Interview with SAMY ELBANNA, frontman with Finnish modern metallers LOST SOCIETY

Finland’s modern metal legends Lost Society new album “If The Sky Came Down” will be released upon the world in just under 3 weeks on the 7th October 2022 via Nuclear Blast !!! We recently had the absolute pleasure to interview frontman Samy Elbanna.

We chat about the new album, finally playing live shows after Covid, the ever evolving musical direction of the band, 6 hour per day guitar practice regimes, cherished memories of Alexi Laiho, a future Australian tour and a whole lot more !!!

Hi Samy, how are you doing?

What’s up? I’m doing good. How are you?

I’m great, thank you.

Okay, let’s get straight into this. Now, you’ve done a whole bunch of European festivals recently, Bloodstock, Brutal Assault, Waken. You’ve also done a whole bunch of festivals in Finland. How does it feel back doing festivals again?

Honestly, it’s just absolutely fantastic. I feel like after these couple of years, it feels like the audience and the bands are obviously just as hungry. And also, I feel like everyone in the festivals, you know, be it the audience and the bands, everyone has like a new found appreciation for the whole situation, because I feel like live music and music in general is something that I feel like no one really ever thought that it could be taken away from you and that there could be something so drastic going on with it as what happened. So I feel like now, after these two years, everyone is just so ready. Everyone’s just loving the atmosphere and everything and that really has transferred to us also. So all these festivals have been absolutely incredible for us this summer. And as you said, yeah, we’ve been we’ve Waken for the first time, we’ve done Bloodstock for the first time, and the reactions have been better than we ever could have thought.

Super, super cool. While you’ve been on these European festivals, do you get to hang out with any other bands or get to watch any bands that you’ve wanted to see for years?

Oh for sure! I’ve always loved festivals for that, you get to see so many people. It’s kind of like a high school reunion every time. And especially for a Finnish band, it gets so ridiculous because literally every festival you go to, there’s going to be at least two or three Finnish bands. And you know, because it’s such a small country where we come from, so we all get along very well. We know each other. So honestly, yeah, it’s been super cool getting to see a lot of bands that we don’t necessarily get to see here in Finland. And, we love to kind of take in everything that the festivals have to offer because like, as I said earlier, we’re also so just so happy that, we’re getting back to some sort of normal and we haven’t got to experience live music ourselves for a long time. So we’ve definitely got to see a lot of bands this summer.

Did you get to meet any bands that you hadn’t met before? I did see on your Facebook page that you had a photo with Jinjer on there.

Honestly, yes that was definitely one that we’ve all been looking forward to a lot, because a few of us saw Jinjer play in Tuska in Helsinki in the beginning of July, and we were honestly blown away by that show. So it was really cool getting to meet them last weekend in the UK. From the top of my head right now, I can’t remember most of anything that has happened this summer. But you know, it gets to a point when, you know, you say hi to a lot of people and some people you get good conversations with. But it’s just cool meeting a lot of people that you wouldn’t necessarily get to see like any other time except the Summer festival season.

Yeah, that is super cool. Now I did see that you got up on stage with Amaranthe a few times to supply some “extra vocals” at a few of their festival shows. How did that all come about?

That was such a cool thing, I remember it was like early on in the Spring of this year, and I got a phone call from Olaf, the guitarist of Amaranthe, and he kind of briefly explained the situation they’re in. They were like, hey, we kind of went through all your touring schedules and we figured that if you want to do this, it would be possible. And honestly, I did not need to think about it for longer than a second. I said, yes, absolutely, absolutely going to do it. And you know, because Amaranthe is a band that I’ve seen tons of times live in the past, and obviously I know their music and you know, getting to know those people and getting to do those shows was an absolute dream come true because, you know, it was cool to do for a change, you know, no guitars, just vocals and hanging out with two other vocalists. So there was a cool chemistry that we had going on and the shows were perfect. I think it was a great match in many ways, so it was cool to do those shows and we’ll have to see if if we if we continue in the future or not. But at least I have a lot of good stories to to remember for the rest of my life from those shows.

