Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

What´s the name of your band? We used to be called Incubus from 1986 until 1999, then we changed to Opprobrium in the year 2000 to avoid any confusions between the pop/rap/metal Incubus from California.
How was the band formed? Me (Moyses-Drums) and my brother Francis (Guitar)  played with many musicians in many heavy metal formations in the early 1980's, in '84 or '85 we found Scot (Bass), which played in a heavy metal band with a singer Bryan with us, until we founded Incubus (Opprobrium) in 1986, the singer left the band because we wanna go to more brutal death metal direction, and Scot took over the vocals (Supernatural Death demo 1987, Serpent Temptation debut album 1988) and the rest is history.

Can you tell about your band? We are a death/thrash metal band which writes about the realities of life and musically we always try to do music with new challenges for us as musicians in the band. I can say that in almost 30 years of the existence of this band, we have our own unique signature death metal Opprobrium style. We have found our own unique sound.
Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band?  At the moment there's just me and my brother Francis, and we were born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but basically raised here in Louisiana, USA. We're still going audition for a new bass player. I'm Moyses (drums)  and Francis plays the guitar and sings.
What was the ambitions of the band when you started? Mainly to have fun, write good material and play live.

Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? It's not for everyone. But if they take their time and listen carefully, they will find how technical and well crafted it is. And they will notice how much time was put into it, every song in every album. But like I said, we play extreme metal and it's very brutal for most people.

Where was your first gig? In some town here in Louisiana, I can't remember where now... But like I said, we had two styles of bands, the heavy metal one, then Incubus (Opprobrium), so either way I can't remember too well them both...

Where was the latest gig? In Germany back in 1991, can't remember the city. Beyond The Unknown European tour in 1991. We are long over due to play live, we are just getting some stuff in order, rehearsing a lot, before we hit the stage again soon. After that we won't stop playing, it's only a matter of time before we start touring again.

Who writes your songs?/ who writes the music who writes lyrics? Francis comes up with the riffs, then me and him select the riffs we think is the best, and I do most of the arrangements, I probably do 75% of the arrangements, I think I can fit all the riffs and put them well together being a drummer. But on our latest album Mandatory Evac (Metal Mind 2009) I couldn't be with Francis full time to write it and Francis arranged that album himself, I just did about 25% of the arrangements on Mandatory Evac, but Francis did a superb job writing all the material for that album, it was a new experience for both of us, him writing Mandatory Evac by himself.

Who has the best since of humor in the band? Well, we each have our own share of a sense of humor in the band, but I think Francis has it the most in the band...LOL!

What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are? I can't complain about the band and what we've achieved so far in our carrers. I feel there's a lot more to be done as a band. /I think we are the perfect mix of death metal and some thrash metal, which is very difficult to do. Either a band will tend to be more death or  either more thrash, but somehow we managed to have mastered both styles and blend 'em together to create the Opprobrium sound.

Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? I think it was the energy of this type of music that attracted us the most. /Like I mentioned above, about real life, violence and whatever subject we find interesting when we are writing, we have no rules.

Do you write your own material or mainly covers? We write our own material.

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

Yes. Here's our discography:

OPPROBRIUM DISCOGRAPHY:

1987 Supernatural Death (Demo)
1988 Serpent Temptation (LP, Brutal/MetalWorks UK)
1990 Beyond the Unknown (Nuclear Blast)
1994 Serpent Temptation - remake (Nuclear Blast)
2000 Beyond the Unknown/Serpent Temptation (Digipak, N.B.)
2000 Discerning Forces (Nuclear Blast)
2009 Mandatory Evac (Metal Mind)
New studio album coming soon!!!

Do you have any clips on YouTube? We don't have any MTV video or music video on YouTube, but mostly bootleg live videos posted by the fans, some classic stuff and most of our songs from our  4 albums I think is there. Anyway, for all the death metal fans out there, make sure to subscribe to the official Opprobrium YouTube channel! Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5LSixK6zWRzoloISQnDC-g
How old are you?/What got you started in music? I'm (Moyses) 47 and my brother Francis is 45. I took interest in drumming at the age of 16, then I suggested Francis to take guitar lessons, I think he was 14 at the time, and the we took it from there.

At what age did you start playing? Me (Moyses - Drums) at 16, and Francis (Guitar, Vocals) at the age of 14.

How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? Wow!!.. LOL. I think I was 18 and Francis 15 I think... LOL.

What year was the band started? Incubus (now Opprobrium) was formed in February of 1986.

Best/worst gig you've played? The best I think wasMONSTERS OF DEATH FESTIVAL 1991 - Prague, Czech Republic. The worst I think was back in 1991 when we played east Germany, the Berlin wall was recently taken down so there was many people who did not know the band when we played there, they were away from the outside world for many years, so they

had not much information back then.

What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? Since we don't play live in a while, we feel we have to play worldwide to make up for the time that we've been away from the stage. It's going to be fantastic!

Where have you played from then till now? Only in north america and Europe so far.

Is it always the same songs live? It depends, if we are touring or if it's a single show somewhere, but we try to put the best set list for whatever the event.

