Interview by Ali Williams
Samy Elbanna of Lost Society caught up with HEAVY's Ali Williams to talk about all things dark and the journey of coming out the other side. Their chat feels less like a promo interview and more like a long, honest exhale. There’s humour, perspective, and the unmistakable tone of someone who’s been through the grinder, come out the other side, and is now enjoying the simple pleasure of writing loud music without staring into the void between riffs.
Lost Society’s sixth album, Hell Is a State of Mind, arrives March 6, and Elbanna doesn’t sugarcoat how close it came to not existing at all. The band’s previous record was written during an extremely dark period in his life, one where the idea of a future album felt wildly optimistic at best. That’s what makes this release feel different. It’s not fuelled by misery or desperation, but by rediscovering the fun of being in a studio and remembering why making music mattered in the first place.
Rather than chasing trends or trying to outsmart algorithms, Elbanna talks about returning to instinct. Writing music he actually likes. Melodies that feel good to sing. Lyrics that say something without needing to be cryptic for the sake of it. He’s visibly proud of this record, and not in the chest-beating way, more in the “I can finally enjoy this again” sense. Hell Is a State of Mind is heavy, unapologetically so, but lyrically it leans toward empowerment and self-acceptance, which is a pretty solid bait-and-switch for a metal album in 2026.
The conversation drifts back to Lost Society’s early days, which read less like a fairytale and more like a DIY survival manual. Underage, unable to play bars, the band organised their own shows, youth centre gigs, and mini-festivals, entered every competition they could find, and sold homemade demo CDs the old-fashioned way: face to face. No viral clips, no shortcuts, just persistence and a worrying amount of faith. Eventually, a televised performance landed in front of a Nuclear Blast A&R, and things slowly started to snowball. Slowly being the key word.
Elbanna is refreshingly realistic about the modern music industry. He’s not anti-streaming or anti-TikTok, just anti-bullshit. He points out that “overnight success” usually follows years of unseen work, and that skipping those years doesn’t exactly prepare artists for pressure, touring life, or longevity. Social platforms, he says, are tools, not commandments. Not every metal band needs to dance for clicks, and not every promotion strategy has to look identical. Radical concept, apparently.
Finland, unsurprisingly, gets its moment in the spotlight. Elbanna credits the country as one of the best places on earth to start a metal band, thanks to accessible venues, youth programs, and a culture that doesn’t clutch its pearls when teenagers plug in guitars. Born and raised there, with Egyptian heritage and English as his first language, he’s grown up in a musical environment that encourages experimentation rather than punishing it, which helps explain Lost Society’s longevity.
Looking ahead, the band aren’t easing into anything. The album release is immediately followed by a three-week European headline tour, a major Helsinki show, and then straight into festival season. Touring remains the heartbeat of the band, not just for exposure or income, but because that’s where the music actually comes alive. Bus life, inside jokes, and temporary escape from normal reality included.
Australian fans also get a nod. Elbanna recently toured Australia and New Zealand as a fill-in member for Amaranthe and fell hard for the place, despite being deeply disappointed by the lack of constant spider attacks promised by the internet. Lost Society haven’t toured here yet, but it’s firmly on the wish list, with this album shaping up as the one that could finally bring them Down Under.
At its core, Hell Is a State of Mind isn’t a comeback story or a carefully packaged redemption arc. It’s a heavy record made by someone who didn’t expect to still be doing this, now offering listeners half an hour of noise, catharsis, and a brief sense that things might not be completely cooked after all. Loud therapy, if you will.
And honestly, that’s a pretty decent reason to press play.

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From Dark Rooms To Loud Truths: LOST SOCIETY Are Still Standing