Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

How was the band formed? The band was formed in the summer of 2005 in Ioannina, Northwest Greece, after many meetings of five friends and endless discussions about black metal during the secondary school.

Then came the musical ideas, firstly written as dark atmospheric melodies in a classical piano, acoustic guitar and cymbals.

Can you tell about your band? Hell Poemer is an atmospheric black metal band from Greece. We have released 2 demos, 1 MCD, a split tape and a full-length since 2005. Also we have done some live-shows with bands like Rotting Christ, Varathon, Septic Flesh, Spider Kickers, Twilight, Aenaon beetween others.

Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? We are from Ioannina, a city surrounded by mountains in the Northwest Greece. After many line-up changes the band is: Infernal Lord: Synths, vocals, Knafos:guitar, Demonious: guitar(session live), Gragonith: bass,  Dark Archon: drums.

What was the ambitions of the band when you started? The aim of the band was to play Melodic black metal as our influences.

Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? Our music is Melodic black metal

with epic atmospheres and synths inspired by the second wave of Greek and Scandinavian black metal of 90's.

Where was your first gig? Our first gig was in the summer solstice of 2009 at Ioannina, Greece, an open-air performance during “the European day of music fest”.

Where was the latest gig? Our latest gig was in Thessaloniki, Greece supporting Varathron with Twilight and The Psalm at October 18, 2014.

Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? Me (keyboardist) and our guitarist Knafos write the basic riffs and the other guys add some more details and fix the result. I write the lyrics being influenced by the mysticism of nature, sadness, Mythology and medieval traditions.

Who has the best since of humor in the band? Out bassist. His laugh is too loud. It can be sound by everyone in the bar!!!

Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? We have chosen this style, because black metal is a compilation of feelings and dark ritual atmospheres. Our songs are about the dark side of nature, Ancient ruins, Homeric/Orphic Cosmotheory, Alpine landscapes and Sorrow.

Do you write your own material or mainly covers? We write and play mainly our own material, but we play at least one cover in our live performances.

Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they?

“Hell poemer” – demo 2007

“Worshipers of the Apocryphal ages” – MCD 2010 & tape (Wolfs path productions/night birds rec)

“Crossing the ancient path of molossian tribes” – split tape with the eternal Darkness 2011 (werewolf pr)

“Arcane Mysteries of Dead Ancestors” – Full length 2013 (Tenebrd Music)

Do you have any clips on YouTube? Only some songs with album cover and some live - songs.

What year was the band started? In the summer of 2005.

Best/worst gig you've played? All of our live-shows have their own atmosphere. Of course there are always some mistakes made and enjoyable situations, but its funny when we discuss these situations.

Which band is the best you´ve seen? I believe that the most impressive live, was a local show of Rotting christ in 2007. We were at the audience and the pit was so violent that the next day we had bruises all over our body.

Is it always the same songs live? No, we choose some old and some new songs according to the case.

What has been the best/most promising gig so far? I believe that the most active was a local show with some other underground bands in 2010. total chaos!

Have you had any bigger tours from start to now? No.

How big crowds do you usually play for? 80 persons the minimum. 250 – 300 persons the maximum.

What are the plans for the rest of the year? We are going to record 2 new songs for an upcoming split this Winter.

Where do you usually play? In some underground rock bars and stages in Greece.

What are your goals with your music? Our goal was always to play melodic black metal with ambient and epic parts. We want to create some epic tales and landscapes at the heart of the listener in order to forget the bad economical situation, the rottenness of the modern World and the every – day routine.

Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? Our inspirations are mainly bands from the 90's like: Dissection, Rotting Christ, Summoning, Emperor, Varathron, Immortal, Fiendish Nymphe some epic soundtracks from fantasy Movies, folk music (for example Loreena McKennitt) . Of course Classical music is the main influence for the majestic atmospheres (for example the four seasons of Vivaldi).

What are your sources of inspiration? Every dark, epic and sorrowful sound and image.

