Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

What´s the name of your band? This Divided World

What made you call the band "This Divided World"? I wanted to create a band name that people instantly knew was a metal band, but I wanted everyone to know that we didn't write lyrics about killing people.  It needed to be memorable and epic.

How was the band formed? I started working on This Divided World as a studio project with no clear direction.  I just wanted to write heavy songs and release albums.  I started writing demos and recording them at home.  The first demo was recorded with my vocals and a friend doing some guest vocals.  Eventually I joined up with a vocalist, mark young, to make the first album.  I then used guest vocals for the next EP.  There is no current full-time vocalist.

Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? As a studio band, I do all the music.  I did vocals for the first demo, but that's it.  I used to be a vocalist, but I'm really not that good.  But I enjoy composing the music; guitars and drums, and bass.  For me, the main sound of the band comes from those two parts working together.

What was the ambitions of the band when you started? I wasn't really expecting anything when I started the band.  I just wanted to put out albums.  I decided playing shows took away a lot from the band experience for me.  Because of the internet, it's not necessary anymore to play out to become well known and well liked.

Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? This Divided World is a blend of death metal and metalcore called "deathcore."  There are hardcore elements as well.  There's a big emphasis on fast drums and breakdowns.

Where was your first gig? When I was 15 years old I played at my high school's talent show.  I guess that was my first "show."

Who writes your songs?/ who writes the music who writes lyrics? I write all the music.  I also wrote all the lyrics for the demo and full-length album.  Mark added some lyrics, as well as editing the existing ones.  I wrote concept lyrics for the new EP, but then each of the guest vocalists interpreted them and re-wrote them.  I really enjoy the composition and writing process of the instrumentals.  I'm not as fond of lyric writing, but I've done it in the past out of necessity and a desire to be true to the vision of This Divided World.

Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? I love deathcore because of the contrast between fast and slow.  I've said it many times, but to me it's a heavier combination than any hardcore or metal.  Another comparison is hardcore with skanks, 2-steps, and breakdowns.  The difference is that deathcore is mor guiar intensive, and uses blast beats.  Death metal is great, but the "fast-ness" is almost washed away by the constant speed.  You become immune to it almost.  In domp-tempo beatdown, it's just the opposite.  Everything is so slow that when a breakdown hits, it doesn't have any impact.  I feel like deathcore is a more extreme version of metalcore.  I like that there's no singing in deathcore.  Not everyone interprets it that way, but to me if there's singing, it's not deathcore; just heavy metalcore. This Divided World songs are ultimately about Jesus and His glory.  That's a pretty tall order, but I try to stay true to that.  It's very important to me that what I write, or is written on behalf of This Divided World lyrically represents the truth in the Word of God (the Bible).  That doesn't mean every song contains the name of Jesus explicitly, but I prefer to not beat around the bush lyrically; there's already enough of that going on in the Christian metalcore scene.  I prefer to be bold.  Yes it turns people away, but guess what?  I'm not here to please you.  I am here to please God, and I want to stay true to that.  If people like it, cool.  If they hate it, that's play too.  I am proud of the themes represented in our songs.  But I will say, I prefer that people like our music.  It's not my intention to go out of my way to offend people in a way that keeps them from Christ, but instead empower them to know the truth and be changed by it.  Not all are willing to hear truth, or respond to it in a way that honors God.

Do you write your own material or mainly covers? It's all original material.  I might do a cover in the future, but it would be a non-traditional one.

Have you made any albums?/If yes, what are they? I have released a demo, full-length album, and EP for This Divided World.  The demo is not available for download or stream, but both of the other release are.  You can download them from our Bandcamp at http://thisdividedworld.bandcamp.com

Do you have any clips on YouTube? Yes! I am not as active on YouTube now as I used to be.  I would like to get back into making Vlogs and stuff like that. I also put out Bible studies and Christianity related stuff.

How old are you?/What got you started in music? I am currently 24 years old.  I started playing guitar when I was about 16 or so.  Before that I just used to sing and do a little screaming.  I can't say exactly what got me into music.  I wasn't very musical per se.  I was more of a writer, a poet, but then I guess that naturally leads into being a lyricist, and a vocalist.  My brother definitely had an influence on me, when he started playing guitar.  We were in our first bands together, him on guitar and me on the microphone. I 

Best/worst gig you've played? I am pretty stoked to say that I played a show with Oceano before they blew up. That's probably my biggest claim to fame.

What are the plans for the rest of the year? I've slowed down a lot on This Divided World lately.  I am a busy college student that works part-time, among many other things.  But I do plan to release a single some time this year.  It's going to be nasty!

What are your goals with your music? I don't ever hope to make music for This Divided World as a full-time job.  That used to be my vision, but I realized that it's a pretty miserable proposition.  The touring life is difficult; anyone that tours will tell you that.  I receive satisfaction through my interactions with fans online, that are just as real as engaging an audience from the stage.  I hope t be able to continue to make records, and sell enough to break even.

Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? I am probably notorious for saying that I am a huge fan of impersonation.  I take the parts from bands that I like, and leave the rest.  It's a growing and evolving preference.  I am much more influenced by deathmetal today, and in turn am able to look back at older bands and take useful lessons from them.  I don't advocate stealing riffs or ideas, but we naturally have a desire to recreate what we're attracted to.  I don't believe in "originality" in a true sense.  It's over-rated.  Just do something and do it well.  Take inspiration from wherever you do.  I really like keeping up with what's going on nowadays, but also have matured some in my musicianship and try to avoid what I feel like are tasteless trends.  I would consider dubstep drops in metal a tasteless trend.  But on the other hand, there are plenty that feel like deathcore is a dumbed down deathmetal.  I think that's a legitimate viewpoint, though I disagree with it.

