The Loved and Lost

Sophie Hunt spoke to Jordan, Dan, Jack and Sam

The Loved and Lost are redefining modern melodic metal with a symphonic/electronic twist. Comprising of vocalist Jordan Quinn, guitarist Dan Fletcher, bassist Jack Bates and last but not least, drummer Sam Ward. The Loved and Lost skirt between lullaby filled anthems to hard-hitting, aggressive belters with melodic hooks.

The band have ventured away from the Midlands and been on a tour of Sweden. 2018 also saw the release of their EP Drag Me Down. On the back of this, they also have a relentless touring schedule up and down the country. The band are currently working on new material for an album we feel sure will make its mark on the alternative music scene.

Worcestershire, a town quite local to me, overflowing with its history and culture of the quaint little city it is known to be. Within the heart of Worcestershire is a band called, The Loved and Lost. A melodic metal band making their way up the music scene and into the hearts of the nation. Their fan base is stretched globally and after spending the last year heavily gigging, I was able to meet the band to divulge into their history during one of their rare days off. 

“Previously a few of us were in another band which we did as a hobby at school. When we decided that this was something we wanted to do more often and make a career out of it, we sourced out Sam, who was in another band at the time so we had to poach him. One significant memory from Sam joining the band was when we all met up for the first time to practise and Sam had to get the train to meet up. For some reason, he thought it would be really easy to carry all of his drum kit on the train making it quite the pilgrimage but also really entertaining to see him getting off. We knew we wanted Jack, and when we went to find him at work, we walked into town towards Argos where he worked and standing out like a saw thumb was Jack wearing a bananas in pyjamas costume which was hilarious.”

The Loved and Lost have been summarised as hard rock and melodic metal genre, so I wanted to know what they thought and whether they are considered that type of music. 

“We tend to say we’re melodic metal with influences of symphonic rock. Melodic metal isn’t specific so we try to just do what we want. Traditionally melodic metal is known as Iron Maiden sort of work, so now we’re trying to phase out the hard rock and get into the heavier side which we refer to as modern melodic metal. If you listen to our song catalogue, we touch on multiple genres which is why we have ended up with such different tracks. Our older stuff has vibes of hard rock with gothic elements and our new work is a lot heavier. The melodic category is difficult as you can’t really attach it to anything.”

As the Loved and Lost have changed their sound over time, it was interesting to learn who influences the creativity and if they had a dream collaboration so the band filled me in.

“Growing up we listened to Linkin Park, Evanescence and Within Temptation. As a band, we have quite a broad spectrum of bands, with Papa Roach being a huge influence. It is mainly noughties rock which has played its main part. There is also influence from power metals like Powerworld, and Sam just chooses to listen to Sevenfold and nothing else. It always goes back to Papa Roach when it comes to the dream collab, but Powerwolf would be such an incredible experience to work with. Also, Jordan’s voice on a Powerwolf track would sound amazing.”

After the hectic schedule of The Loved and Lost has calmed down as summer draws to a close, I was keen to know about the band's plans for winter and where their sights are set to explore next.

“Applications have just opened for festivals, so we’ll start looking into that ahead of next year.  We do have a little trip planned for up north where we will be visiting Carlisle, York, and Newcastle upon Tyne with mini-tours with Centreline. The essential part of the tour is the mini table tennis which will keep us busy and challenge Centreline.”

When I was first introduced into the Loved and Lost, I noticed that they all enjoy gaming. This was really exciting for me as I am quite the avid gamer myself so during our chat I asked if the band had any new releases they were particularly excited for.

“There's a sinking city game which is kind of like a detective game with an inception vibe which we’re excited for. Other releases we’re excited for Battlefield 5, as a band we always play Battlefield together and we have a tradition of getting together to play Call of Duty 2. We’ll raid up a couple of TV’s and consoles and link it all together while we dig into some pizza.”

The Loved and Lost are all about the heavy metal and symphonic rock, but every band has its closet favourite artists. The best artists always have influences from a bit of mainstream pop or classic anthems, so the band filled me in on their little secret. 

“One artist who we all love is Sia. Any pop song you think of which is actually quite a hit turns out to be written by Sia such as Titanium so you can’t help but love her catchy music. Die Antwoord, is also a weird one which is more like rave music, again being completely different the style of music we produce. As a band, we like our soundtracks to films and games, alongside instrumental piano music which is quite inspirational for some of our songs.”

Being a smaller band means the community of bands is really tight. This means that The Loved and Lost are regularly given the chance to work with a variety of people so I asked the guys if there were anyone they could recommend.

“Our current scene of bands and the people we work with are our friends and continue to exist because they enjoy it. Secrets of Mariana are awesome and great friends of ours and indulge in many Disney movie nights. We really like Axiom and their instrumental side. We have been lucky enough to have the chance to play with a variety of bands.”

When a band starts up they have plenty of goals and dreams they want to achieve and with their following continuously growing, I found out from The Loved and Lost what they believed to be important in ensuring how you can succeed as a beginner band.

“I think the main thing for us is that we enjoy it and we enjoy meeting new people. This also includes networking and building up our fan base. One thing we have never tried to do is be that band that turn up, play and go home. The whole point of us being there is to make real friends. If we were not in this band we wouldn’t know all these people and it shows it’s not about networking to find more bands to play with it's about meeting people to make friends. Other important things to remember is that the people you bring in to the band all get along as if you don’t, it upsets the balance of the band.  We don’t just get together for the job, we are friends and we meet up and play board games. I think because we’re all local it helps as we hang out and go to festivals and drink etc.”

It goes without saying that being at a festival is one of the most fun experiences any band could partake in. The Loved and Lost told me about a few of these they have their eyes on for next year.

“We want to set our sights onto Europe for next year. It goes without saying that Bloodstock is a must and the smaller stages of Download, otherwise what the point is, but we want to look at Summer Breeze which is in Germany or even Sweden rock, where there are smaller festivals.”

“One we want to throw into the mix is Godiva. For the first time, they had a rock stage which is rare to see a free event with such a specific stage. If they do continue it would be a really cool one for us to play, which opens you up for the people who support the music and always are open to finding new bands.  We want to go to Amplified one year just for the sake of being there. We live for going to festivals.” 

You can catch the single Drag Me Down which was released earlier this year by the band on Spotify and their Facebook page. Over the coming months, it sounded like the band had a lot planned so they divulged further into what their fans could expect.

“We are currently working on a new song which should be out in the next few weeks. Once this is done we are aiming to go to Europe next year and will start planning that out. Over the next few months we have mini tours taking place up north. We have spent the last two years gigging really heavily, one or twice a week to try and find as many venues as possible. Now we have branched out, we have taken a step back from the crazy schedule to write new material, with the goal after to put everything together for a golden package and go on a full tour across the world. That's our next plan for the next 6 months or a year.”

As the day was drawing in for a close, I thanked the Loved and Lost for their time during their day off and if there were any words of wisdom they had to offer for their sea of dedicated fans.

“Be nice to everyone as it always pays off. If you are nice to people generally things will work out for you. For smaller bands, it's important to not take yourself too seriously and open yourself up to meeting new people.”

The Loved and Lost indulge in their individuality and bring something very different to the rock metal scene. Their modesty is what will carry them through the playlists of many adoring fans and sooner or later the larger stages of our festivals. This band hold the essence of what music is about with their unique sound and style, mixing in Symphonic rock and even the edge of classical inspiration from piano tracks. I have high hopes for The Loved and Lost as they hold so much potential for growth. Because at the end of the day, there is more to music than just a career or putting together a sound, it is about a strong community of friends who are doing what they love for others enjoyment. Check out the Loved and Lost’s latest EP Drag Me Down and enjoy the essence of a community.