New album, “Hell Is A State Of Mind”, out on March 6th!
Four years after the critically acclaimed “If the Sky Came Down”, Finland’s forward-thinking metal trailblazers Lost Society return with their long-awaited new album “Hell Is a State of Mind”. For vocalist–guitarist Samy Elbanna, guitarist Arttu Lesonen, bassist Mirko Lehtinen, and drummer Tapani Fagerström, the record marks a bold step into the metallic territory they were always meant to claim: unrestrained, unmistakable, and unapologetically their own. From the very first notes, one thing is clear—this is modern metal without equals and without apologies. It refuses comparison.
“Our Finnish forebears—HIM, Nightwish, Children of Bodom—pushed heavy metal forward by doing what others wouldn’t or couldn’t. We share that ethos”, Samy nods.
Where “If the Sky Came Down”—and the album before it, “No Absolution”—reflected a period of exploration after shedding their early thrash metal identity, “Hell Is a State of Mind” is the moment Lost Society stops searching and starts becoming.
“What we can do is something no one else can. We are us—everyone else is everyone else.”
Reuniting once again with their trusted collaborator, producer, co-writer and mixing engineer Joonas Parkkonen, the early sessions for the new album progressed steadily—until “Blood Diamond” changed everything. It’s also the album’s first official single—”Dead People Scare Me (But the Living Make Me Sick)”, released last spring, served as an “early first taste.”
What began as a melody Samy sketched over a random hip-hop beat evolved into something entirely different—”Blood Diamond” erupted into full cinematic grandeur the moment dramatic strings were introduced into the early demo.
“We realized the strings—and the whole orchestral approach—felt completely new, at least when done the Lost Society way. It happened by accident, and we just ran with it”, Samy recalls.
“From that moment, the new album’s DNA crystallized: dramatic, theatrical orchestration colliding with the spirit of our metal heroes—Alice Cooper, W.A.S.P., Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. And more…”
Many tracks began on two acoustic guitars, following the oldest test in songwriting: if it doesn’t work stripped to the bone, it won’t survive once distortion is added. Though the starting point was acoustic, the finished song could ultimately wander in any direction.
“One end of the emotional spectrum reveals itself in the softer “Is This What You Wanted”, while the other explodes in “Kill the Light”, a fist-clenched homage to pure metal fury. Both tracks are also being released as singles—and for good reason. With its vulnerability and strong atmosphere, “Is This What You Wanted” might be the best song we’ve ever worked on. And while “Kill the Light” nods toward classic metal, its arrangement and surprisingly light-sounding chorus turn it into a completely different kind of wild ride.”
At a certain point in the writing process, the musicians leaned deeper into intuition—and discovered a new structural weapon along the way: the C-section.
“We started joking that this is the C-section album”, Samy laughs. “Instead of default bridges, C-sections are almost like little songs within the songs. “No Longer Human” is one of the best examples—C-section alone is one of the most glorious things we’ve ever created.”
And the guitars then? Sweeping melodic lines and solos chosen with intention—appearing only when they truly serve the song. No showmanship for its own sake—just raw emotional power.
“A soulful lead—there are many of those—hits harder than a minute of shredding. If a solo didn’t serve the song, it didn’t make the album”, Samy emphasizes.
Vocally, Elbanna pushes further than ever before. Angelic falsettos, demonic screams, huge dynamic shifts, even rap-leaning cadences—whatever the song demands. And these lyrics demand a wide emotional range.
“Narratively, this is a journey of death, rebirth, and ultimate liberation. It picks up exactly where “If the Sky Came Down” left off: with demise. The new album opens in the “Afterlife”, and as it unfolds, the protagonist is forced to face the wreckage of destructive love, addiction, self-sabotage and so on. The second half of the LP rises through visions of apocalyptic ecstasy, societal cruelty, and finally revelation: Hell was never a place—it was a mindset.”
If a single song captures this new grandeur and wild ambition, it is the final track—the title track—written partly while Samy was burning with a 39-degree fever. Abrupt scene changes, theatrical twists, structural detours—the kind of fearless decisions early metal pioneers made before anyone knew the rules.
“That song is just insane. We figured if we could make all these different parts work together, it would become something else entirely. It’s a tempest of Italian romanticism, Sibelius-inspired passages, galloping metal, sweeping strings, a pop-inflected chorus, even a descent into black metal darkness. Sure, it sounds crazy on paper, but every twist feels organic and natural”, Samy smiles.
When the songs had finally taken shape after relentless months of writing and arranging, recording began—with nothing left halfway.
“This is easily one of the largest metal productions in Finland since Nightwish. Nothing else was enough as we aimed for a timeless sound”, Samy declares.
“We tracked the album’s foundation at the legendary Finnvox Studio B for a month. We brought at least 25 amp heads, 10 cabinets, and classic drum gear—some of it tied to iconic metal recordings like Metallica’s “Black Album”. Guitars were recorded over weeks, layer by layer, all played with feel and intention. No amp modeling. No grid-perfect edits. The drums are natural, with only minimal sampling. It’s not the easiest or cheapest way—but we didn’t have a choice.”
Then came the crown jewel: a 40-piece Babelsberg Film Orchestra, breathing cinematic fire into the album’s core.
“Hearing those strings and other orchestral stuff come alive was unreal… And honestly, the whole album process has been unreal—in the best possible way!”
And now that unreal experience—”Hell Is a State of Mind”—is finally ready to be unleashed upon the world. The Lost Society frontman is proud—for the best possible reason. After five albums and countless shows across the globe, “Hell Is a State of Mind” distills Lost Society into a single, defiant statement: a record that asks no permission, bows to no trend, and refuses to sound like anything—or anyone—other than Lost Society.
With “Hell Is a State of Mind”, Lost Society isn’t just shining within modern metal—they’re pushing its boundaries into the unknown. And that might carry truly legendary consequences.
(Photograph by Sam Jamsen)