What has been the best/most promising gig so far? Like I mentioned above, MONSTERS OF DEATH FESTIVAL 1991 - Prague, Czech Republic.

Have you had any bigger tours from start to now? Yes, the Beyond The Unknown European Tour 1991.

How big crowds do you usually play for? It can be from 300 to more than 1.000, or more than 2.000 people,

it depends on the country and city that we are playing.

What are the plans for the rest of the year? 2014 is almost over now, so we are now just staying and celebrating Christmas and New Years with our families and friends.

Where do you usually play? We can play everywhere, from a small club to a concert theatre, we don't mind. We

try to play in different countries and places that we've never played before.                                           

How do you get psyched up for a gig? I like to warm up on the drum pads 15-20 minutes before a show, this kinda makes me relax e concentrate on the show, so when I break a sweat I feel ready to go to stage.

What are your goals with your music? Just keeping doing what we do, put out great albums

and play live as much as we can.

When did you decide to go all in for the music? As early as we started to write music.

Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? Well, being there since the beginning of thash and death metal, we prefer the older bands, but there's some good new bands too. Also I have to mention the legendary heavy metal bands from the early '80's like Judas Priest, Blackfoot and many others were the reason that me and my brother started to play metal.

What are your sources of inspiration? My drum kit.

What's the first step when making a new song? Finding  a great guitar riff! LOL!!!

How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? This is really bad for the bands. A real fan buy the CD or LP, etc, but never download. If I like band, I want the real CD or LP from this band. If you are a real metal fan, support your favorite band by buying their stuff.           

What would be your dreams for the band? To play some shows in a full arena, that would be cool! To tour with great bands like Kiss, AC/DC, Van Halen, Metallica, Rush and many other great bands.

Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? I listen to almost anything, jazz, rock, even some pop radio songs, whatever have any musical feeling.

What do you hold most dear? Probably my Incubus/Opprobrium LP's, CD's keepsake collection.

What would be your greatest fears for the future? Well, I trust God, so I know God is in control.

When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? Mostly equipment stuff, if everything in my drumset is well, hoping nothing breaks.

What songs and what years were they released? Many to be told here, but a whole bunch of songs from 1987 to 2009 so far. Please check our albums for song titles and years.

Have you been part of any other projects? No.

Have you been in any other bands? No. I always played with Francis pretty much from the beginning.

What do you work with outside of the band and the music? I had many jobs before, when the band is touring I can't work on a day job since I'm traveling.

What would you do if there was no music? I have no idea.
How important are your fans? Very important. They are the reason for the existence of this band. Just imagine if a band has no fans, that would not make much sense to go on.

What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? Too numerous to remember...

How often do you rehearse? I like to practice on my drums almost everyday, but with the band, sometimes we have different schedules, so we try to practice at least 3 to 4 times a week.

Where do you rehearse? We rent a rehearsal room close by  to where we live, it's pretty cool.
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? "Awakening To The Filth" and "Certain Accuracy".

What do you feel is the best live band you've seen? Well, as I've mentioned; AC/DC and Iron Maiden, to name a few.

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? Well, if a band isn't all that famous and renowned and try to make a living on their music and keep playing, I think is the love for what they do, even if they play for 15 people and at the end of the show these 15 people enjoyed the show, I think they have accomplished their mission as musicians. That's what keeps these bands alive

as human beings, to be able to do what they love, which is to play music, not matter what. God bless them all!

Do you have any webpages? Yes, about 5 I think, but if you go to our Facebook page, there you will find the links to the other webpages plus many more band updates and info, here it is: www.facebook.com/opprobriumofficial

Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? First have fun in what you do, practice a lot, and make sure you like everything on a contract before you sign it. And try to write great music.

Describe your show, visually and musically None stop action and brutal death metal!

How do you view the musicindurty of today? The labels are working much harder to sell their CD's, and the bands are touring much longer to survive.

What advice would you like to give other bands? Try to play live in lots of different places, as much as you can, that way people will take notice of your band and then you will start building a fan base, and don't forget to write the best material that you can, the music is the most important aspect of a band.

What are the biggest obstacles for a band? International promotion (video, press) and to find a record label that

offers tour support for their bands.

What is best/worst with playing the clubs? The cool thing about playing small clubs is the interaction with the fans, the bad thing about is hard to find space to set up the gear, LOL. But it's fun, i like it a lot.

Tell us about upcomming gigs and why we should be at them? 2015 we will be back on stage, and why you should be at them; you will see the real death metal, specially our younger Opprobrium fans will have the chance to see the band live after 2 decades.

How would you describe your sound in one sentence. Out of this world!

What is your favorite crappy instrument? I have this old metal snare, but it's still my favorite! I think it sounds great both live and in the studio, LOL.

What was one of the most quarrelsome times for you in the band? Thank God, we've never had anything worth of mentioning, of course we have some conflicts of ideas from time to time, but we always use diplomacy. LOL.

Whats your Pre-show ritual? We have none.

Do you have anything to add? We would like to thank you Robex and Musik blogg for having us here! Thanks for supporting for Opprobrium, we really appreciate it! Also thanks to all the Opprobrium fans around the world, you guys are awesome! Until next time friends!