Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

What´s the name of your band? HORD

How was the band formed? The band was formed in 2002 in the south of France by some friends playing in different bands

Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? We are all from places between the cities of Nîmes and Montpellier in the south of France. Vincent Barnavol is playing drums and doing backing vocals and arrangements, Jonathan Devaux is playing guitar and singing (clean/melodic), Kristen Schwartz is playing bass, Moerty Fooley is playing guitar and HadrienTourrenc is singing (scream/growl).

What was the ambitions of the band when you started? Just playing the music we like, writing stories, meeting people around the world through music and live shows and partying.

Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? We are not strictly a metal band. We are playing a very eclectic progressive metal/rock music inspired by so many different music and styles : Textures, Tesseract, Opeth, Porcupine Tree, Dream Theater, Gojira, Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus, Circles, Katatonia, Dead can Dance, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Mogwai, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Caspian.   

Where was your first gig? In our area, in a small pub in Nîmes

Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? Mostly Moerty and Jonathan write the base of the songs, then everybody is involved in the making of structures, arangements and buildings of the songs. At the end, Hadrien and John are writing lyrics and concepts of the albums. Yes, concept-albums because we love telling stories from the beginning to the end of an album. 

Who has the best sense of humor in the band? Hadrien is very good in making jokes.

What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are? Everything seems good in the band except the fact that we have to be strong to survive in this jungle. Fortunately, we are very good friends and we stand together! If we had to pick one genre it would be ... we don't know ... progressive?

Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? It's not something you decide to do speaking around a table. That's it. We can't explain why. This is how we feel and the way we want to express ourselves with music. It's not a decision. it's natural. Our songs talk about many things, it depends on the story behind the music : Our last records "The Waste Land" and "The Book of Eliot" are concept albums about the end of the world and one of the last survivors of the Apocalypse : Eliot, a tormented character who's looking for his own identity and memories in a devasted world where there is no more humanity. Our lyrics are very psychological, metaphysical. It's not about the disaster or the apocalypse, but more about how the human being, the subject can face nothingness and rebuild himself. 

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

Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? We have three albums : "Reborn from Chaos" (2006, Why Note/Nocturne) ; "The Waste Land" (2010, Sendthewoodmusic) ; "The Book of Eliot" (2013, Sendthewoodmusic/Season of Mist). The new one is on the way and will be released in 2015.

Do you have any clips on YouTube? Yes, of course.

"The Waste Land (Pt. 1) & (Pt. 2)", directed by Anthony Dubois : http://youtu.be/7beOHrERziY
"At the Gate", directed by Guillaume Picq : http://youtu.be/brIejn_nomE
"Landscape with the Fall of Icarus", directed by DRK PIXS Productions : http://youtu.be/9was_ej9Uis

How old are you?/What got you started in music? We are between 30 and 37 and we are listening music since the day we are born.

At what age did you start playing? It depends, but mostly around 10 years old.

How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? Mostly around 14 years old.

What year was the band started? 2002

Best/worst gig you've played? Best gig was at Bol d'Or 2014 in France, in front of 5000 people. It was so intense. The worst gig (there was a lot) was an opening act for Hypocrisy and Hatepshere in Toulon, in the south of France.

What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? France, UK and Europe for the release of the new album.

Where have you played from then till now? Almost everywhere in France and in Koln (Germany). For the new album, we are going to tour in Europe for the first time.

Witch band is the best you´ve seen? Textures. Live, they are the best. But we also had a blast with Meshuggah, After the Burial, Gojira and Unearth. They are beasts!

Have you had any bigger tours from start to now? Yeah, this year, actually, we had our first "big" tour in France with our friends LODZ.

How big crowds do you usually play for? It really depends on the area, the venue or the festival we play. It can be 50, 200, 1000 or more.

What are the plans for the rest of the year? We are recording a new album.

Where do you usually play? France for the most part but now it will be Europe and we hope the world.

How do you get psyched up for a gig? a lot of warm-up, concentration, relaxation, water, tea, fresh food.

What are your goals with your music? See the world, meet people, have fun and pleasure.

When did you decide to go all in for the music? We are not going all in for the music because this is not what is paying the bills. We all have a job : teachers, workers in the entertainment industry. 

Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? Both

What are your sources of inspiration? Music, Litterature, Arts, Cinema.

What's the first step when making a new song? Recording guitars.

How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? We don't have any problem with that. People who really like our music come to the shows and buy stuffs at merchandising stand, so we don't care about the anonymous who download illegally. True fans remain true fans. The others are just mp3 collectors and compulsive downloaders, it's just sad. Go out for a gig. Come and have a beer with us. Your screen is not a real human interaction.

What would be your dreams for the band? Get bigger and play music everyday, everywhere. Travel. Meet people and cultures.

Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? Every genres. Mostly bands like Textures, Tesseract, Meshuggah, Architects, Killswitch Engage, Unearth, After the Burial, Parkway Drive, Cult of Luna, Khoma, Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, The Cure, Dead can Dance, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Porcupine tree, Opeth, Caspian, Mogwai, Placebo, Sigur Ros, Deftones, etc. There are so many. 

What would be your greatest fears for the future? Quit.

Have you been part of any other projects? Yes, we are collaborating a lot to other projects : featurings, vocals for video games.

Have you been in any other bands? Vincent is the drummer of the progressive rock band Lazuli. Jonathan is playing in a metalcore band called Absolute Shade.

What do you work with outside of the band and the music? Music industry/label for Hadrien. Vincent is a music teacher at Conservatoire. Kristen is a teacher for children in need. John is a Litterature teacher at University and a french trainer for foreigners.

How important are your fans? They are the key, the link. They are everything. They are members of the band. If they are not here, there is no HORD.

What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? a street name, paintings

How often do you rehearse? at least once a week. At the moment, for the writing of the new album it's almost everyday sessions.

Where do you rehearse? Mostly at Paloma Smac Nîmes Metropole, or by Jonathan's studio.

Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? The Waste Land pt. 2 and Kindermord.

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? Passion

Do you have any webpages?

http://www.facebook.com/hordband

http://www.reverbnation.com/hord 

Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? Perseverance

Describe your show, visually and musically Come and you will see.

How do you view the musicindurty of today? Mostly, a big mess without money and without any respect for the bands who are creating the music, but fortunately there is sometimes humanity and family spirit. That's what we have with Sendthewoodmusic, Season of Mist and our partners. Fortunately!

Do you have anything to add? Thanks for your time. Check us out.