Lost Society
I Pass Out With A Smile On My Face

26.10.2016

To those who believe that thrash metal has no future and only good old bands deserve a listen – you’re wrong, and we can prove it. You’re wrong because back in 2010 a teenage resident of Finland’s Jyvaskyla named Samy Elbanna established a new band, calling it Lost Society. That’s how a new name appeared in the history of thrash metal. Over the next six years Lost Society shared the stage with Exodus, Anthrax and Slayer, played all over Europe and even crossed into Russia, but it seems that they are still boys next door from a tiny Finnish town. We hooked up with Samy backstage at WaterXFest in September 2016 to discuss tours, tattoos and, of course, music.

Let’s begin with questions about Russia. You have visited our country twice. What can you say about the Russian audience? Did anything change for you after your second mini-tour of our country?

Both times we`ve been to Russia have been spectacular for us! The first time we were at “Aria Fest” and before we came we had no idea how big it actually was! The place was huge and packed with people. It was one of the coolest shows I have played so far! When we came back it was different because this time we did our own show. The show we played in Moscow was the craziest show I have played in my life! I counted that during our 1.5-hour set about 100 people came on stage and it was unbelievable how loud the people were!  It was something I will never forget!  

Some musicians say that they prefer Moscow to St. Petersburg. What city do you like more and why?

Oh, I remember when we played in St. Petersburg there was one promoter who said that there was some special day when people are not getting drunk, that’s why they were not as crazy as the people in Moscow. Anyway, people in both cities were crazy in their own way, both crowds were crazy! But in Moscow people were moving a bit more. Maybe because we had a smaller venue there.  But both shows were crazy enough.

Have you ever met any fans that you can call “annoying”? What could be annoying for you in your fans?

For me it is always so that if someone wants to take some of their time and meet me and say hi, of course I will never say “go away”. The only thing is sometimes people don`t necessarily understand that for example right after the show when you have been giving everything you got for the last 1.5 hours and you just get off stage, someone who is really drunk comes and starts talking when you really want to go to a shower and something, that can get really annoying! But you know, of course they understand when I tell them, “Sorry, I want to take it easy for some time and then we can talk”.

You have traveled around Europe (and not only Europe) this year a lot. What can you say about the differences between mentalities of people in different countries?

There are a lot of differences. When we think about Scandinavian countries, for example, Finland or Sweden, there are a lot of people who are a bit shy, and it takes them maybe three songs to actually go crazy. But once you go down to central Europe, let`s say Germany or Poland, France – there people are just getting crazy in the same second you start playing. And of course, people in Europe are often pretty drunk at thrash metal shows, because by some apparent reason music and alcohol are going hand in hand. But for example when we were doing shows in Japan it was crazy because they are really just coming to see the band, to listen to music and get the feeling and they don`t need to get drunk before shows. They come, leave their jackets, enjoy the show, go crazy and just leave. There is a lot of differences, but one thing that I can say about every single county and culture, is just they love music and I always love to play for people who really like it.

Speaking about the audience, people are usually quite active during your performances (circle pit, crowd surfing and so on) but where in your opinion do you have the craziest fans?

At the moment it’s France, Poland and Russia.

Are there any place in the world you never played yet, but you want to?

Oh yeah, definitely! For example, it’s South America. We want to go there very much! It is pretty clear that there are a lot of people who want to see our band. We really want to be there as soon as possible. And it’s North America, of course.

I’m looking at you and thinking… Some people say that tattoos could change your life in a way. Is it true for you? Do you have tattoos that are really meaningful for you?

Yes, I really have some tattoos which are meaningful for me. For example my Iron Maiden tattoo, cause it represents the band that got me into music. But in general, when you have body clear of tattoos you can basically paint anything on it. So I was just getting tattoos that looks cool in my opinion, I never believed that every single tattoo should have ф deeper meaning, you know. But, of course, I have absolutely nothing against that.

And how many do you have now?

Oh, shit, I forgot! I think I stopped counting when I hit number 20. But I also have these smaller ones. I have a bunch of them, but what is more important, I still don`t have enough.

What kind of music do you prefer to listen otherwise than thrash metal?

Oh, it is going to be quite a long list. Anything from crossover metal to just traditional heavy-metal, metalcore and hardcore stuff. And we actually have one rule: when we are in the bus after the show, we can`t listen to metal, it has to be anything else. We also enjoy listening to some different music like Pink Floyd for example.

Are there any bands you learn from? Bands which inspire you to create your own material and grow?

Every single band I listen inspires me in a way. Sometimes I can listen to a pop song or death metal or thrash metal which inspires me in some way. I think the most important thing that people should understand is you can`t listen to the same genre because you never know what can inspire you!

You shared the stage with Slayer and Anthrax and had a tour with Exodus. How do you feel about it? How was it touring with famous Exodus? What bands do you want to share the stage with in future?