What's the first step when making a new song? We write some riffs and melodies and then I imagine the lyrical concept. The whole tempo and the rhythms is a business of our drummer.

How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? On the first hand downloading helps the new underground bands to advertise their music, but on the other hand many cd-stores have closed . Personally I have bought hundred of cd's and tapes, but I download very often albums and if I like them, I order it on tape because it's cheaper. The tragic thing is when i see simple cd's being sold in high prices like 18 euros by Big European labels. This is ridiculous.

What would be your dreams for the band?  We want to create quality music and lyrics from the heart for the upcoming years.

Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? As I have told you before we listen to many kinds of metal (black, thrash, epic, progressive, death), European folk, Classical music and some traditional songs of our country.

When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? I don't want to call it fear, but stress. Generally, we are very anxious during the first 2 songs but then we calm down, especially when the audience is warm and active!

What songs and what years were they released? All of our songs are released from 2007 until 2013 by underground labels in limited copies in tape and cd-format.

Have you been in any other bands? Yes, some of us play in some other black metal and industrial bands here in our city with some old friends. Also, our guitarist and bassist play in a folk/ traditional project with our traditional instrument called “bouzouki”.

What do you work with outside of the band and the music? Two of us have recently graduated from University and Technical college and we are going to search for extra masters, two other guys are studying at the University and our bassist has some part-time jobs in Hospital and Bakeries.

What would you do if there was no music? This would be the worst nightmare (hehe!). I couldn't imagine World without music. Probably I would enjoy the nature sounds.

How important are your fans? It's very important to see people enjoy your music. Also we are friends with members from other bands, so we can discuss our inspirations. We support them and they support us. We don't expect to become a big “Hollywood” band. We are not rock stars.

What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? I remember that a guy was thrown up in the air from the mosh-pit and ended up in the drums and the drummer was impressed.

How often do you rehearse? Not so often. Probably 6 times before a live-show or before a record. There are even months that we don't rehearse!

Where do you rehearse? At Local studios and at home.  Sometimes we play acoustic versions with flute and acoustic guitars in the countryside.

Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? I believe that our favourite ones are “Temple of the Apollonian wisdom” and “At the heart of the Arcadian forests” but every song has it's own atmosphere.

What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living on their music and to keep playing? Personally, we play music for fun, it's a hobby for us in order to express our feelings and ideas. Black metal is a passion, not a commercial marketing. I support all the guys out there who play folk or rock balands in local bars for money, but I get disgusted when I see extreme metal bands play only for money. Also I support all small distros and labels like our friends from Lykoreia and shadowface Records.

Do you have any webpages?

FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hell-Poemer-Official/276164329161420

MYSPACE PAGE: https://myspace.com/hellpoemerlegions

REVERBNATION: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hell-Poemer-Official/276164329161420?sk=app_2405167945

Describe your show, visually and musically? Usually we introduce our show with a ritual intro and we continue with our songs. Generally we use only one black flag with the band logo or a background image with a landscape.

How do you view the music industry of today? People don't buy cd's anymore (especially since 2006 – 2007), they can find everything in internet. Of course sometimes, some underground metal labels make some attractive offers, so you can buy for example 2 cd's in price of 1. Also, Vinyl editions and tapes are still famous on the underground metal collectors who really appreciate the layout and the artwork!

What advice would you like to give other bands? I prefer to get advice from the old bands rather than give them myself!

Tell us about upcomming gigs and why we should be at them? We don't have any plans for furure gigs yet. Time shall tell.

How would you describe your sound in one sentence? Atmospheric black metal with epic parts and warlike riffs.

What was one of the most quarrelsome times for you in the band? Some sudden line-up changes.

Whats your Pre-show ritual? Usually we drink some coffee in order to be active in the stage, but then we get nervous so we drink some beers to relax just before the show!

Do you have anything to add? Thanks a lot for the interview and best wishes to your blog! Darkest Regards to all supporters and friendly bands & labels of Hell Poemer!

Infernal Lord besides of HELL POEMER