Lord Of The Lost: "Having the chance combine visuals with music is magic"

Selected by Steve Harris himself, the German band Lord Of The Lost toured with the giants Iron Maiden in 2022 and 2023, also visiting our country four years ago. They are now perhaps in the most ambitious phase of their career. Having already released the first two volumes of the "Opvs Noir" trilogy and with the third one due out in a few days from today, they are visiting us for the first time as headliners.

We caught them in the middle of a tour, but singer, guitarist and core member Chris Harms and guitarist Benjamin "Benji" Mundigler took some of their precious time to talk to us about how important the feeling of an album release is, the attention they pay to their video clips, their acoustic concerns and their Eurovision experience.

Hello there Chris, hi Benji.

Hi. Good to see you.

Good to see you, too. How are you?

(Chris): All good. So good. It's the first day of spring officially today, I think.

Yeah, exactly.

(Chris): We just arrived here in Poland and actually the sun is shining. So it's the first time that we actually see a little more sun on this tour, I think. We're looking forward to the sun in Greece.

I'm wearing a t-shirt. So yeah, you’ll have your chances here!

(Chris): Yeah. I'm actually looking forward because I'm going to be two times in Greece this year. Once next week for the show and after the tour, the first thing I'm going to do, I'm going to go to Crete for holiday. So, I’m really looking forward to that when the tour is done the next morning in the sun.

I do not know if I should wish the first or the second time to be better!

(Chris): I hope both will be good and both will be very different. I think the second time I will just do nothing for a week. I will just be at the pool or at the city and yeah, looking forward to that.

I'm more looking forward to the first time! With the Opus Noir trilogy, you seem to return to a more traditional hard music that you were playing a bit earlier in your career. The third volume is on the way. How has the reception of the first two volumes been until now?

(Chris): I don't know, because you do not really know. It's selling very well, actually, so I think the reception is good, but it's always really hard to say because we barely read comments. That doesn't really help you. The people in front of the stage seem happy. It might sound weird or maybe even arrogant, but we don't mean it that way: the most important thing for us is that we are happy with that and I think this is the most authentic you can always give someone. And obviously the fans go with us and this feels good. We see the whole trilogy as one big album with 33 songs. So, we're in the middle of releasing one album. The third part is coming, but so far we're really, really happy.

I can understand that all the songs were written and recorded together, but maybe for marketing reasons, you have to release them separately.

(Chris): No, it wasn't for marketing reasons.

For business reasons.

(Chris): No, also not for business reasons. No. We just thought putting out 33 songs all together might be too overwhelming. It's more fun to do this bit by bit and keep this feeling of the record for the fans and for us alive for a longer time. Because nowadays for a record, you do all this marketing promotion, you're in the feeling of the album for a couple of weeks, then it's out and then nothing's happening. We wanted this album to breathe and live more, like bands did it in the ‘70s and ‘80s and ‘90s where the album was being kept alive for a much longer time because all these things didn't happen so quickly. We released the double album "Judas" a couple of years ago. There were 24 songs in it and we realized that for some people it was too overwhelming. It took them half a year to even touch the second CD, which I understand. So, that wasn't a marketing plan. It was really more about the feeling to give more space for the music.

(Benji): And imagine if we would have released all 33 songs last year in August, half the songs would have already been forgotten because it's just too much for people to digest in one session.

(Chris): Yeah. And for us, it's much more fun to actually be in this feeling.

"I wouldn’t put a label to our music to describe it to someone; I would just tell them to listen to it

Always have something new.

(Chris): Yeah. Actually, I must tell you, from a marketing point of view, it wasn't a good idea because we produced 33 songs with a budget for one album. We do marketing for three albums with a budget for one album. So actually, marketing wise, it's the most stupid thing you can do. But this also shows again that for us, music comes first and then marketing.

I would like to clarify, that I didn't give a negative touch to "marketing".

(Chris): I know, I know.

I was just meaning that you did it this way in order to always have a new album and so that people can always have new songs to listen to. I'm an album guy and I can totally understand this. Listening to a record that is 40-50 minutes is fine for me. I do not think I would listen to a 2-hour record from the beginning to the end.

(Chris): So I mean, nobody's got time to listen to 33 songs in one session anymore. It just takes too much time of your day.

When is the third volume coming out?

(Chris): April 10^th.

