Not many heavy metal bands are often invited or made their to the most iconic music show which is Eurovision. A few of this genre made the tier such as Lordi, as well as Lord of the Lost. Metal Imperium had the chance to talk with Pi Stoffers about the upcoming trilogy Opvs Noir. A set of three albums that will fully take the Teutonic band to a darker and heavier sound with new songs, riffs and much more.
M.I. - Thank you for your time, I hope you are doing well!
I’m doing okay!
M.I. - Let’s travel back to 2023. It’s not the first time a rock or metal band took the stage in Eurovision. How would you describe your experience and representing Germany in a musical contest?
There are so many words that can describe this experience. It had a bigger impact on us and even me, including the success of the band.
We never thought we would win the contest, which, of course, the impact would have been much bigger. As you know, we didn’t win, but the whole Eurovision experience was amazing. Even two years later, we still talk about it in every interview. It’s not a bad thing, but it’s worth talking about it. It gave projection to our album Blood & Glitter, and we gained more fans.
One thing that I always forget about is we will always be a part of Eurovision’s history. Even so, being a metal band in a very popular TV show is something else. A lot people think it could destroy your credibility, but we were not always a band 100% metal and over the year we have established ourselves as a band who can do whatever we want. Going there as a metal band was a good thing, and we were quite proud of representing metal music, such as Lordi in 2006. It was definitely a very busy year, but still, something to cherish.
M.I. - The upcoming album Opvs Noir Vol 1 will feature a few artists such as Within Temptation. How was the recording process?
In general, the recording process with them was very different. All of them are busy and high profile and inviting all of them to record in Hamburg was impossible.
That wasn’t the problem with technology nowadays, from Zoom calls, Google drives and much more. You can record in real time and stream in the moment. With Within Temptation, the process was very straightforward, professional and accurate. Sharon’s vocals blend perfectly with Chris’ as a falsetto.
M.I. - If it’s called Vol. 1 the next one will be Vol. 2 set to be released in December 2025, and what about Vol. 3?
It will also be out, but the time spans between the volumes are pretty much the same. As you said, volume 2 will be out on December 12th, and volume 3 will be out April 10th, next year.
There isn’t much time between the volumes, because if we take a couple of years, it wouldn’t be interesting for us anymore. The main goal is to conceive all the albums as one package. It makes sense for us to treat the production like this. If it took two years, we would be so far gone, and the music wouldn’t blend in with the albums.
M.I. - Why the name Opvs Noir and who came up with the title?
We wanted to make this heavier and darker album. It’s more orchestral and variations between black metal and even Tim Burton and Danny Elfman’s soundtracks. It’s very sinister, weird and experimental, and we wanted a title that would fit that.
Plus, the title must sound elegant. Chris, our singer, came up with the idea of calling Opvs something. However, when we were walking in December 2023, back from a restaurant after a concert venue. We talked about the name Opvs Noir, because it sounded more elegant.
Afterwards, we thought that this must become a trilogy. All the songs started to flood out. It was a working title, and we didn’t know if we would change it, but it ended quite well.
M.I. - For the hardcore fans, the album will come out with a box set that includes quite a lot of memorabilia.
I have to tell you honestly that I’m not prepared to answer that question. We have a lot of different editions, going from CDs, cassettes, a regular recycled black vinyl, a crystal vinyl or even liquid vinyl (two vinyl pressed into each other). We also have the box bizarre, a lunchbox with a CD and with a palette of eyeshadow, since we use a lot of makeup, different shades of black, grey, silver and white.
M.I. - You will be touring around North America, UK & Ireland, Australia and Germany. What about the Iberian Peninsula?
After festival season, we’re doing a light break. Yet, before festival season, there is some slots to fill.
We could put Portugal on the list and show up to perform.
For Portuguese version, click here
Listen to Lord Of The Lost, on Spotify
Questions by André Neves
