Lord Of The Lost are a German Gothic Rock band known for their diversity. With albums ranging from 2010’s Fears to 2016’s Empyrean, to the brand-spanking new Thornstar, Lord Of The Lost are perpetually practicing the art of reinvention. In fact, just this past October, the band released Swan Songs II, a Neo Classical collection that proves once and for all that they can do many electric things, sonically speaking, and do them all with panache.
On their latest, the aforementioned Thornstar, the band return with an impressively weighty collection of new material that spans two discs. Here, they once again explore the concept album, weaving the story of a doomed high civilization (the Pangaeians) throughout the collection’s twenty total tracks. As always, delving into a multitude of sonic territories, Lord Of The Lost – Vocalist and Multi-Instrumentalist Chris Harms, Guitarist π (Pi), Bassist Class Grenayde, Drummer Niklas Kahl, and Multi-Instrumentalist Gared Dirge – never grow complacent and always push new boundaries.
Recently, the band’s talented Guitarist π sat down to talk about all things Thornstar – from the concept behind the collection to lyrics – as well as touring, highlights from the band’s career, and much more.
CrypticRock.com – Lord Of The Lost has enjoyed over a decade of writing, recording, and touring now. What have been some highs and lows of the past ten years?
π – There certainly have been a lot of highs. To name a few, there has been the Gothic Meets Klassik Festival, where we – or the boys back in 2013, I should say – performed with a full symphonic orchestra. Every album is a new high, especially the most recent one, Thornstar, and a new highlight for all of us is our M’era Luna 2018 show, which just felt incredible until the last second.
A big low was certainly the canceled U.S. tour with KMFDM in 2017, but then again, if it wouldn’t have been for that turn of events, Thornstar wouldn’t have come out the way it did!
CrypticRock.com – It’s true that sometimes disappointments can be a blessing in disguise. That said, throughout the entirety of your career, you’ve maintained a very diverse portfolio of music that branches across many genres. Was this always your goal and what inspires you to continuously make rebirth your art?
π – Our goal is to write the music we want to write and that comes naturally. First of all, it wouldn’t appeal to us to make the same album with the same sound over and over again; we are more like, “Been there, done that!” Apart from that, I guess it wouldn’t be very exciting for our fans to listen to the same sound over and over again. We evolve as people, so our creativity and things we draw inspiration from evolve with us, so I guess you could say the change itself is very inspiring.
CrypticRock.com – Evolution of sound definitely seems a natural inevitability, though sadly many bands do not evolve over time. Now, over just the past nine months, you have given birth to the equivalent of three full-length albums. Aren’t you exhausted?
π – Nope, we’re not even close to being done!
CrypticRock.com – Well, thank goodness for that! That said, Thornstar is a gorgeously-crafted double-disc. What made you want to release a 2 CD package?
π – Thank you so much! At first, we weren’t really intending to do a 2 CD package, but also did not actively decide to not do it. The reason for the second CD is that these songs do not really relate to the backstory or the concept of the album, whereas the 13 songs on the first CD all directly relate to it. Since the 7 songs from the second CD are up to par with the first CD nonetheless, musically speaking, we just put them on another CD.
CrypticRock.com – That makes perfect sense, actually. As you mentioned, there is a concept behind Thornstar, but it’s loosely done and never beats fans over the head with the storyline. What inspired the idea of theming the collection around the rise and fall of the Pangaeian civilization?
π – Well, initially we wanted to do sort of a sequel to Empyrean, which tells the story of our civilization leaving Earth behind and having to start over again; finding a new habitat, rebuilding social structures and values, etc. When we discovered the story of the Pangaeians, we immediately felt inspired to write about it and with all the information that we gathered, we actually had a lot to work with and theme out our album differently.
CrypticRock.com – It works wonderfully, it really does. Now, so far, you have released two very different tracks as singles: “On This Rock I Will Build My Church” and “Morgana.” Do you feel that somewhere in the divide between those two songs is the sound that truly represents Thornstar as a whole?
π – Since Thornstar is a very diverse album, the whole sound of it is neither found between those two songs, nor is it found outside of them. I guess, “On This Rock” and “Morgana” represent, what Thornstar is capable of, but rather leaves you wanting more without giving away too much.
CrypticRock.com – That is a very fair, well-worded assessment. Do you have a personal favorite lyric on Thornstar?
π – “Don’t let your downfall be destiny,” which is found in the chorus of “Ruins.”
CrypticRock.com – An excellent choice! What has the reaction been to the album, thus far?
π – Although we know that Thornstar is a very good album and we are very proud of it, the reaction that we have so far just crushed our expectations. The video for “Morgana” went viral, at least for our standards, the fans already can sing-along to the new songs that we have already played. We placed No. 6 on the official German album charts and No. 1 on the official German Alternative charts – we still are speechless from time to time!
CrypticRock.com – That’s amazing news and very much deserved for the band. So, there are a multitude of tour dates scheduled for Europe throughout 2018 and into 2019, but can North American fans hope to see you on our shores this record cycle?
π – Since our denial to enter the U.S. happened not even a year ago, we are afraid it is not going to happen.
CrypticRock.com – That is very, very unfortunate for US fans but our country is a mess right now. Alright, so, no matter where fans see you, what should they expect from Lord Of The Lost’s live performances?
π – Raw energy, loud noises, the joy for playing music, and the unexpected. Basically, five friends doing what they do best!
CrypticRock.com – No matter the location of the show, fans are in for a treat! Now, as stated previously, you’ve had such an immensely diverse career, as far as the genres you have touched on in your music. That said, if you had to put together a 3-song sampler to introduce Lord Of The Lost to someone who has never heard anything about the band, what three songs would you select to sum up the band’s career, thus far?
π – “Dry The Rain,” “La Bomba,” and “Morgana.”
CrypticRock.com – Great selections! Last question. At CrypticRock, we cover music as well as films, particularly Horror and Science Fiction. Are you a fan of either of these genres and, if so, do you have any favorites?
π – You can never go wrong with Star Wars! Apart from that, I am not too much into Horror or Sci-Fi.
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