Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

What's your name? / Who plays what? / Have you played in any band before? / Do you have other bands? / Have you had previous members? / What year was the band started? / What's your music style? / Where are you from? My name is Srđan Mišović and I'm a vocalist of Hostis, Thrash/Death band from Montenegro which was founded in 2010. We all have side bands and projects. Besides Hostis, my main project/band is Abhoth, which has been founded in 2006. Neither Abhoth or Hostis are meant to be live bands, and they are envisioned as studio projects only. Since recently, I'm also a new vocalist of Neman from Bar, Montenegro, and we'll start working together for their next demo. Our bassist Aleksandar Dragojević is also a new bassist of Abhoth since departure of Branko Jugović. He was the bass guitarist in Goddamn, a thrash band from the coast of Montenegro which has split-up a while ago and now he's a bass player of blues band Goodbye Windows. Our new guitarist is Luka Bošković, and he's been founder of Abzofran, modern groove metal from Podgorica, a band which has recorded a full length album last year and then split-up, and now he's guitarist in Polar Shift. Our ex guitarist Miloš Klikovac has played in almost every metal band in Podgorica; he's one of my closest friends and co-founder and guitarist of Zaimus, KK Street Bangers and Goblin Zeppelin and he's the only original member of Abhoth besides me.

Are you looking for record labels, what are your thoughts and requirements around it then?  We've released our Full Length Album for Swiss/Serbian label Miner Recordings on 10th of August this year. We were looking for labels by ourselves and our conditions were : Pro CD, with part of CD's to the band and small part of them to those who were involved in making a CD as a product (our graphic designers, guest guitarists, promoters and reviewers etc). We're still waiting for Miner Records to fulfill that part of our contract in whole.

Who writes the lyrics? / Who does the music? Writing music, making lyrics and arrangements  has been my responsibility, with me as a founder of Hostis. With our lack of drummer, I was also in charge over making drums, their programming, and finally their arranging. Aleksandar does his parts of bass melodies on his own, based on the riffs. Authors of our guest solos have made them by themselves, and two of them were created by our ex guitarist Miloš Klikovac. The guitar squeels in the main melody of ''Gods Are Dead'' were also his improvisations upon prior melody of mine. Now, our new guitarist, Luka Bošković is going to make some melodies of his own upon the riffs that I've created and make his own unique touch to our sound. 

How did you begin to enter the field of music? / Did you do music already when you were small? / Do you have any other interests or jobs outside of the band and the music? I'm not playing any instrument, so I didn't make any kind of music when I was a kid. I make structure of songs in computer programs, so I'd have to say that I've started making music when I got these. Ićve used to draw a lot when I was younger and I've also designed a few logos (Zaimus, Rikavac, Hostis). At this time I'm working as a voluntary journalist for few blogs, but I'm based in Serbian HeadBang from Požarevac. Aleksandar Dragojević is a great and gifted graphic designer. Our jobs outside the music are mostly based on our coastal tourism and the summer tourist season, and so is Luka's (our new guitarist) job. And outside music our ex guitarist and my great friend Miloš is a security guard in Podgorica.  

When you do a song, you start with the music or the lyrics? / In which environment do you usually do your songs? Personally, I start with the music, then just wait until some of the (additionally written) lyrics fit in arrangement. I mostly create both of them them at my home.

What are your songs about? What language are you singing in? Lyrical themes of Hostis are based on social issues and they're in English. They're mostly against political and religious dogma, about brain/washing indoctrination and media manipulation.  

What inspires you? Regarding Hostis, for the most of my lyrics I draw my inspiration from current state in Montenegro. In my country, as well as in the most of the countries facing transition from the communist dictatorship to dictatorship of quasi-democratic capitalism, most problems are created in a background of political situation. We've been having a oligarchic mafia gathered around charismatic leader as a president/premier for more then 25 years, running the police state that they have created with propaganda, systematic brain/washing with Goebels-like propaganda, with creation of the hatred towards the imaginary enemy, with religious organizations and with incompetent ''opposition'' serving to their ideals.  Those leeches have sucked dry our naturally rich land, making its inhabitants poor and without jobs, with crime-clans waging a street wars with drive-bys, with bad decisions towards neighbouring countries. So Hostis is a way to say that directly to their face, as a punch, to represent the real state in Montenegro behind the curtains that tycoon controlled media is serving them. Also, I find my inspiration in political history, in charismatic dictators with cult of their own personality, that have done all of mentioned above the best way possible, like Stallin and Hitler for example, in religion inspired wars, terrorist attacks, medieval crusades, acts of terrorism, with references to philosophers that have flirted with politics or human destructive, aggressive and dark side of nature. 