Very soon. I can still hear the gothic influences in the new songs. Would you say that gothic music is your most constant influence through the years?

(Benji): More or less. It's not something we actually actively choose. It's more the label that people always tend to give us because we have this kind of darkness influence us. Especially for this album, "Opus Noir", because it's also in the name. The idea was to delve into our own depths and darker sides, not in a negative way, but to accept the whole thing and to look at it from a completely different point of view. But obviously we have this darkness within our music and people tend to give that the gothic label. And so that's apparently the name we have.

(Chris): The thing is, I struggle to call this gothic influence because I'm not influenced by gothic things. I'm influenced by the darkness, I always like it. For me it's a happy place, a safe place. And dark music gives me a good mood. You know, it makes me stronger. I like it, but it's not that we were influenced by gothic bands or gothic stuff and we felt like, "okay, let's follow this path." It's something that comes from the inside, from a weird place. And I think many people can relate. Maybe we're just wired differently. I'm the kind of guy that can listen to Slipknot and be made extremely relaxed. And other people that are wired differently wouldn't get that. It makes them aggressive. So I think it's something that comes from the inside.

So if you would have to put a label to your music to describe it to someone...

(Chris): No, I wouldn't. I wouldn't. I would just say "listen to it." Everyone else out there is already describing it.

"With Napalm Records, we have the best contract you could ask for

You have also put out some orchestra albums. Can you describe the concept between that in a couple of words?

(Chris): We had the chance to do an unplugged acoustic show with an orchestra in 2013 and we decided not to do the Metallica "S&M" thing with distorted guitars and orchestra. We went full unplugged and we liked that so much that we felt we'd like to do songs like that. Some new songs, and also recreate songs that already exist, which is a lot of fun. It's interesting if you take your own songs and cover them in a different genre, unplugged with orchestra. And it's a very different feeling, especially when you play concerts. The people are sitting, you're sitting, everybody is coming with a suit and a nice dress, but it's still the same music and the same people. It kind of gives us a chance to do our own side project within the band. So it was mostly about fun and us being musicians, trying to do more versatile stuff with our own stuff.

Will there be another acoustic album in the future?

(Chris): Yes. The last one came out just when the pandemic had hit, in 2020. We want to put a new one out next year. We don't know if we can stick to this plan, but actually we want to put out "Swan Songs Volume 4" sometime next year.

You have also released many EPs. What's the use of such a format for you?

(Chris): You have an album out and you're being creative and you're waiting for the next album, but you think that maybe you have like three, four songs, which you'd really like to put out now. Or sometimes we had a tour with another band at this time and it made sense to maybe put out something. These EPs always were more or less a spontaneous thing with us and the label where the next album was still too far in the future for us. So it was more spontaneous decisions to just put out some more music.

You mentioned your label and I think that for many years you have been collaborating with Napalm Records.

(Chris): We are under contract with them for nearly 10 years now. I think we signed with them in 2017.

How is your collaboration with them? And how do you see the record company as collaborators?

(Chris): Well, we have the best contract you could ask for. We have 100% artistic freedom. We can do whatever we want. If we decided that our next album would be gangsta rap or reggae or happy hardcore 90s electro, or all three at the same time, we could actually do it. No one's asking us to do anything or to change anything. We have 100% artistic freedom, 100% trust in our decisions. And it's the best an artist could ask for.

It’s very nice to have a constant collaborator who believes in you and to be ultimately free to do whatever you want. That's fantastic. Yeah, that can give the best idea to you.

(Chris): It can be different. And I'm not talking about Napalm Records in particular. I'm talking about labels in general. It can be this or that. There are also artists out there which are 100% controlled by a label or a management. It can be everything in between. So no record label ever has one standard contract, which is always the same with the artist. This is something which is highly individual. We just prolonged our contract with Napalm Records for another three albums or so, because we're so happy with them.

"Orchestra albums and unplugged performances give us a chance to do our own side project within the band

You couldn't ask for something better.

(Chris): No. I can be open about this because everybody knows that no record deal is forever. We had a couple of albums with Napalm and we checked the whole market and got offers from nearly all the other labels to just check what are the opportunities and we decided to stay with Napalm.

So right now you are on tour and I can understand that you are touring a lot. When do you write music? Can you write when you are on the road or do you have to be back home and be more relaxed in order to write new music?

(Chris): Both.

