Interview with Samy Elbanna
Por Facu Gonzalo.
In this times movements called “New Waves” have emerged.These consist of new bands that arise, grow, and begin to lead a whole new generation of fans and music groups. No genre is exempt: Classic Rock, Heavy Metal, Glam Metal, etc.
Lost Society is a band from Finland and one of the heads of the «New wave of Thrash Metal». Originally from the city of Jyväskylä, formed in 2010 by Samy Elbanna with only 15 years and initially composed of guitarist Arttu Lesonen, bassist Mirko Lehtinen and drummer Ossi Paananen (who would recently be replaced by former drummer from Santa Cruz, Tazzy Fagerström).
The story of this band could be told very quickly, they grew at an exponential level. However, everything they accomplished in this short time is simply amazing. In 2012 they participated in the Global Battle of the Bands contest organized by the most important Metal record label, Nuclear Blast. Contest where they get the first place and which allowed a young age as a band and its members to record their debut album titled «Fast Loud Death» released in 2013.
The boys wasted no time and in 2014 they released their second studio album which they called «Terror Hungry». Both albums make it clear to us that the band was going for everything, fast songs, guitar riffs that untie the fingers, the vibes of the best Thrash Metal of the 90s. These 18-year-old boys had arrived to stay and lead the way to a new era of Thrash. 2 years later and already with a distinguished position on the scene they released “Braindead”, their third studio album.
Earlier this year the band released their fourth and so far latest album titled «No Absolution». Work in which you can see a clear turn in the songs of the band in both sound and melodies, this possibly due to the entry of former Santa Cruz, Joonas Parkkonen as producer and co-writer. It should also be noted that two days before the release of said album, drummer Ossi would resign and be replaced by Tazzy.
But this does not end here, this note is very special since we had the incredible opportunity and the enormous pleasure of being able to interview Samy directly from Finland. This is what he told us.
Could you give us a little review on the beginning of Lost Society?
Lost Society was formed in 2010 when me and my buddy at the time from junior high school started playing metal covers together. After a few line-up changes, in 2011 we had formed the line-up that stayed up until last year. We released a few demo tapes, and through a band competition we were noticed by Nuclear Blast, that signed us the early in 2012. Our first album “Fast Loud Death” was to be recorded the following autumn.
“No Absolution” was released on february and we can hear some changes in the sound of the band. Is it related to Johnny’s entry as producer? What can you tell us about that?
I feel that every album a band writes and records is a testament to their lives at that particular time, and it’s very natural to me that bands grow and progress as people, musicians and songwriters in between records. Joonas stepping in as co-writer and producer of the record definitely made a big impact on the material, as he really knew how to squeeze out every bit of potential that we had, and really dared us to write exactly what we wanted to!
What can you tell us about the songwriting process? What is a typical composition day like?
A TYPICAL composition “routine” usually begins with a riff made by me or our other guitarist Arttu, and after this we start jamming the song and very soon we pick up on the vibe of the song and continue writing other parts to it. After an initial version of the song is complete, we challenge ourselves to make each bit even better, and think of ways to make every part stand out! Usually during the writing process, I start writing lyrics, and the subjects usually just come to me as I listen to the songs.
In the new album there was a very strong change especially in the guitars, both in sound and melodies. What can you tell us about the composition and assembly of “No Absolution”? Was there anything different from the previous albums?
This time along we naturally had a big change as it was the first time we brought someone outside of the band into the writing process. But as we knew that Joonas is INSANELY talented and a man with vision, it turned out to be the best decision we’ve ever made! As I said previously, Joonas is the kind of person who can squeeze out every little bit of talent out of us, and he creates and pushes us to create bigger and better things than ever before! What we did very often during the writing sessions is that we wrote songs with the band in rehearsals, then with Joonas we would go through each part of the song and see what could be done better or what could be left out, this way we would end up with only the most important parts. We also wrote a lot just me and Joonas, and we just connect on every level of songwriting.
The album sometimes strays a bit from the Thrash Metal of previous Lost Society albums. How do you think the old fans received the new album?
When writing music, I’ll never want to do the exact same thing over and over again, and for us as musicians who love all kinds of music and soak in a lot different influences – I think what “No Absolution” is, is exactly who we are as musicians in 2020. If anyone was to ask me what style of music Lost Society is, the answer i would give them is that we are a metal band, period. I think it has been taken in very well honestly, and to be honest, that’s what I thought would happen, because I love this record and every single song, and am super proud of ti!
We were surprised to see that Ossi was not going to be in the band anymore, even shortly after having released an album. What happened? How did Taz get to the band?
Honestly there is really nothing too complex or dramatic about this, although I understand that it comes as a shock to many. Ossi simply wasn’t commited 100% to the band anymore and wanted to pursue a different path in life, and when you feel that way, the only thing to do is gracefully leave the band, and we respect that fully! We’ve known Taz for years and years, every since his previous band released their first record! We’ve always been good buddies and respected each other a lot, and when the news came to me that we need a new drummer, he was the ONLY choice for me and we’re beyond stoked to have such an incredible musician on board!
How do you face this new year? Do you tour, shows?
The year turned out to be very different than what we had in mind haha! As I’m writing this, we are still waiting for updates about how summer festivals will be going etc. So at the moment all I know is that we will be writing new material and rehearsing for shows, that hopefully we’ll be able to play ASAP!
How are you going through quarantine? We know you now have a Twitch channel.
Honestly, as bad as the situation is, I’m just trying to maintain a positive attitude and use the time I have to write, work out and rehearse! Doing Twitch streams has been so sick, and I’ve had such a great time interacting with our fans from all over the globe!
To finish I am forced to ask this, are there any plan for Lost Society to visit Argentina in the near future?
With all of the virus-related problems going on at the moment, we don’t really know how touring is going to be going forward in the near future, but I can assure you that once it is 100% safe for fans to attend shows and the right opportunity comes along, of course we’ll be coming to you! We’re so bummed that there are SO many places around the world we haven’t had the opportunity to visit yet, but we are constantly working on different plans to do so! Hope to see you very soon!
On his website they say: 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.”
From the looks of it, Lost Society definitely has a long history ahead of them.
Categorías: Notas
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