What are your sources of inspiration? I was really influenced by Oceano and Rose Funeral.  They were big in my deathcore forming stages.  Whitechapel and Suicide Silence are big influences as well.  Taking it back, I listened to As I Lay Dying, Trivium, and Killswitch Engage.  Those were my "baby-step" metal bands.  Before that was bands like From First to Last, The Used, and Taking Back Sunday.  While not metal influences, they did help to progress me as a musician.  Probably the greatest musical influence, the band that made me want to make music, is Dashboard Confessional.  The first step is arguably the most important, so I owe a great deal to Dashboard Confessional.

What's the first step when making a new song? I always start with a riff.  Usually if a riff is worth remembering for a week or so, it's worth recording a demo of.  I used to record everything I would jam in "writing sessions" but I realized I was just recording a bunch of crappy riffs.  You know how you always wish that you could remember that riff you played yesterday?  That reality is that if it was that good, you'd remember it.  So I started intentionally not recording riffs unless they were good enough to be stuck in my head for a week.  So I record a few riffs, and then add basic drums.  Usually I will write the first 1-3 parts of a song, and then let it soak.  I think of a bunch of different paths the song could take; like maybe the next 2-3 parts.  Then I usually mentally analyze the potential riffs for a week or two.  By that point, I've solidified the first 3 parts, and narrowed the next parts down from 5-10 potential "paths" to 3 at max.  I record the next couple parts and let it soak again.  This is usually the part where I'll get inspired and do a rough edit ending of the song.  Sometimes I know how I want the song to end when I start writing, but other times not.  It's usually a combination of time, the up and down flow of the song, and if I reached my "end destination" in a cool way that decides if the song is done or not.

How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? I love downloading albums!  I have a CD collection, but I've bought less than a dozen physical CD's in the past 5 years.  You have to be in my top 5 bands for me to buy a physical.  I download on iTunes and Bandcamp all the time.  It's a much more convenient way to distribute music for bands.  I personally created physical copies of our CD's, but in a very limited run.  It's expensive, because you have to buy a lot to get a good rate, but then it is difficult to sell them.  Shipping costs are a factor as well.

Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? I like Christian worship music like Chris Tomlin, Jesus Culture, Kari Jobe, and all of the "Christian Top 40" kind of music.  I also like Pop-Punk.  When a band nails a good pop-punk song, I love it.  It has to be the right band though.  There's a lot of pretentious bands out there.  My favorite example of a great pop-punk band is Such Gold.  I guess they have a slight hardcore influence or sensibility too though.  I'm also a huge fan of no-nonsense hardcore bands like Gideon and Recon.  If I couldn't play deathcore anymore, I would play a slightly modern hardcore; double-time, 2-steps, and breakdowns.  I also like easy listening like Coldplay and Dashboard Confessional.  It's nice to sing along mindlessly sometimes and not have your sense assaulted.  I practice my vocal harmonies singing along to those bands.  

What do you hold most dear? My God.

Have you been part of any other projects? I've done plenty of regional and local bands over the years.  None really had any great success.  I also used to play out solo acoustic.

What do you work with outside of the band and the music? I go to college with a full course load and also work part-time at a Youth Center.  I'm pretty involved with my church as well; playing guitar there and helping with the youth group.

What would you do if there was no music? I enjoy music, but it's not my livelihood, or my life.  I also feel an emotional release from writing poetry, so it's not a music only thing.  I get satisfaction from plenty of other things, but music is really awesome.  I would make it without music.  People say that they "couldn't live without music."  Shut up.  You'd live.  It just wouldn't be as fun.

How important are your fans? Well I guess it's cliche to say "Everything we do is because of our fans." so I won't say that.  Plus if I did say that, it wouldn't be completely true.  I get a great sense of satisfaction from fan/friend interaction.  It's a really great way to "meet" people of like interest.  I like the feedback, good and bad.  I work really hard to build a community, and network with other bands.

Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? I really like "The Book of Life" from the most recent EP, and "Falling Stars" from the full-length.  I have others, but those are my top 2.

Do you have any webpages? Why yes, I'm glad you asked!  Honestly, we have too many, but I always try to make as many as people could possibly encounter us from.
http://thisdividedworld.bandcamp.com/
http://thisdividedworld.bandcamp.com/
http://twitter.com/tdwmetal
http://www.youtube.com/thisdividedworld

http://www.facebook.com/thisdividedworld

Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? I wrote an article for UltimateGuitar.com a few months ago.  I'm not sure it will ever get published, but if it does, read that.  The short version is: make sure being in a band enhances your life, invest and be professional in everything you do, and less ismore.

How do you view the musicindurty of today? It's mostly a machine of intimidation, mask-wearing, force-feeding, and exploitation, but there are unique circumstances that let the music shine.  My favorite example is Facedown Records, but I know there's other people out there doing it right.  I don't blame people for trying to make a profit, but it just feels dirty.  I mean, I wouldn't put my money out there for some random person to blow either, but then again I probably wouldn't get in the business.  If you're starting a record label and your purpose is not to make a profit, then honestly as a band, I wouldn't sign with you.  Come on, I'm a business student.  No one does something well if they're not compensated.  But on the other hand, people are out there selling their soul to sell records.  I'm not down with that.

How would you describe your sound in one sentenceBrutal American Deathcore.