The extremely flamboyant Lord of the Lost made their Montreal debut in September, and it was a fun change of pace within the industrial-style music. Opening for them on this leg of the tour was Julien-K.
I wasn’t familiar with Julien-K going into the show, so I had no clue what to expect from these kink-leather-gear-clad industrial performers. As I learned during their last song, they were formerly part of the group Orgy and performed their big hit (a cover of a cover), Blue Monday, to prep the stage for Lord of the Lost. Ryan Shuck was in top form, bouncing around the stage and creating the energy needed to segue into the next band.
Amir Derakh, however, was the polar opposite of Shuck. His costume, resembling a formal military uniform, gave me pause. The guitar slung like a rifle and his frequent salutes made a few friends and me feel a little uneasy. After the show, I did some searching and found that this was actually a Zogist salute, meant to be more anti-regime than pro-authoritarian.
With only two bands on the lineup, we got to the main act fairly quickly. For their first time in Montreal, Lord of the Lost drew a nearly sold-out crowd on a Tuesday night. A lot of my friends who attend the 70,000 Tons of Metal festival cruise had told me that I had to see them live.
As a photographer, this band was challenging to shoot, mainly because they kept the stage in low light for the first three songs. I really had to pick my moments to snap a photo or settle for the silhouette created by the constant backlighting.
As a music fan, though, I was impressed. Chris Harms and his crew definitely put on a show. Harms’ voice reminded me of Rogue from The Cruxshadows, though Lord of the Lost lean more towards uplifting lyrics than their dark wave predecessors. Guitarist Pi Stoffers and bassist Class Grenayde spent much of the set spinning around the stage, feeding the crowd’s energy.
I didn’t expect Gared Dirge to be playing a second set of percussion alongside his keyboards, nor did I anticipate two keyboardists on stage. This added a unique element to their performance. When Harms asked the classic question, “Who’s seen us perform before?”, the crowd erupted with shouts of “BOAT” from the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise fans. Harms seemed thrilled with the turnout for a Tuesday night show at Théâtre Beanfield.
The night ended differently than I expected. After performing their Eurovision entry, Blood & Glitter, Harms announced that his band doesn’t do “adult peekaboo” and instead closed with their song One More Song. It’ll be interesting to see how long it takes Lord of the Lost to return to Montreal after such a warm welcome.
Review & photos – Ryan Rumpel
Share this :
