Throughout the history of modern popular music, bands have been formed for different reasons. Some for fame, some for money, others just to pass the time. Most of these bands have since long disappeared into the aether but a few, started with the right intentions, still prevail.
Founded by frontman Samy Elbanna in 2010 when the guys were still in their teens, LOST SOCIETY began rapidly claiming fame as a formidable live act in and around their hometown of Jyväskylä, Finland. With the strength of two demo tapes and a string of solid performances at 2012’s Global Battle of Bands the band secured themselves a deal with Germany’s long-running metal aficionados Nuclear Blast Records and the perfect storm was born. LOST SOCIETY’s debut album, “Fast Loud Death” (2013) was indeed a full-on thrash tornado, filled with razor sharp songwriting and technical prowess that received widespread acclaim from both the global metal media and metal community as well as their peers and heroes in legendary bands like KREATOR and TESTAMENT. Shows with the likes of CHILDREN OF BODOM and select appearances to rapturous audiences in Germany and Japan soon followed.
2014 saw the band release their sophomore album “Terror Hungry” to yet more praise from the metal community. The album contained every bit of the first records untamed energy but was laced with an added dose of heavy grooves that pummelled the listener with every note. A string of highly successful shows and festival appearances around Europe introduced the fierceness that is LOST SOCIETY to a completely off-guard audience. “Our live shows are extremely intense and energetic, we pour our blood into our music. We focus on the music, always, and that’s the most important thing. We always want to deliver 110%, and we enjoy what we do”, muses Samy. “We don’t take anything for granted, which shows in the way that every show we play, we leave every last bit of ourselves on stage, we never want to let the folks down who get the ticket to see us.” Anyone who’s ever see this group live can surely attest that this is indeed the case. LOST SOCIETY shows are a whirlwind of pure, unbridled energy.
Two years and a literal fuckload of shows later, the band returned with “Braindead” (2016), their most dynamically mature and profound effort yet. Even though none of the anthemic quality that made LOST SOCIETY ideal material for a good night out was lost, the album had a distinctly darker and heavier tone. While still containing a party anthem or two, lyrically “Braindead” dealt mostly with the ills of modern man and a burning desire to change the world for the better. “Pound your drinks and scream with me! This is the new society!” (Rage Me Up) The band then embarked on a European tour with thrash legends EXODUS, leaving a trail of full-blown chaos in their wake. The album was yet another success for LOST SOCIETY, truly cementing their position on the threshold of becoming one of the leading forces in the field of modern thrash metal.
When asked about the future of the band, Samy has a very clear vision: “You can always be completely yourself when it comes to this style of music. You don’t fake anything, you just rage. That’s what it’s all about. We’re going to continue full speed ahead. We’ll be touring as much as possible, and every chance we get while we’re home, we’ll be writing more and more material. This is absolutely the life we want to live as long as we possibly can. I’ve grown up with this band and I’m in a great situation. This is the best “job” a person can have.”
By the looks of things, LOST SOCIETY definitely have a long history ahead of them.
