Maybe it’s the state of the world burning around me. Maybe it’s some sort of sadomasochistic impulse, an act of self-flagellation born out of just wanting to feel something after four straight 3.0s. Somehow, I ended up with the monster-energy-encrusted promo for Hell Is A State Of Mind, the latest serving from Lost Society. For the uninitiated, Lost Society is a Finnish band that once upon a time (2013) dropped a fun and in-your-face thrash debut in the form of Fast Loud Death. Since then, the corruption from the profane phylactery at Nuclear Blast’s core must have gotten to the band, because they’ve morphed into purveyors of schizophrenic, genre-mashing radio rock that makes Nü metal’s heyday seem tasteful. As defender of the Nü faith, I reckon I have a higher tolerance than most for this sort of schlock, and the singles were garishly awful in a way that only over-produced Euro label money could conjure. There’s no way this whole album is good… right?
On Hell Is A State Of Mind, Lost Society sound like what would happen if you threw Jeris Johnson, Ronnie Radke (Falling in Reverse) and Corey Taylor (Stone Sour and his solo stuff specifically) into a cage fight and made them all compete for an audience share of divorced dads who “miss when rock was dangerous” and TikTok-obsessed teenagers who think Sleep Token is a little “too mature.” Across the tracklist, Lost Society mash together over-the-top orchestral electronic beats (“Blood Diamond), contemporary tough-guy buttrock stylings (“Dead People Scare Me (But The Living Make Me Sick)”), and overwrought, commercial emo-tinged power balladry (“Is This What You Wanted”) into a sonic amalgamation unlike anything I’ve ever heard. There’s plenty of popular radio rock and metalcore that clumsily mixes other styles with crunchy guitars into a Liquid Metal-approved chorus-focused mush 1 but Lost Society’s take on it is genuinely unhinged in a way I almost begrudgingly respect. A song like opener “Afterlife” blends trap beats, syncopated djent guitars, electronic wubs, fast scream-rapping, synthetic strings, and autotuned vocal harmonies with such irreverence that it almost works, and it isn’t alone on the track list. Like most of the record tho, it’s handicapped by an overpowering “edginess” that you could prick your finger on.
In many ways, the sensibilities of Hell Is A State Of Mind feel largely dictated by what would seem cool at your local Hot Topic circa 2007. The lyrics on this thing consist entirely of cliché aphorisms (“No Longer Human”), half-baked meditations on mortality (“Hell Is A State Of Mind”), and eyeroll-inducing “devil/angel” metaphors (“Synthetic.) In combination with the constantly shifting, in-your-face musical palette, the result is an album that I would’ve been embarrassed listening to in middle school, much less now. Vocalist/guitarist Samy Elbanna is a commanding and charismatic presence on the mic who sounds confident screaming, rapping, and singing throughout 2 but lines like “Asphyxiating, I’m high again / Your love is a chemical, and I want it all” and “Out of time like a heretic tic tic tic tic toc, trickshot, cold, I’m a sick fuck” make it utterly impossible to take any of this seriously. More than anything, a full listen of this record means wading through a near-lethal amount of cringe.
To the band’s credit, Lost Society does accomplish some feats here that are exciting on a songwriting and production level. They know how to write engaging hooks and instrumental parts, and how to arrange them in ways that don’t feel nearly as obvious as some of their contemporaries; the genre acrobatics on display are genuinely impressive. Beyond the awful lyrics, “Synthetic” is a fun, danceable EDM- and darkwave-influenced banger with a nasty harmonized guitar solo and a satisfying escalation of intensity. “L’appel du vide” features an interesting marriage of symphonic metal and classic ’80s heavy metal high-speed riffing built on the bones of a more accessible radio-rock song. Everyone in this band can play their asses off, and there’s no shortage of tasty production flourishes like little orchestral stabs or guitar melodies that would be fairly respectable in another context. Looking past the gut reaction to this intensely embarrassing music, the songcraft is at a significantly higher level than many of their contemporaries—but it’s in service of a sound that, for most underground metalheads, is unlistenable.
Hell Is A State Of Mind is the sort of record I’d show my metalhead friends over a round of beers so we can bask in its awful majesty. Lost Society have delivered an ostentatious slab of nü metal/EDM/heavy metal/symphonic/hard rock that’s honestly impressive in its assured sonic depravity. Is it a good record? No—not even close. But it’s sure as hell entertaining.
Rating: 1.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
Label: Nuclear Blast
Websites: facebook.com/lostsocietyfinland | instagram.com/lostsocietyfi
Releases Worldwide: March 6th, 2026
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