Interview with Lord Of The Lost (Chris Harms)

«Death has always been a central theme in my artistic framework»

The German band Lord Of The Lost returns with a new full-length studio "dark" album, following their epic and brilliant period of "Blood&Glitter." OPVS NOIR is a title code that hints at the real nature of the album. The musicians skillfully play with words and promise us «light sadness, necessary peace, pleasant melancholy.» The record consists of three volumes, and each disc comes with a personal cover. The first volume of the album was released on August 8th, 2025, the second- on December 12th, 2025, and the Vol. 3 are planned for release on April 10th 2026. The frontman of the project, Chris Harms, again plays with words in the song titles and calls his favorite musicians from different bands to take part in creating the hits. Tina Guo, Infected Rain, and IAMX—this is not a complete list of the talents with whom Lord Of The Lost collaborated on the album.

Chris was kind enough to find time at the end of such a busy year to answer our questions.

So, this time you decided not to make any political, religious, social, or antisocial statements with your new album but decided to focus on exploring your inner world and exploring your dark experiences.

Chris: Correct, although there are some exceptions, for example, “The Fall From Grace” or “What Have We Become?”, which dare to look outside the window, something that can sometimes be an important ingredient when we analyze our inner world. Because what we feel inside is, more often than not, influenced by what’s happening around us. And many of our struggles and pains are caused by this world around us.

Do you feel that you are at the peak of your activity and your capabilities right now? You are in your prime era right now. Or maybe you can still achieve more and move into the category of A-list bands?

Chris: You never know when a peak or a prime era has been reached until it’s over. These are things that are named and defined by others only in hindsight. Nobody woke up on January 1st, 1500, and said, “Great, the Middle Ages are over; the Renaissance is finally here!” I’m hearing of an “A-list bands” category for the first time, but I generally don’t think about things like that; my brain might be wired a bit differently here.

Can you share any interesting moments or challenges that you faced during the recording of this album? Apart from the story of how you tried to put such a huge number of composed songs into one album.

Chris: I know everyone always wants to hear some surreal and crazy stories from the studio... hookers, coke, scandals, mental breakdowns, psychic meltdowns, creative blocks, emotional catastrophes, and of course partying every day, romantic studio sessions in the moonlight, leading to many unforgettable anecdotes, all just like in biopics such as The Dirt. But we actually find a lot of joy in well-organized and, for outsiders, absolutely boring work: 9 to 5, calm, relaxed, and in many steps, each one on their own. That’s why I would now have to make up one or two anecdotes to be more entertaining, I’m afraid…

It seems you've invited all your favorite musicians to collaborate across the three parts of the album. Who haven’t you been able to reach yet? And which guest’s contribution fell short of your positive or surprising expectations?

Chris: It certainly wouldn’t be beneficial in many ways to mention which collaborations we’re still actively working on that haven’t worked out yet. But there are definitely quite a few dream candidates left, and I think the list will carry names until the day I die. All the guests we have on OPVS NOIR exceeded every expectation. Nothing was surprising per se, but the emotional level and the intensity of each performance were, in all cases, even more beautiful, better, and more intense than we could have imagined. And we will forever be thankful and feel honored to work with such amazing people!

I noticed you prefer long, unusual, or complex titles and words for your songs and albums. Do you see naming as part of the art?

Chris: Yes. Quite often, an entire song comes into being simply because of the fascination with its potential song title. And long song titles already tell a little story; I like that.

Doesn't it trigger you that each member of the band has their own small fan club, and someone likes Chris more and someone likes Pi more? Don't you feel jealous of each other because of the attention from the press, colleagues, or fans?

Chris: No. And also no. I feel blessed to be surrounded by such interesting characters, each of whom could stand alone as a major star, instead of being part of a faceless horde with masks or boring-looking former music students hiding behind their Stratocasters and 8-inch toms. I know that even during a long song outro at a live show, I can leave the stage completely, and the show won’t become the slightest bit less exciting. And every one of these guys deserves 100% of the attention at all times.

One of the questions your fans are most interested in right now is, why did you get rid of your famous Lord tattoo, which has been a part of your identity for many years?

Chris: I didn't get rid of it. It's not a “cover-up” but a so-called “blast over”; you can still see the “LORD” under the new tattoo. I just feel like seeing something new when I look in the mirror or see myself in photos. In the end, tattoos are really just a more extreme form of a haircut, hair color, or clothing. You want something different every now and then with those, too. But none of that was ever part of my own identity; all of that is, ultimately, just stuff. The “I,” the self, the identity, should develop independently of all this stuff and should be able to exist or further develop without all of it.

Is it true that you make your guys walk around in all those awful, crazy fashion clothes, see-through pants, and all that?

Chris: I never made guys, girls, or any other person walk around in anything. I’m not interested in what people wear or don’t wear.