So the main reason for the chat tonight is obviously about the new album that’s coming out, “If The Sky Came Down”, which is 7th October this year. Can you give us the Samy Elbanna rundown on the songwriting process of the album? It’s very different to the last albums. The band has evolved quite a lot over the years. The early stuff was more old school thrash, and then “No Absolution” was a more modern version of metal. And then this one is a little bit different again. So can you talk us through the songwriting process, and how you came to make the new songs?

Absolutely! You know, the thing that I have to say always first kind of regarding the musical style and the musical direction of what we always do, it’s I think the the reason why it always works out super good and it connects with our fans is the fact that it’s super genuine and it’s super natural. Because in a way, we’ve always been the kind of band that we wear our influences heavily on our sleeves. With the early records, obviously our musical roots and influences lie heavily with bands like Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Children of Bodom, Metallica, and stuff like that. But as the years have gone by, our musical horizons are super diverse, and the music that we listen to on our everyday lives or in our everyday lives are very diverse also. So in a way, It would feel very strange if we didn’t put all of that into our music also. And I feel like with No Absolution, the thing was that we kind of finally we finally said, you know, a big fuck you to all the different, you know, shackles that are kind of holding back some metal musicians where it’s like, Oh, if you do this, you’re not allowed to do this.

Because, for me and for all of us, we play metal music and we love punk rock because of the fact that you’re kind of allowed to do whatever you want. But then there’s like a paradox inside that, because suddenly if you do something, you can’t do something else. So you know what we’re trying to kind of come through with all of our fans is the fact that we want to try every different possibility and we want to bring in all of the kind of musical influences that we have in our everyday lives into our music. So with If The Sky Came Down, it’s basically like a representation of what we are as people in 2022. It’s a representation of what we like to listen to in 2022, and I feel like that’s the reason why it is genuine, because it comes very natural to us. You know, if we pick up a guitar, what we’re going to write or what we’re going to play is usually what’s going to be happening for the next couple of years. And this time around it came out, you know, super melodic, super catchy with big riffs and big solos and everything. So that was kind of like the basis of this record. And, you know, obviously with everything that had been happening around the world after we released the previous record, we had more time than ever to kind of go through the songs before we took them to the next stage.

We wrote probably about 50 or 60 songs again for this new record and the ten songs that you hear are the best of them. And it’s after going through them, you know, time and time again to make sure the arrangements are as good as they can be, lyrics as good as can be, and obviously everything else. So, we had in a way, we had more time, but you know, like, funnily enough, in speech marks again like the, the musical content and especially the lyrical content came pretty like it was pretty fluid in a way, because I just found myself in such a dark place, which allowed me to transfer it all into, into the form of music and lyrics. So it actually came about pretty quickly, just putting all of these songs. And in the end of the day, out of those 50 or 60 songs, it was pretty clear which songs will make up this record. It’s like the story line was there and you could definitely sense which songs should go to the next stage.

So with regards as a whole album, it’s very different. Stoked to have had early access to listen to the new album and have been absolutely smashing it over the last few days. It’s an absolutely epic album, it did take a little while to like compared to the old stuff, but really, really digging it.

Oh, man. I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you so much.

From your standpoint, are there any particular songs that you feel more attached to or that you’re really, really proud of from the new album?

Definitely! I mean, obviously the whole thing is is super, super, super personal for me. I have an attachment with every single song on the record, but there’s definitely the last track of the record “Suffocating”. It’s something that is it’s kind of me in my most vulnerable state, honestly. And because it’s such a kind of stripped back song and it’s just allowing the listener to hear just absolutely pure emotion without any gimmicks behind it or anything. So with that song, it’s definitely has a huge meaning to me. In all and as grim as it sounds, that song was meant to be the last song that I ever wrote in my fucking life. So for me, that song does have a very deep kind of meaning to me, and I and I really want to get that song out for everyone to hear. And I can’t wait to hear what people say about it.

It most certainly is a very deep song, it’s pretty much you and just some piano. The thing that really got me with your vocals on this album is you’re singing has, gone to another level. You still have the Samy vocals, but a lot of your vocals on the new album, I do hear a lot of different influences and please take this as a massive compliment, some of the songs I swear it was Chester Bennington singing.

