Lost Society ‘No Absolution’
Album Review By Adam McCann
Grey Beard Concert & Management/Thrash/Groove Metal
Since their inception at the start of the last decade, Lost Society have been working exceptionally hard to bring their brand of thrash metal to the world. The Finns reached a pinnacle with their warmly received 2016 album ‘Braindead’. This year has the Finnish thrashers back from a break with their latest album ‘No Absolution’.
What Lost Society deliver with ‘No Absolution’ is an album which continues to plough the furrow laid out with ‘Braindead’. Yet, with this album, the Finns take a deeper delve, taking in much more groove metal elements here than the more thrashing elements of their previous albums. Furthermore, this latest offering from Lost Society contains an exceptional production; this is an album which is crisp and clear with a modern production that gives ‘No Absolution’ the ability to appeal to a wide demographic with its easy to listen and enjoyable sheen. This, when coupled with some fantastic musicianship, in particular the guitar work of Samy Elbanna and Arttu Lesonen; it is these guitar solos and phrases which really make ‘No Absolution’ very enjoyable that would appeal to fans of Machine Head, but also something much more modern such as 4Arm and even Trivium with touches of Metalcore, once again, showing Lost Society taking a step away from the thrash sound which made them. What this means for Lost Society is that ‘No Absolution’ appears to be a transitionary album; tracks such as ‘Nonbeliever’, ‘My Prophecy’ and ‘Deliver Me’ display perfect examples of this change; yet, some of these tracks drag, the albums closing track which features Apocalyptica, ‘Into Eternity’ just fails to grab any attention and ultimately feels like a Machine Head outtake.
As an album, ‘No Absolution’ is an album which should be approached with trepidation; those expecting the thrashfest of their earlier work may be a little disappointed. Yet, Lost Society seem to have opened their doors to a wider metal community; will this pay into the hands of the band? Only time will tell and therefore there should be a sense of caution used when approaching ‘No Absolution’.
Rating : 71/100
MHF Magazine/Adam McCann