(Benji): I think it would be fair to say it's easier though when you're at home. On the tour can sometimes be inspiring when you've got all these impressions, all the action around you. But personally, I need a bit more quietness and a bit more space and time to delve into the music I'm trying to write. So it's easier at home.

(Chris): Yeah, I wouldn't write a song between now and soundcheck today, but sometimes when I have an off day on tour and I feel like I want to be creative, this can happen.

(Benji): We've had days like, I remember we were writing some lyrics and vocal lines in the back lounge of a nightliner bus at 1 o'clock at night and then singing some demos hoping nobody wakes up. So that does happen as well.

(Chris): Actually when we talk about the trilogy, some songs are a couple of years older, but the major part of the songs was written between in the whole year of 2024. We really actively started writing in January 2024, and we wrote until the end of the year, and then we hit the studio.

You seem to take care and to pay attention to your videos too. There are many videos that are nice and impressive, like "Under the Sun", "Loreley", "Black Halo", "Ruins". What's the significance of picture in today's music?

(Chris): We don't only pay attention to videos, we also pay a huge load of money for videos, because we think that the visual part is important for us and it's a lot of fun to have a good video out there. Sometimes it's also fun creating them. It depends on how you create them. Sometimes it's boring film studio work, sometimes it can be interesting places. And for me, most of the time when we create music, I see pictures, I see colors, I see things, I have visions. And actually to have the chance to try to combine the visual with the music, that's a magic thing for me. And I also believe, and here comes the marketing again, that for a band like us, a music video is a way better marketing than Facebook ads or Instagram ads or print advertising and all these kind of things. I think the money being spent on videos, which are being watched constantly every day, is actually helping people to go on Spotify, Deezer, wherever, listen to our music or buy our CDs or buy our merch. I think it's an accelerator for the whole process, apart from it being fun to create something visual.

(Benji): We are a very visual band. I mean, we clothe for the videos or for the stage, we put on the makeup, there's always a very visual aspect to everything we do as well.

"A music video is a way better marketing than Facebook or Instagram ads or print advertising. It's an accelerator for the whole process

What part of what we see in the videos is transferred on stage? What kind of production should we expect on stage in a couple of days?

(Chris): Well, it's us being in Greece for the first time on a headliner tour. We obviously do not have the chance to bring a big pyro show or whatever on this kind of tour. There will be a couple of hundred people and this gig is just about having a chance to play in Greece and lose a lot of money to make it happen. That’s what you can expect and we're looking forward to it. Don't get it wrong. I just want to say, the last time we played in Greece was with Iron Maiden. Please don't expect us to do the same show that they do. We can't. You can expect to get a hell of a show with six musicians who love their job on stage, with great energy and great songs and a lot of fun. But this is not a tour where we can bring like the biggest pyro show in the world.

It cannot fit in the club!

(Chris): No. And it's all about it's all about the music in the end.

You mentioned Iron Maiden. How do you feel that Steve Harris himself picked your band to fill the support slot for two Iron Maiden tours and how were the tours that you did with them?

(Chris): That was crazy when we got the first call from our booking agent that they want us on tour, that they requested us, they booked us. It's not like we asked them to, they chose us. That was crazy. And it was even crazier the second time, because when they ask you a second time, it means it was good the first time. They don't ask you a second time because the first time was shit and they give you a second chance. So that was amazing.

(Benji): And ironically, Steve Harris told us that he found us via YouTube music videos. So, there you go again, that's a circle with why we do videos.

A seal of approval for doing nice videos!

(Benji): Funnily enough, about four years ago we were able to see him play with his other band, British Lion, in the venue that we're playing in today. We chatted about his bass pedal and I still remember that.

I think that with British Lion he plays smaller venues than the one that you will be playing in Athens.

(Chris): Sometimes yes, sometimes not. We’re sorry, but we have to do this very quickly because we need to jump into the next interview now.

Okay, I’ll be quick You have taken part in the Eurovision contest. How was the experience? Would you do it again? Was it an endless fanfare?

(Chris): No, it was a lot of work, but still it was amazing. We would do it again. We loved it.

I won’t spend more of your time. Thank you very much. We are waiting for you in a couple of days. And I wish you all the best, guys.

Thank you. See you!

Lord Of The Lost play their first headline show in Athens on March 27^th, at Gagarin 205. Tickets here.