So, you released albums consisting of one record, an album that consists of 2 parts, and an album of covers, and now you have decided to create an album of 3 parts. In the future, are we going to have a 5- or 7-part album that you will release once a year or on dates of certain events?

Chris: I don't think so.

Each of your albums is a separate era or united by one idea. What era is Lord Of The Lost in now?

Chris: If we had to name our eras, then probably according to the corresponding releases. So this would now be the OPVS NOIR era. Maybe this answer is too obvious. But there is no other.

You've already shot so many videos. Do you remember them all? And which song's video would you like to retake?

Chris: An unbelievable amount, surely around 70 already… And yes, of course I remember them all. I would immediately go get a dementia test if I ever realized that I couldn’t remember shooting a certain music video. I may already be 45, but Grandpa still knows enough things from the past to tell his grandchildren by the fireplace. Everything in life has its time, and even though in the present you would always do certain things differently—technically better, artistically maybe more mature, conceptually better thought out—I rarely feel the urge to “correct” the past. Maybe you look at old things, like childhood pictures of yourself, and smile a little at the strange haircut and the weird clothes, but you also know that all of that felt right at the time. And it will be the same for me in an unknown future when I look back at the here and now. That’s okay! There is no ultimately “right” state that lasts forever. The only thing that matters is what feels good and right in this moment. And if you always do that as an artist and never lie to yourself, then you never have to be ashamed of anything you did in the past.

How was your meeting with Per Gessle?

Chris: One of the best days of my life. There are really no adjectives that can describe it.

I can say that one of the strangest collaborations in this 3-part album is definitely a collaboration with the band Feuerschwanz. For many listeners, the song looks out of place from the dark trilogy of OPVS NOIR.

Chris: The song is 100% Lord Of The Lost and 100% Feuerschwanz. Collaborations of this kind, which fuse two styles into an absolute hybrid, always have the potential for some people not to connect with it.

Which celebrity do you envy?

Chris: I don’t think I truly envy anyone at all.

It seemed to me that your “One Of Us Will Be Next” is pretty close to “One Last Song”. I think your work now often features themes of time's transience and possible death. Of course, you also have the hit song “Die Tomorrow”, but it seems like it had a more positive message. So, how often do you think about the transience of time and how your life will not be wasted and what you will leave after you?

Chris: But more than that, I’m interested in what we make of the knowledge of our own mortality. In this sense, especially “One Of Us Will Be Next” is at its core a “carpe diem,” or perhaps more accurately, a “carpe noctem” song, meant to show us that we must appreciate every good moment in good company. Because every group of people, no matter how small or large, is subject to the immutable and unavoidable fact that one of us will be next.

Something you don't like about your new album.

Chris: That we once again didn’t manage to make a booklet without mistakes. No matter how many rounds of proofreading you do, with multiple pairs of eyes, there’s always one tiny little error that somehow gets overlooked.

 What emotions, thoughts, or reactions do you hope to elicit from listeners with your new triple album?

Chris: I don’t think like that. First and foremost, I’m happy when I, and we as a band, am 100% satisfied with the album. If our music then triggers something in someone else that brings them happiness, in any form, that’s a wonderful bonus. But our main drive is never the reaction of others; it’s what makes us happiest.

What is the most difficult song from the new album for you to perform live? I mean, emotionally or technically.

Chris: We haven’t played it live yet, but “Winter’s Dying Heart” will almost certainly be the most emotionally challenging, alongside “One Of Us Will Be Next.” Technically, for me, all the songs are difficult in passages where there’s barely any time to breathe, while I have to sing enormous amounts of overly fast syllables, like in parts of “I Will Die In It,” “Bazaar Bizarre,” or “The Things We Do For Love.” I love vocal performances like these, but on stage they sometimes push me to the limits of what’s possible, and sometimes one or the other syllable has to give way to a quick inward breath.

In your opinion, which song has remained the most underappreciated by the public?

Chris: At the risk of sounding terribly arrogant, it honestly doesn’t matter to me.

What advice would you give to people who find it difficult to find their place in this world?

Chris: Don’t stop searching for this place, because there is so much beauty here that you haven’t yet discovered, or that hasn’t yet discovered you. And maybe you’ll find this place within yourself instead of somewhere else or in someone else. Our song “Walls Of Eden” describes exactly this struggle, this search.

Every year at Christmas, you delight your fans with something special. Although you often mention that you are not religious. How will you please your fans this time?

Chris: Christmas isn’t religious for me. It’s a traditional, predetermined time when family comes together, and world history has arranged things in a way that, at least in part of the world, no one has other commitments. That makes family gatherings possible on a scale that usually wouldn’t work during the rest of the year. I’m grateful for that. And I also enjoy giving gifts to loved ones and by that experiencing a little bit of joy in capitalism. For our fans, this year at Christmas the live recording of “Gothic Meets Klassik” is available on all streaming and download platforms.

Jenet Bonishi