Is it easier to draw inspiration from older bands than bands that are active today? Well, it’s pretty hard to say. The main source of inspiration must be found within yourself and yourself only, and your creation should reflect yourself, as well as the idea that you’re trying to make real. But to say that I’ve come up with something new in a almost half-century old institution of metal would be egocentric and narcissistic.There are many old-school thrash metal bands that I’ve drawn inspiration for our music from, primary from bands like Sodom, Sepultura, Testament and Slayer, but there are also many nowadays bands like Toxic Holocaust, Hellcannon, Romanian thrash death Decease that sound great. The melodic parts were mostly influenced by later Kreator, as well as many doom/death bands I've listened to. The fast tremolo parts are influenced by black metal. Though I personally dislike Iron Maiden, I'd say that lot of people would agree that most of our melodic parts draw inspiration from their approach to metal.

What do you think about downloading more music than buying CDs nowadays? / How to think and do you think the music industry has changed since they started downloading music? / If you prefer downloaded music, cassette, CD or Vinyl? I think that times of buying everything original are ancient history, so I don’t mind people downloading songs instead of buying albums. The times have changed, mainly thanks to internet, and music industry also needs to make changes to catch-up. Publishing songs on internet, especially in the case of new bands, gets them greater chance to be heard by more audience, so it’s a good way to make public interested in them. Eventually, if the audience likes them, they shall support them with either buying some merchandise or the album. Also, I think free-downloading era has ended the ’’supremacy of few’’, particularly regarding to domination of known metal-bands and music labels, and I think it gave chance for younger bands to present their work to much superior audience. For example, I prefer listening to the digital albums, but holding an original CD with all the booklet and artwork in my hands feels nice too.

What has been conditioned biggest obstacles in the music industry?  Bands can’t afford to play on descent and proper equipment and gear in and the country struggling with its own economics, where unemployment of young people is number one problem. Bands can’t improve their gear and soon they start to lack ambition and professionalism as well, and finally, they seize to exist. The second reason, of course, is the very cause one plays metal – Does someone to get laid that night, to have his face seen on a cover of local newspapers, to earn some money, or simply because his love and joy to channel his creativity through extreme metal sound? Most bands play covers of Pantera, Matallica and Iron Maiden for a while and then simply vanish like theyćve never existed. The arrogance and vanity of some bands and labels might also destroy them.

What do you think of my work?

We're trully honured to be having this interview with you, and we trully appriciate the fact that this is the second interview that I'm having with you (the first one was regarding Abhoth that I've previously mentioned). Amazing ammount of bands, various in genres, interesting questions that cover all the aspects of a band, and we have nothing but respect to your work.    Do you have new material? What are your plans for the future?

Yes, we're having our second album finished, and Luka is giving final finesse to the songs that I've composed a while ago. It shall be recorded soon in Aleksandar's home studio.

What advice would you give to other bands and artists? Endure ! Metal bands require a lot of giving, so you have to invest in buying better gear and equipment for self-improvement, recordings and promotion, and with it, you have to work hard and give your best to make your vision come true, and depend on no-one but yourself. Don’t release anything until you are completely satisfied with it, in all aspects. Times are hard, but if you really enjoy what you’re doing, if you are really into it, and if you’re doing it with the people who understand you musically as well as they do in other ways, all the hard-work will repay itself. 

What is your website? / How can one get you?

The mail of Hostis is [email protected]

Our official fb page : https://www.facebook.com/Hostismetal/ 

Do you have anything to add? Thanks to all those who support us. Thank you for interviewing us. Cheers, and a heppy new year.