Wow. Thank you so much! I’ve heard that, I’ve read that and I’ve heard that. And every time I come across that, all I can say is thank you. Because obviously, Chester was one of the greatest vocalists of our time. And there’s a lot of like a lot of the themes. Of course, on the record I channeled him because of the Linkin Park thing, obviously it has a lot in common. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart, I love to hear that because I did work on the vocals also a lot. And for me it’s been super important to take them to the next step because that’s what we always challenge ourselves with every step of the way, you know, it’s like write the better songs, do the better arrangements, have better solos. And for me, you know, as a guitarist and vocalist, I feel like I want to take both of those things every time we do a record to the next level. So it’s great to hear that. That’s really that’s resonated.

I was absolutely blown away by the vocals. Apart from the Chester Bennington sort of influence, I can hear a little bit of maybe Corey Taylor and Jonathon Davis in some of the songs also. I’ve loved the band for quite a while, but I’ve never really thought of you as, I’m going to be honest, as an awesome singer up there with people like Chester. Your vocals on this album have just blown my mind! Did you get vocal lessons or something before making the new album?

Well no, it’s actually because the thing is that I’ve actually been singing clean vocals before I ever started screaming, but it’s kind of been something that I haven’t pursued that much because it didn’t ever make sense within the context of what we were doing with the band. But I feel like, especially with the previous record already, we got so much more space in the songs to try to try bigger things with the whole vocal, vocal aspect of it. So what I did basically after the last record, you know, I just sat myself down and I was practicing more than I ever have because, when you consider the fact that I’ve been practicing guitar for my whole life and, I had the six hour practice days every single day when I was in lower grade school. But for vocals, mostly what I did was just practice kind of when we played shows. So I wanted to take that and do the whole kind of treatment that I did with my guitar aspect, with the vocals.

Absolutely epic! Now, as you mentioned earlier, you have copped a little bit of hate or criticism for the new direction of the album because, you know, some people just want you to play the same stuff on every album. However if you did that, then people will complain saying you’re doing the same shit, so you can’t please everyone. Isn’t that right?

Hundred percent! I always respond to this because I always base this whole conversation with the fact that I’m 100% okay with people hating what we do. It’s fully okay because I appreciate that every single person has their own opinion. And I truly hope that everyone is able to kind of generate their own opinion without other factors kind of coming in. And I feel like, especially with this new record, I hope there’s people who just listen to it as a record. It’s not like comparing it to the old stuff. But anyway, what I always say about that is the fact that in my opinion, if we were to write a 100% thrash record right now, that’s what we would consider selling out, because then we would be writing a record to please a certain group of people, and it wouldn’t be us writing music for ourselves anymore. So I think that’s the main thing. And as I said in the beginning, also how I feel like it’s always been a supernatural evolvement of what we do. There’s no you know, it’s not the classic how everyone thinks that there’s a record label telling us to do something or a manager telling us to do something. It just comes from what we love to do because at the end of the day, music is our outlet to get everything out. And if we were lying to ourselves with what we want to do, I feel like that’s that’s the point when we would definitely be going the wrong direction.

As you mentioned, you were playing guitar 6 hours a day when you were in lower High school. Anyone who has heard Lost Society songs or watched any of your guitar play through’s on your social media accounts knows your guitar playing is on the level of absolutely insane talent.

At what age did you start playing?

I was about 11 years old when I started, when I bought my own electric guitar, because the whole story kind of spans to when I was about ten years old. My big brother had gotten a guitar and he was playing downstairs. And I was always like, Oh my God, that sounds so cool. And it started off me just being like, You know what? He has a guitar. I need a guitar. And I got super into it. And during those years, he introduced me to bands like Iron Maiden, Children of Bodom, Pantera and stuff like that. And I truly got into the kind of the whole vibe of guitar. And you know what I’ve always said I’m so grateful for the fact that, you know, back in those days, obviously I didn’t have any social life or anything. It was just going to school and coming back home. So what I did was literally I played about like a minimum of 6 hours a day, seven days a week, and I did that for about two years in a row. And I’ve always said to everyone that that’s kind of the critical two years that kind of built the whole basis of my guitar playing because, you know, when you genuinely get to know the neck of the guitar, when you know every single note where it is and what it sounds like, what it pairs up with, that’s a huge thing because, you know, for me, I never went to lessons. I never learned theory or anything. It’s just always been about what sounds good to myself. And I think there’s something pretty kind of organic about that, in my opinion.

