Lord Of The Lost/Esoterica

September 26, 2023 Off By Jon

1865, Southampton

After flirtation with a new global television audience at the M & S Bank Arena in Liverpool as Germany’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest; along with supporting Rock legends Iron Maiden on their European Tour, Lord Of The Lost are currently back in the UK once again with a tour taking in much more modest venues. Tonight the band arrive in Southampton; half way through their 10 date tour, welcomed by 750 fanatical fans at the popular “independent grass roots” venue the 1865.

Before the German band take to the stage there is the small matter of British 5-piece Alt/Rock band Esoterica, brought along to warm up the audience before tonight’s headliners take to the stage. Barefoot frontman Tobias Keast stalks the stage and at times in the crowd; where he delivers his unique vocals, whipping up the crowd. He is ably backed by some atmospheric twin electric guitars along with some captivating rhythms. The bands 45 minute set features mostly original material from throughout their 12 year career. They also feature a cover of New Order’s “True Faith” and Delirium’s “Silence”. A good proportion of the crowd seem to warm to what this London band have to offer, but in all honestly most of the crowd are here to see the main attraction.

Esoterica 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8–9–10–11–12–13–14–15

The atmosphere in here tonight is one of pure anticipation, many fans have paid a little extra on their entry fee to enjoy a meet and greet with the band beforehand. Those fortune enough to attend found the band to be humble and gracious, spending plenty of time chatting and having the obligatory pictures taken. The band who feature Chris Harms (Lead Vocals/Guitar), Class Grenayde (Bass), Pi Stoffers (Guitar), Gared Dirge (Keyboards) and Niklas Kahl (Drums) arrive on stage to a huge welcome and kick off with ”The Curtain Falls”.

They are a band that don’t like to be pigeonholed (and why should they be!!) as they wish to appeal to a wide range of audiences. Their music takes on a host of different influences with a mix of genres being culled from including Industrial, Metal, Gothic Rock, Glam and 80’s Pop. They create a totally unique sound that has certainly radiated with UK audiences and from tonight’s crowd reaction, the bands fans base here will continue to grow.

Lord Of The Lost 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8

Tonight feels like one of those nights that you need to experience in person, a one off night in a medium sized venue that probably won’t happen again. I’m sure these guys are destined to perform on much larger stages in their own right and headline performances in UK Arena’s and hopefully a slot at the Download Festival will be forthcoming soon.

We are treated to a two hour set full of highlights and despite the band getting a bit cold due to the venues overzealous air-conditioning, they all seem to be ecstatic to be performing in front of an enthusiastic British audience. They don’t take themselves too seriously and there is much humour as part of the in between song banter, we even get an appropriate (due to the Southampton Links) tongue in cheek version of Céline Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On”; the theme from Titanic, along with a reworked cover of Roxette’s “The Look” . All in all it has been a really memorable night and one those of us that were here will remember for a long time to come

Lord Of The Lost 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8

Set-Lists
Lord Of The Lost:
The Curtain Falls
Morgana
Kill It With Fire
No Respect for Disrespect
The Future of a Past Life
Dry the Rain
Under the Sun
Absolute Attitude
And It Was Night
The Gospel of Judas
Destruction Manual
Full Metal Whore
Blood for Blood
Reset the Preset
Leave Your Hate in the Comments
Loreley
Die Tomorrow
Blood & Glitter
One Last Song
Drag Me to Hell
My Heart Will Go On (Céline Dion cover)
The Look (Roxette Cover)
L.O.T.L. Song played from tape

Esoterica
Breaking The Unknown
Tomorrow I Won’t Remember
Don’t Rely on Anyone
True Faith (New Order cover)
Running Blind
Humanity
Silence (Delerium cover)
In Dreams
The Divide

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