German Gothic/Industrial metallers Lord of the Lost recently released “Judas”, one of the most ambitious and polished albums in their career. A massive 24-track double album full of the best the band has to offer.
That is why I was surprised to see that they are back with a brand new EP. Then I realized this EP was for one of those songs in the “Judas” album: “The Heartbeat of the Devil”. To be honest, when I listened to Judas I always felt that one was one of the weaker songs in the whole collection, so I was intrigued as to why it was chosen as a single and an EP. This is a 5-song recording that includes the single version of the above-mentioned song, a piano version of it, and 3 cover songs. Let’s give it a spin.
The EP starts with the single version of “The Heartbeat of the Devil”. In general, this is a quiet mellow song where the piano lines lead the way, and definitely one of the least heavies I have heard from the band. To me, it always felt more like a heavier Depeche Mode song. However, I do think they did a good job at trimming some bits from the original to create this single version, as the original can feel a bit repetitive at times. Next is “Judas”, a cover version for the Lady Gaga original. While I do listen to pop music myself from time to time and appreciate a good Pop to Metal cover, I don’t think this song succeeds completely. Chris Harms’ voice fits perfectly the style of the song, but I am not a big fan of the industrial arrangements they did for the song, as they sometimes feel a bit forced. I believe the end product could have fit their style better if they had slowed the tempo a little bit. Next is a cover version of Iron Maiden’s classic song “Children of the Damned”. I know, metal purists and Maiden fans would spew at the idea of a modern Industrial Metal band covering a beloved 80’s classic, but let me tell you, this one actually works. The intro sounds beautiful with the strings section and Helms’ voice fits perfectly the mood of the song, Lord of the Lost manage to make it their own. The faster second half of the song is very enjoyable as well, and I appreciate how they solved the double tempo using a synth bass loop. “Wig in a Box” is the next cover, and although I’m not familiar with the original, I read it is from a rock musical. I’ll just put it out there, I hate Rock Musicals in general. I just do not like the way arrangements in musicals like to make everything sound whimsical and disjointed, making a hodgepodge of sounds and tempos that never make much sense to me. This is no exception, the song feels and sounds like a song from a musical, only with Indus-Goth arrangements, not for me.
The EP finishes with a piano version of the title track.
Actually a nice version of the original song, that is already very piano-driven. It is very calm and mellow and feels different enough from the original song.
Production-wise, Lord of the Lost has always had a really good grasp of how to sound good. Their songs might feel too polished at times, and here is no different, but it sounds really good. Unfortunately, I don’t think this EP is worth spending too much money on when there really isn’t a lot of meat in it. Except for the surprisingly amazing Iron Maiden cover and a more approachable version of the title track, there is just not enough in this release for me. Only for fans of the band.
For fans of: The Birthday Massacre, Mono Inc., Stahlmann, Lacrimas Profundere
Lord of the Lost: Facebook
Release Year: 2022
Label: Napalm Records
Category: EP
Country: Germany
Reviewed by Roman Ibarra
