Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

Have any of you played in other bands?

JL: Flags Will Cover The Coffins Accusation  (www.facebook.com/accusation)

MK: Caveat (www.facebook.com/caveat.eau.claire)

AZ: Hightower Obscure Visions (www.facebook.com/obscurevisionswi)

How is it that you started playing music? JL’s band Accusation had dissolved due to the other members moving away. AZ and (at the time) vocalist AW’s other band was also floundering due to personal issues. MK’s other band, Caveat, was on hiatus at the time because the two members of Accusation that moved away were also in that band. Infernal Altar began as an outlet for us all to make the kind of music we enjoy; namely blasphemous, left-hand path death/black metal.

What are your names? / Who plays what?

AZ: Guitars/Vocals

MK: Guitars

JL: Bass/Vocals

KS: Drums

Have you had other previous members? Until recently we were a five piece with a dedicated vocalist. He has left the group amicably to focus on family and personal business.

Did you make music even when you were young?

JL: I remember trying to write songs as a kid, mostly in imitation of music I liked, but nothing at all serious until I was in high school when I played in a couple of punk bands.

MK: I have been interested in music since I was very young. I was never in a band, or jammed with anyone until I was out of high school.

Where are you from? The band is based out of Eau Claire, WI USA

What year did the band form? Summer of 2013

What's your style of genre? Black/Death metal.

What inspires you?

JL: Musically I find inspiration in music that is honest and made for the musicians creating it rather than social or monetary gain. I would rather hear someone playing a style or genre I dislike because they are trying to express themselves than music made to try and get laid or paid.

Otherwise, I enjoy reading things that make me examine or question what I believe; even if it doesn’t change my views it’s a healthy thing to regularly reconsider one’s beliefs. I also enjoy well-made together fiction, especially science fiction, fantasy and classic horror works.

MK: Messing up my riffs inspires me to do a better job. Also, seeing the disgust on the audience’s faces is always a welcome image.

How often and where do you rehearse? We jam about once a week in a hellish closet.

How have you developed since you started with the music? This is the first time any of us had played together; since beginning the band we’ve become more comfortable with each other’s style and way of working as well as how to put songs together as a unit. I feel our writing has become more solid and concise, and much more in the death metal vein than the original Altar songs.

Do you have other interests of work outside the band?

JL: I enjoy reading a lot; I’m also a hunter and love to shoot guns. I like movies but most recent ones are vapid and not worth the time. Being from Wisconsin, drinking is also a constant pastime.

MK: I have a lot of pets, a lot of records, and very little free time to do the things I enjoy. I do find myself at a lot of concerts. I also like to travel.

Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? At this time we have no interest in an outside booking agent.

Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? We are not actively shopping anything to labels at this time, but would consider any reasonable offers from interested parties.

What made you decide to make this music? Infernal Altar came about from our desire to create the kind of metal that we love. Most of the local bands in our area are not interested in metal at all, and the few that are tend towards newer –core influenced styles. We wanted to form a group that we would all be fans of if we were not participants.

What are your songs about? Our songs tend to be about the occult and the Left Hand Path, and the weakness of modern society perpetuated by (especially) Abrahamic religion.

Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? Most songs start with an idea or two that one person brings to the table and is developed from there with varying amount of input by the other members. When we had a dedicated vocalist he was the primary lyricist, but since his departure that role has been taken over by JL and AZ.

Do you start with the music or the lyrics? Songs are composed and arranged first. Lyrics are written afterwards to fit the feel and mood of the music, or occasionally written beforehand and altered accordingly.

Do you compose in a certain environment? JL: Personally I write by just sitting and playing by myself. When something catches my ear I stop and see if I can develop it into something usable for the band.

Have you done any covers live? No

What language do you sing in? English

What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? There have been as few as 5 people to as many as 100 people.

What ages are most of your concert attendants? Most of the people at our concerts are 21, because of the drinking laws in our area, and a lot of the country.

Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? We are starting to have enough material to change up depending on how long our time slot is.

Do you have a regular place you play live often? Home base has been the House of Rock in Eau Claire.

What was your first gig like? I don’t think people quite knew what to make of it, there isn’t much music in the same vein in this area.

What was your latest gig? An all-ages show at the Bottle & Barrel in Eau Claire, WI.

Have you had to cancel a gig? Thankfully we have never had to cancel. We will do whatever we have to not to cancel a show.

Where have you played live this year? Eau Claire, WI. Marquette, MI. Wausau, WI. Appleton, WI. Minneapolis, MN. St Paul, MN. Madison, WI.  Lake Nebagamon, WI (by the Twin Ports of Duluth, MN & Superior, WI)

Where do you plan to gig the coming year? We are focusing on writing, and recording a lot of our material to possibly put on some split LPs/7” records. There have been a couple US festivals that have contacted us, so we will see what happens.

When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? We currently have shirts and patches/stickers available. There is a demo that is on Bandcamp for free.

Where can people buy your merchandise? www.infernalaltar.bandcamp.com

What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days?

JL: There are a lot of positive sides to the availability of music on the internet, but just as many drawbacks. Regardless, the internet is not going away. Personally, I love having physical copies of music and don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

MK: I can’t say I don’t download music, but I prefer to have the physical copy. I have over 1000 records, and used to own about 3000 CDs. I do have quite a few cassettes as well.

How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? JL: This has been discussed to death in the last decade so I don’t have much to add. One thing I’ve noticed people think of songs in isolation now, rather than part of an album. No one wants to put on a record and listen to it start to finish, they want to play 2 or 3 songs and move on or just set their mp3 player to shuffle. They don’t develop a relationship with a band or have the ability to contextualize something in an artist’s body of work. Music for most people isn’t a passion, it’s a distraction. It’s probably always been that way, but the digital age has made it abundantly clear.

Do you have any role models or idols?

JL: My musical heroes include Jeff Hanneman, Dan Lilker, Tom Warrior, Quorthon, DRI, Ramones, etc. Other humans who I find inspiring include Nietzche, Phillip K. Dick, Stephen Hawking.  

MK: I tend to be the odd man out sometimes when it comes to my role models, and idols. Tony Iommi is definitely #1 in my book. I also look up to Tom Warrior & Celtic Frost/Triptykon, Jeff Hanneman & Slayer, Baroness, The Sword, Tragedy, Morne, and a number of other bands. I don’t read as often as I should, mostly because I have very little time to do so, but I do admire Michael Crichton.

Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? Definitely older bands. Even with newer bands, it’s a good idea to look at the music that inspired them rather than imitate what they are doing directly.

What have been your biggest obstacles? Finding similar bands to play shows with can be a bit of a challenge, especially around here, but that’s really about it.

How do you get psyched for a gig? Drinking, Slayer, and lots of Hails.

Do you have any new material? We are working on several new pieces currently.

What are your web sites?

www.facebook.com/infernalaltar

www.infernalaltar.bandcamp.com

How can people reach you? Generally, our Facebook page is the easiest way to contact us.

What are your plans for the future? Like most bands, we would like to release some better quality LPs, and tour the US, and beyond.