Album Review: Lost Society - Hell Is A State Of Mind
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
After playing this promo a few times, I’m still left scratching my head as to what the hell I’ve just been listening to. On one hand, it’s utterly bonkers, but on the other hand, it’s utterly brilliant and my mind is buzzing. As the band say, “this is modern metal without equals and without apologies” and from the word go, I’ve got no idea what’s coming next, and it’s that unpredictability that most admire.
It’s been four years since Lost Society released their last album, but now the Finnish quartet are back with a vengeance and one thing is certain, I haven’t heard an album quite like this is a while. It’s a refreshing approach that will leave listeners wanting more and as vocalis/guitarist Samy Elbanna comments, “what we can do is something no one else can, we are us”.
“Hell is a State of Mind” begins with an eeriness on opening track “Afterlife” as rap style vocals breakthrough, before the first orchestral strains appear alongside layered, traditional style metal riffs. I get a hint of Cypress Hill’s “(Rap) Superstar” at the beginning of “Blood Diamond”, a song that evolved from one of Samy’s random melodies over a hip hop beat, which added a rousing string element to create something theatrical. This is the moment my body woke up as the song is made up of so many sections, all juxtaposed for the greater good.
There’s a more progressive sound on “Synthetic” as my mind travels back to 00’s nu-metal, but the guitar parts from Elbanna and Arttu Lesonen are impressive. There are more classical musings on the softer “Is This what you Wanted” which shows the vulnerable and emotional side of the band, however, they return to form with “L’appel Du Vide” where you can hear the bass from Mirko Lehtinen on this dramatic soundscape.
Across the album, there are sweeping solos, that work so well with the orchestral foundations and when combined with demonic screams and angelic falsettos, you can now see why my mind was all over the place. “Kill The Light” is a perfect example of this as the arrangement took me completely by surprise and it develops into a huge, metal masterpiece. They are taking their music to new areas, creating “dramatic, theatrical orchestration” which collides “with the spirit of their metal heroes” as they succinctly put it.
There’s a more soulful approach on “No Longer Human” having discovered a new structural weapon, the C-section, and it allows the song to be dramatic and commanding before they fire back with “Dead People Scare Me…Living Make Me Sick”, as the rap inspired vocals are back with purpose and venom, and the solos are purposeful and hard hitting. Penultimate track “Personal Judas” feels different once again, as if all the pent-up madness has been released in one fireball moment, crunchy riffs, techno melodies and then a brooding solo.
With final track, “Hell is a State of Mind” they take you on a journey, with suspenseful classical string sections, pop inspired vocals, black metal darkness, all encapsulated in a meandering composition which feels apocalyptic. As Samy mentioned, they aimed “for a timeless sound” and they’ve created music that is thought-provoking and will keep people second guessing for quite some time.
