This year, some French bands have already attracted attention, just think of Herzel and Tentation. With The Losts, I recently came across another formation from our neighbouring country that has released a very exciting album in 2021. Reason enough to chat with singer and guitarist YGC about his music and all kinds of other topics.
André: Hi, thank you very much for your time. How are you?
YGC: Hello! Thanks to you! We released a new appreciated album a few months ago and now we are back on stage, so we’re doing very well!
I’m glad to hear that! What is the last album you listened to before this interview?
Right now: Surrender of Silence, Steve Hackett’s latest album. A beautiful progressive rock journey with a really wide spectrum of emotions.
Let’s move on to your band. I’m sure many readers don’t know The Losts. Please tell us something about your band history.
The Losts is a French band composed of 4 musicians – JCR (Drums/Black Vocals), DGC (Guitars/Thrash Vocals), PPG (Bass/Backing vocals) and me, YGC (Vocals/Guitars) – existing and touring since 2010. We have released 1 EP (2013) and 2 albums (2016 and 2021) which show a great evolution in both our style and production. These albums deal with the same satirical concept: the myth of the Losts, beings born out of nowhere and who, in contact with human beings, embody their darkest side, torments, the great evils of our society. For the first time, during the first confinement, we changed our line up and PPG, our new bassist, entered.
How would you classify your music stylistically? I find it difficult to put a label on it.
Indeed, our music is the result of the various individual preferences within the band: Heavy Metal, Black Metal, Classic Rock, Thrash, guitarist music, more theatrical music… That’s a bit of all that you can find in our music. Dark Heavy Metal, that is the best label we could find to describe us.
Noted! Which bands would you describe as your major sources of inspiration?
This is always a hard question because we could make a list of 1,500 bands [laughs]. We could just mention Megadeth, Mercyful Fate, Iced Earth, Therion, Immortal, Arcturus, Van Halen, etc.
Your last album is called Mystery Of Depths. Are you satisfied with the final result as well?
We are more than satisfied with the result! We were really able to put in it what we wanted to show from our identity. We also took the time to work on our arrangements, especially with Phil Reinhalter, the record’s producer. He gave it the sound we were waiting for, something more extreme metal oriented than the traditional heavy metal way.
Do you have a favourite song? “The Sand War (May 1940)” is a great one, for sure.
It’s difficult to extract a title … I would say “The Priests Control” or “Mystery Of Depths” which really synthesize the personalities of the 4 members. But it is true that “The Sand War (May 1940)” has a very particular emotional value because it tells the story of DGC’s and my grandfather during the Dunkirk debacle and the Dynamo Operation in 1940. These are the first lyrics to get out of the concept of The Losts.
Thank you for this insight. Now I guess I find the song even more exciting. How has the feedback been so far?
Amazing! From both the press and the listeners! Many columnists place Mystery Of Depths as one of the most beautiful French releases of the year. Sales are progressing and a lot of records have left for Germany, Greece, Italy, etc. We have received so many encouraging messages!!
Well deserved! At which festivals would you like to play with your band?
We never had the opportunity to play in the French medium festivals like Rising Fest, Vouziers, Raismes Fest, etc., which we would very much like, as well as neighboring festivals like the Keep it True or the Alcatraz. But if Metaldays, Wacken or Hellfest demand us, we won’t be choosy [laughs].
Is there a band that particularly fascinated you live?
The great classic shows like Iron Maiden or Kiss! I really like visual bands like Hell, Ghost or Devin Townsend. I remember being very impressed to see Type O Negative and the giant Peter Steele on stage! Otherwise, the energy of Evil Invaders is incredible!
Which albums released this year do you like the most?
I really like the albums of Giotopia – Trinity Of Evil (but it’s normal, I am featuring on it!), Flotsam & Jetsam – Blood On Water, Doctor Smoke – Dreamers And The Dead, Witherfall – Curse Of Autumn, Iron Maiden – Senjutsu (despite its lengths… but it sounds closer to The X Factor, my favorite Maiden album), Moonspell – Hermitage, Nemesis HP – Lion and… Danny Elfman – Big Mess, a really cool album!
And which five albums would you take with you to a desert island?
Certainly Angra – Holy Land, Megadeth – Countdown To Extinction, Notre Dame – Nightmare Before Christmas, Arcturus – La Masquerade Infernale, Death – Sound Of Perseverance, Iron Maiden – The X Factor, Therion – Theli, Mercyful Fate – Melissa. Ok, these are 8 but my suitcase was almost empty…
Last question: Which band from France should our readers definitely check out?
My favorite French band is called Sanctuaire. I like to call it the “prince of French Dark Heavy Metal”. The band has released a demo and two albums between 2008 and 2014. Since then, some members of the band continue with another great band called Sacral Night.
Once again, many thanks for talking to us! And let’s hope that The Losts will play here in Germany soon.