Of course it was unbelievable! It was such a surreal moment when you realize than over the course of three years you have gone from writing songs at home and listening to Slayer and Anthrax to the moment when you actually share the stage with them.  Of course, sharing the stage with the idols is pretty crazy! The same with Exodus, we were listening to them since we were kids. About a band we would love to tour with – it`s a long list. Of course, we would love to have a longer tour with Children of Bodom. They were our mentors in the Finnish music scene. It would be an absolute dream to tour with Iron Maiden! But let’s keep it realistic now…

Imagine yourself performing in any other music genre but thrash metal? What genre it would be?

I think anything I would love to play live always would be related to metal or hardcore punk for example.

We asked Shiraz Lane about it so we are going to ask you about it too. What bands from Finland can you recommend our readers to check out?

There are a lot of bands in Finland and a lot of new bands! But it`s really hard to choose because a lot of bands we were into have already become huge. Like obviously Stone that is pretty close to our stuff; Children of Bodom of course; there is also an old band called Peer Günt and, of course, Shiraz Lane.

You helped Shiraz Lane with recording their their first release. Are you planning to work with any other bands from Finland or maybe from Europe too?

I don`t have any plans right now but you know, when you become a part of the metal scene and part of the “family” you get to know a lot of people. Iif someone comes to me with the band that I like and asks me to do a guitar solo or a vocal part I will be like, “hell yeah”. So I don`t plan anything right now, but I`m sure it`s gonna be something!

It`s so nice! You are all so different but it seems like there is such a good collaboration!

Oh, yeah! I will say that the world is too busy to start disagreements or hate other bands. If you love to play music then you are family! That`s the end of the story.  

What things in Finland do you like the most and what things do you really hate?

The biggest fact I like about Finland is that this country is pretty small, and you can find your own peace here. For example, I`m from Jyväskylä, I still live here and this is the best place in the world to come after you have been on tour because it`s peaceful and quiet here, I can look at the lake from my balcony. I love that about Finland. In the summer there are all these summer cottages, saunas and everything. I just love this country! There are few things I actually hate: hm…let me think…blood sausage!    

Being a musician means working hard and partying too hard sometimes, and it’s a dream come true for a lot of young bands all over the world. What kind of your dreams have already come true, and what are still waiting to come true?

The biggest dream that came true for me is the fact that I can be touring Finland not only with those three guys in the band who are the best people Earth but also with our best friends. I would say, it`s just dream come true! I can really say that after the show, when I fall asleep or just pass out, I pass out with a smile on my face! Because this is the coolest thing on Earth you can do and I'm going to cherish every moment, I`m not going to take it for granted because I know this can end really fast. It can end as fast as it happened. So, we are not going to fuck around, we will play every show as good as we can possibly play it! If in 10 years I am still with the same guys, playing cool shows for even more people it will be the coolest thing on Earth that can happen!   

Do you have any dreams not connected to music career?

As long as I can be alive and this place is peaceful, there is no war – this is pretty cool thing!

You released your new album “Braindead” in February 2016. It was received very well by the fans. Did you achieve what you had been planning to achieve with this album?

I would say that “Braindead” was a moment in our short carrier when we were kind of taking a new direction and showing the audience that we can do more than just thrash metal. At this point a lot of people definitely started thinking, “OK, this band is not just a one-trick pony, they can do other stuff too”. I`m sure we are going to use a lot of elements from this album in the future. And the fact that we were touring with this album around the world it is always the best thing! We got to go to Japan again and go to Europe again. That`s the thing everyone aims at when you release a record.  

Do you have a favorite song from “Braindead” or a song you like to play live the most?

I have actually a lot of favorite songs! But probably I can say “Riot” or “I Am The Antidote”. Those 2 songs are probably the heaviest stuff we`ve done but they are heavy in a different way! It`s not just aggressive, it is slow or mid-tempo, but it is still, you know, punches you in the face.  

You have been playing together since 2010. Do you feel like you have grown up since then? How have you views on music and life in general changed?

Yes, we started in 2010 and we got the final lineup together in summer 2011. Of course, we changed from the moment we played our first gigs to the moment when we`ve been touring with Slayer and Anthrax . We have been growing up, we have become more experienced in the music industry, we know how the shit works right now. But our aims and goals are the same. We still want to keep on playing music and do the best shows as possible for the crowd, and I can say we have really succeeded in doing it.

To wrap up this interview, could you say something to your Russian fans?

Hey, everyone in Russia! Lost Society loves you! Thank you for supporting the band so much during the past six years! And I promise you now that we will be back sooner than you know it!

Lost Society on the Internet: https://lostsocietyfinland.com/

Special thanks to Silke Yli-Sirnio (Tough Enough Promotion) for arranging this interview

Viktoria Korpun, Elena “Linn” Pavlova
September 3, 2016
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