Eurovision fever has taken over Liverpool, with industrial rock band Lord of the Lost hoping to take home the glass microphone trophy for Germany this year.
Initially a solo project by frontman Chris Harms, Lord of the Lost has since expanded into a five-piece. The band have released eight studio albums, with the most recent, Blood and Glitter, topping the charts in Germany.
“Blood and Glitter” (2022) is also the name of the group’s Eurovision song, which features all the heavy guitars, throat-ripping vocals and thumping beats we’ve come to love from the contest’s rock entries.
Hailing from Hamburg, the group have become known for their melodramatic style in both a musical and sartorial sense. Their avant-garde look and demanding presence will no doubt help Lord of the Lost secure votes during this weekend’s final event.
Alongside the UK, France, Spain and Italy, Germany is one of Eurovision’s Big Five nations, meaning that Lord of the Lost automatically qualifies for Saturday (13 May) night’s grand final.
This is not the first time that the band have auditioned to represent Germany. Harms divulged that they have previously applied for the prestigious position multiple times before netting the part this year.
If Lord of the Lost do triumph this weekend, it will be the third time that Germany has won Eurovision. Most recently, the country won in 2010 thanks to Lena and her song “Satelitte”.
Ahead of this weekend’s event, we spoke to Lord of the Lost’s (LOTL) Harms about his Eurovision experience so far.
Hi Chris! Tell us about the inspiration for “Blood and Glitter”.
It all started with the title of Mick Rock’s famous photo book, which he called Blood and Glitter. This is where the fascination began and the idea inside of me grew to live up to a visual glam rock revival with LOTL. In the end, “Blood & Glitter” turned out to be a fast and heavy rock tune from the outside, with an important and most beautiful key message: “We’re all from the same blood.”
Which is more important to Lord of the Lost: blood or glitter?
Well, we can easily live without glitter. Without blood it wouldn’t be that easy, I guess.
Eurovision’s biggest recent success story, Mäneskin, are a rock band like yourself. Are you fans?
I liked what they did in 2021 but I have never listened to them before or after Eurovision Song Contest, so I can’t be called a fan. I barely listen to rock or metal in general.
Despite the band’s rock image, you’ve been described as having a “heart of gold” and having adopted two abandoned kittens. What other un-rock’n’roll things about the band would surprise fans?
I’ve been called a metalhead, a goth, a rocker and other things before, and I am none of any of these... Everything about me is un-rock’n’roll, as “rock’n’roll” by society is always being connected with dirt, drugs, booze and sex. I am just a musician with a love for weird outfits, visual stage shows and a lot of make up. If that makes me less “true” as an artist, I will happily live with that.
What parts of Liverpudlian culture are you most excited to experience while in the UK?
So far, I don’t know anything about it. I guess I will have to be surprised.
And finally: who’s your favourite past Eurovision winner?
I am sorry to always disappoint everyone with my answer to questions like these, but my mindset does not let me think within the self-limitation of “ultimate favourites”. My answer might be a different one every day. And I do embrace this change.
