of an album, without parts of it being intentionally made that way? Nah, that doesn’t track. However, it does track with their cheeky IDGAF attitude and such numbers as bitchfest “Leave Your Hate in the Comments,” synth-laden “Absolute Attitude,” poppish “No Respect for Disrespect,” and futuristic “Leaving the Planet Earth,” are the ultimate proof that my theory might just be right. Moreover, lead single and opening song “Blood & Glitter” is their cringe metal anthem, being as shallow and repetitive as it can get.
While none of their albums sound the same as the previous ones, they have done a radical 180 turn and chosen the ‘70s and ‘80s style of music (i.e. heavy on keyboards, synths, and vocal effects) as the soundscape for “Blood & Glitter” and it is just as cheesy as it sounds. But this album is also heavy on harsh vocals that make for an interesting clash with the sound itself, which was very reliant on clean vocals. However, this aspect says a lot about how the music should come across – an updated version of that particular scene but adapted to today’s audience. With all that being said, LORD OF THE LOST have put a lot of their signature sound into this album, as they have used synths and electronica before in their music, but these songs are neither “Raining Stars,” “Blood for Blood,” nor “Forevermore,” no, they are perversions of that. As such, tracks like industrial-sounding “Reset the Preset,” “Dead End,” and “Forever Lost” are about as silly as the aforementioned singles are well-crafted anthems.
All this imbalance is even more evident when album highlight “One Last Song” comes along and reveals what LORD OF THE LOST can actually accomplish when they take songwriting seriously and don’t just fuck around. The same can be said about “The Look,” since this ROXETTE cover sounds just as good as the original, with the dual vocal deliveries between Chris Harms and German pop singer Jasmine Wagner, aka Blümchen. “Destruction Manual” has a crazy good headbanging rhythm that will have audiences going crazy when/if this is played live and “The Future of a Past Life” is not half bad, as Chris Harms and Marcus Bischoff’s vocal tradeoff really elevates it. So why release such an album, though? Because they need to get all this out of their collective systems in order to go on and do better things.
In conclusion, all I can say is well played, guys, well played! The public wanted cringe metal, and you delivered some cringe with “Blood & Glitter.” Honestly, I can’t take this album seriously unless I see it as not just a raised middle finger (as per the cover artwork) to the community that has always criticized LORD OF THE LOST for being themselves and following their musical instincts, but also as a delivery upon those same criticisms. On the other hand, if my intuition, common sense, and critical thinking have utterly and systematically failed me about “Blood & Glitter,” then maybe this album is the price they had to pay for the success of “Judas.” Time will definitely tell.
Written by Andrea Crow
Tracklist
1. Blood & Glitter
2. Leave Your Hate In The Comments
3. Absolute Attitude
4. The Future of a Past Life (feat. Marcus Bischoff)
5. No Respect For Disrespect
6. Reset The Preset (feat. Andy LaPlegua)
7. Destruction Manual
8. Dead End
9. Leaving The Planet Earth
10. Forever Lost
11. Save Our Souls (feat. Ally Storch)
12. One Last Song
13. The Look (Roxette cover) (feat. Blümchen)
Lineup
- Chris Harms – vocals
- Pi Stoffers – guitars
- Klaas Helmecke – bass
- Niklas Kahl – drums
- Gerrit Heineman – guitars, synths, piano
Label
Napalm Records
Links
WEBSITE | NAPALM RECORDS | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER
