Sardinian hardcore outfit For Different Ways breaks its recent studio silence with “Lost”, a self-produced single recorded and mixed by long-time collaborator Alberto Bandino at Cut Fire Mixing Studio. The track opens a new phase for the band and introduces bassist Fabio and guitarist Francesco, whose arrival, the group says, “immediately left a distinct mark on the band’s sound.”
There’s no metaphor in “Lost.” For Different Ways go straight to the point, framing a real-life case of wrongful imprisonment as both personal tragedy and indictment of a failing institution. The Sardinian band’s new single opens with the weight of a door closing — not just on a cell, but on decades of someone’s life.
It’s the first track featuring new members Fabio (bass) and Francesco (guitar), and their presence is immediately felt. The band has always operated within the borders of melodic hardcore, skatecore, and crossover, but here the tone is colder, more deliberate. The guitar work leans into a sort of suffocation, a tightening that mirrors the narrative they’re telling.
The song draws directly from the case of Beniamino Zuncheddu, a Sardinian man imprisoned for 33 years for a crime he didn’t commit. One of the most severe documented miscarriages of justice in recent Italian memory. “We tried to depict the last day of a prisoner who served many years behind bars despite being innocent,” the band explains. “His is considered one of the most serious judicial errors in recent Italian history.”
But “Lost” doesn’t stop at individual injustice — it expands into a critique of a system structurally indifferent to human dignity. “Everyone thinks about the crime, but not about the person who enters prison,” they write. “Incarceration means losing your rights and being marked for life.”
That loss isn’t abstract. Between 1991 and 2022, approximately 30,000 people in Italy were subjected to pre-trial detention, house arrest, or full sentencing, only to be later acquitted or exonerated. “It’s a psychological and economic ordeal that would destabilize anyone who experiences it.”
For Different Ways don’t sensationalize. Their language is stark, almost clinical, especially when they describe the broader conditions of Italian prisons — a landscape marked by overcrowding, deteriorating infrastructure, lack of rehabilitative services, and systemic neglect. “There are even minors with mental health disorders held in prison, when by law they should be in proper healthcare facilities. Prisons have become the new asylums.”
“There are currently 11 children imprisoned with their mothers — a truly inhumane situation.”
They speak of a justice system whose original rehabilitative mandate has eroded beyond recognition. “Prison should offer paths to recovery and reintegration, but the main activity for most inmates right now is lying for hours on a cot in overcrowded cells.”
“Lost” was recorded with Alberto Bandino at Cut Fire Mixing Studio, continuing a working relationship that began with their previous records. It’s self-produced, available digitally, and functions both as a standalone statement and as the first glimpse into a full-length currently in progress. “We’re currently working on material for the new album, constantly exploring new arrangements and searching for fresh ‘colors’ to give our songs.”
“It’s also interesting to see and hear the audience’s response — it gives you the awareness that you’re going through a phase of artistic growth, and that can lead you to reach a wider audience.”
The band hasn’t played much live since releasing the track — they say they’re still immersed in studio work — but more dates are promised for fall and winter.
Formed in 2015 between Medio Campidano and Cagliari, For Different Ways emerged from a network of Sardinian hardcore projects and took their time to develop. Their early releases About Life And Choices (2018) and By The River (2019) carried the tone of a band still searching. By Awareness (2022) and Scars (2023), they’d locked into a sound and focus. “Lost” tightens that focus into a single, grim subject — and insists, with quiet force, that looking away is no longer an option.
