And so we come to the end of this dramatic trilogy from Lord Of The Lost: now that ‘OPVS NOIR Vol. 3’ is out, it’s easy to look back and admire the ambition that drove Harms and company to put out three records in less than a year. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing, especially after ‘Vol. 2’ turned out to be a marked downgrade in scale and effectiveness compared to its predecessor, but it’s nice to have the project rounded out anyways. ‘Vol. 3’ sits comfortably as the most average record of the three.

The central issue that plagued ‘Vol. 2’ back in December was its over-reliance on the ‘OPVS NOIR’ branding: Lord Of The Lost more-or-less nailed that theatrical aesthetic with their first attempt, leaving songs like ‘Would You Walk With Me Through Hell?’ and ‘Winter’s Dying Heart’ to tread the same ground all over again. It’s a problem the band haven’t resolved for ‘Vol. 3’ either, truth be told— this is yet another album chock full of melodramatic chord changes and corny lyrical motifs— but where ‘Vol. 2’ felt abandoned to its fate as a rerun, the trilogy’s final instalment is it least attempting to set itself apart. The album is bursting with winks towards Harms and company’s time in the Eurovision Song Contest, injecting a health dose of Euro-pop into its otherwise gloomy style: ‘Kill The Lights’ is not so dissimilar from previous openers ‘Bazaar Bizarre’ and ‘The Fall From Grace,’ except that its drum patterns and synth parts lean more towards the dance floor than the opera house, and that shift becomes a running theme across the album.

‘Vol. 3’ is absolutely at its best when Lord Of The Lost put down the Dracula cloaks and bring out the disco balls— in all honesty, much of this material would probably have been best served for a project outside the ‘OPVS NOIR’ moniker, which feels at odds with the pulpy style a number of these songs thrive in. ‘I’m A Diamond’ place itself in a decidedly warmer light than anything else from this entire trilogy, unapologetically flaunting its cheesy lyrics and larger-than-life chorus like its alluding to the runaway success of 2022’s ‘Blood & Glitter.’ Harms and company are strong performers, and their bold confidence continues to set them apart: what they’ve always needed is the songwriting to match, and the stomping dance-metal of single ‘I Hate People’ is a fitting note for them (even if Wednesday 13’s contributions are disposable at best). Once again, many of these tracks feel like they’re begging to be included in a project that takes itself a little less seriously: the pulsing rhythms of ‘Square One’ needed just a little more energy to really soar, while standout number ‘My Funeral’ manages to be captivating even despite its wince-worthy lyrics.

Reductive as it may sound, every issue throughout ‘Vol. 3’ stems from its title. As the record progresses, Lord Of The Lost find themselves drawing from the ‘OPVS NOIR’ well once again, leaving us with yet more overblown ballads to pad out the runtime: none of these cuts are poorly written or performed in isolation, of course, but they blend so seamlessly in with the weakest moments of ‘Vol. 1’ and ‘Vol. 2’ that your average fan simply won’t be able to remember them. The second half of the album is choked in melodrama, with only ‘Square One’ breaking up the monotonous sentimentality that runs from ‘The Shadows Within’ all the way through to closer ‘The Days Of Our Lives’— at this point, the group simply don’t have any cards left to play or any surprises left in store. Harms’ lyrics continue to be as blunt and ever, and his penchant for the cliched works better for a fun romp like ‘I’m A Diamond’ than it does for the barren style of ‘When Did The Love Break?’ and ‘Your Love Is Colder Than Death.’ The project’s various guest features all get completely lost in the shuffle: three albums deep, the ‘OPVS NOIR’ brand has run its course.

Lord Of The Lost were always taking a gamble in putting out a trilogy of records, especially when the intense theatrics of ‘Vol. 1’ didn’t necessarily leave the door open for more: now that the dust has settled, it feels clear that the two following albums have suffered for that decision, commendable as it may’ve been on paper. Still, ‘OPVS NOIR Vol. 3’ manages to escape with enough of its own identity to justify its own existence, which is more than can be said for ‘Vol. 2’— the Euro-pop aesthetic of its first half is refreshing and leads to some genuine highlights we’ll likely be revisiting. It’s probably time for Harms and company to lay low for a while, to let songs like ‘Kill The Lights’ and ‘My Funeral’ breathe: the group are beginning to suffer from their own success.