Lost Society – Braindead (Album Review)
LOST SOCIETY – Braindead
OUT NOW
LOST SOCIETY Line up:
Samy Elbanna | vocals, guitar
Arttu Lesonen | guitar
Mirko Lehtinen | bass
Ossi Paananen | drums
LOST SOCIETY Online:
Facebook
Twitter
Website
Not many may have heard about these crazy Finnish thrashers, Lost Society, but if you love the thrash genre then you need to source these guys out. Founded in 2010, barely six years into their hectic careers, the band has already dropped three albums including the band’s brand new record, Braindead. Fast, Loud, Death, Lost Society’s debut album back in 2013 is regarded as one of the finest thrash genre debuts ever, with killer riffs, speed and some fine tales of running amok as teenagers, so I was looking forward to see what was next for these guys.
Their follow up album, Terror Hungry delivered a similar line of aggression and crazy tales, bouncing around between alcohol and violent soaked lyrics. It was a decent release but I couldn’t help the feeling that the band had stagnated with their sophomore release. Enter, Braindead. The 2016 version of Lost Society is clearly a more mature, darker one, still reaching chaotic speed metal at times but it is also a far more measured and refined delivered batch of songs that this album holds. Lost Society are evolving but they are still searching for their sound after several run throughs of this new album, it seems.
Leading off with ‘I Am the Antidote’, Lost Society’s most heavy, bludgeoning track in their repertoire, the band have pulled back the reigns from their previous two albums, unleashing a more steady approach. The result on their first track is a winner, with the best example being a Lost Society version of ‘Sad but True’…sounding nothing like the Metallica version but a similarly composed beast if that makes sense.
Listeners won’t have to wait long for a more thrashier effort as ‘Riot’ lands right between the eyes and despite vocalist, Samy Elbanna’s struggle to smash out the higher pitch of this track, it’s filled with killer riffs and a blistering outro solo. ‘Mad Torture’ and ‘Hollow Eyes’ follow suit, again thrash metal but definitely more brooding numbers than heard on albums one and two. The latter track with its marching guitar riff one of my favourite tracks on Braindead.
‘Rage Me Up’ reverts back to speed metal, and the vibe from ‘Hangover Activator’ reeks of Municipal Waste, which is not a bad thing. However as the album rolls on you can’t help but think Braindead is a bit disjointed. The killer solos are still here and there but Elbanna’s high pitch shrill is getting more and more intolerable.
The band conclude Braindead with a cover of Pantera’s pre-Anselmo days with ‘P.S.T.88’ from their album, Power Metal way back in 1988. It should have stayed there. Lost Society spruiks it up a little but in the end its still glam metal. Pass. Finishing with ‘Terror Hungry’ (California Easy Listening Version), I can’t help but think Lost Society ran out of ideas on this third album. It’s schizophrenic, wailing between the good, the bad and the ugly. Hearing some of the decent guitar bits of Braindead and listening to Fast, Loud, Death again from 2013, you can’t help but think this is just a minor glitch in their careers in trying to evolve, so kudos for that. In the end, there’s bits to like, unfortunately this is a puzzle that is missing some glaring pieces.
Braindead tracklist:
01. I Am The Antidote
02. Riot
03. Mad Torture
04. Hollow Eyes
05. Rage Me Up
06. Hangover Activator
07. Only (My) Death Is Certain
08. P.S.T.88
Bonus:
09. Terror Hungry (Californian Easy Listening Version)
6/10
