Breaching The Barricades With KEV From LOST SOULS

Interview by Kris Peters
Marketing plays a massive part in the world today, with the music
industry no exception. A band can have all the chops in existence
and originality dripping from their brow, but still reach next to
no one without a clever marketing campaign or just plain
luck.
But when a band gets it right…
As is the case with Australian hardcore outfit Lost Souls, who
found the winning formula with brilliant use of animation through
not only their music videos but also their daily existence. The
band release their debut album Lore on April 18, but in the
necessary pre-album campaign their debut single Childhood Died - a
Star Wars themed epic - went viral and had everyone asking ‘who are
Lost Souls?’. The single racked up millions of streams, garnered
the attention of reaction channels around the globe, and was
nominated for Best Blegh at the Nik Nocturnal Awards. They backed
it up with the sequel The Return, followed by the Attack on Titan
tribute My Soldiers Rage, which took social media by storm courtesy
of a ping-pong ball breakdown viewed around the world 20 million
times before the single was even released. Next came the ADHD
masterpiece Dopamine, with a killer riff inspired by microwave
popcorn, and their latest single MOSHLORD features their new bestie
Jonathan Vigil of The Ghost Inside. And all of this without even
releasing their first album!
It is indeed a success story to marvel at, but to see for ourselves
what all the fuss is about, HEAVY sat down for a unique one-on-one
chat with frontman Kev that has to be seen to be believed and/or
appreciated.
We start by asking how he is feeling this close to the release
date.
"Oh, dude, I'm just absolutely so stoked," he beamed. "We worked
really hard on this album. I guess every band loves their own album
(laughs), but it just feels like we haven't got any fillers on
there. I'm just really pumped for everybody to hear the different
kind of lyrical content we're covering and hear all those fat
breakdowns and killer riffs."
With such a massive global response already, HEAVY mentions that
the band has to be feeling a touch of extra pressure to
deliver.
"Just having the album out is a success in itself," Kev measured.
"We've always just made music for ourselves and when we write these
songs, we put our everything into it. And when people hear it and
resonate with it, it's fucking awesome, dude, but it's not the
reason we go out there and do it. So even having the album out
there… Childhood Died sat on YouTube for about a year with maybe
900 to a thousand views, and not that I don't appreciate everything
that's happened, but when it was sitting there clocking up one to
10 views per week it was weird. It felt like you could put an
identity to each one of those people. So you'd see it go up a
little bit, and you're like, oh fuck. I hope that that specific
person, wherever they are, enjoyed it. So there is a point where
the numbers get so big, you can't even fathom it. It just becomes
like a big number. So for us, just having this album recorded is a
success and anything that comes after it, dude, that's a bonus. Do
you know what I mean?"
In the full interview, the discussion centred on Lost Souls'
upcoming debut album, Lore, set for release on April 18. Kev
expressed pride in the album, emphasizing its lack of fillers and
diverse lyrical content. HEAVY noted the album's metalcore roots
and its emotional intensity, which aims to resonate physically with
listeners.
Kev highlighted that the released singles only hint at the album's
depth, which includes experimental tracks and profound lyrics. They
also reflected on their recent viral success, attributing it to
factors like social media dynamics while maintaining that their
primary motivation is creating music for themselves. The
conversation also touched on the pressures of releasing their debut
album, with Kev sharing insights into the bands creative process,
including a unique opening track inspired by the Library of
Alexandria. We discussed Lost Souls' marketing strategy,
particularly the effectiveness of animated music videos, while
acknowledging the need for a balance between music production and
social media management. Plans for touring were confirmed, with the
band intending to wait until after the album release to schedule
shows.


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