Now, when listening to your guitar playing, and I’m sure a lot of other people would agree, that I hear a lot of influence from Alexi Laiho. He was obviously a big influence for you, being one of the best heavy metal guitar players ever in the world, especially being from Finland also. Lost Society supported Children Of Bodom many, many times and you played bass in The Local Band as well. Can you tell us about your times playing with Children Of Bodom, The Local Band, and any advice that Alexi gave you?

Absolutely. Because, you know, it goes back to 2013 when we did our first warm up tour with with COB in Finland. And honestly, I have just the fondest memories of that because, you know, for me, as far as I’m concerned, that was like the first time that I got to meet an idol of my own. And because, obviously we all worshiped Children of Bodom and we grew up with their albums. We grew up with all the DVDs and everything and getting to meet them for the first time and realizing that they are so fucking down to earth. That was just that was something that will always resonate with me. And I’m going to always remember that because, you know, it was the moment in time where I realized, like in person that you can be one of the biggest metal bands on earth. You can be just absolute rock stars, but you still can be just regular people, regular, kind and polite people. And I love that. And, you know, we had great discussions with Alexi and like ever since, even in his early documentaries and stuff, he’s always kind of talked about the importance of of practicing all the time and making yourself better all the time. And that always really stuck by me. But after talking to him, you know, for hours and hours and and playing guitar with him and just learning kind of everything that he had to offer, I just realized that, yeah, this guy absolutely knew what he was fucking talking about.

I loved the work ethic, I really respected everything that he did. And because of him, it was always about the music. It wasn’t about any other bullshit, it was about the music. And that’s something that will forever stay with me. And we got to do a tour in Japan with The Local Band. We got to do sold out shows in Finland and, you know, nothing but the best memories from that because, the funny thing was that when we kind of realized that we both are super big into into 80’s rock bands like Poison and Bon Jovi and stuff like that, came as such a weird coincidence because obviously I knew that he loves all that stuff, but I don’t think people have the same background because, you know, I was I would be listening to Dokken and Lynch Mob and Ratt and Poison and everything at home, kind of the same as I was getting into, the harder stuff. So, so we got along always really great and you know, we’ll always have these memories to cherish.

You’re very lucky you got to know him so closely. He was such a quiet, humble guy. Yet on stage he was just this absolute rock star in his element.

Exactly. And that’s like for us, it’s always been super important also that it’s because it’s understanding that whole dynamic that when you get up on stage, you do literally turn into a different person. You have this kind of alter ego, which is obviously based on yourself, but it’s just a place where you don’t give a fuck. It’s like you are the entertainer for that 45 minutes or 60 minutes or 90 minutes. But once you get off that stage, you have to know how to turn that off and just become yourself again. And that’s like that is or it’s been the cause of many downfalls obviously in history. But, you know, hopefully slowly but surely the, the scene is learning from all of those examples.

Now the big question is when are we going to see Lost Society come and play in Australia?

Oh my God man. Honestly, I wish I knew. I wish I could give you a date right now. But you know, because it’s been so difficult throughout this ten years of our career because obviously it’s not the easiest place to come to. But we are hoping to get some offers to come play there after the album is released, and once it makes sense in all ways, we will be there because we appreciate the fact that we know there’s so many fans out there and we are truly sorry that it has taken us so long to come. But rest assured, the moment it happens, it’s going to be fucking beautiful.

Thank you so much for having a chat with us tonight Samy. We hope the European tour with Blind Channel is a huge success, and the upcoming shows in Finland are a blast also. Cannot wait for the world to hear the new album “If The Sky Came Down” come the 7th October. It’s an absolute killer album, that I believe will see the band gain a hell of a lot of new dedicated fans. Hope to see LOST SOCIETY in Australia sometime in 2023.

Thank you so much, thank you for having me. And dude, all the best to you. I hope we can come out as soon as possible.

You can pre order/ pre save the upcoming new album “If The Sky Came Down” from Lost Society at this link https://bfan.link/LS-Album

Interviewer: Davey Rintala @fastlanephoto