Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

Have any of you played in other bands? Over the years before forming this band, each of us played in numerous other acts. However, this is our first Metal band.

How is it that you started playing music? At young ages, each member seemed to find the same interest in music. From our early teens we've been writing, practicing, and performing. With each recording, and each gig we build and grow. We're equally obsessed with getting better at our instruments, writing better songs, and being a better band

Tony Ricci - Lead Vocal - 26

Zacc McVicker - Guitar/Vocal - 25

Randy LaChance - Guitar -26

Tom Cross - Bass/Vocal - 27

Brian Lawson - Percussion -28

Have you had other previous members? Over the years we've had drummers and guitarists come and go as well as our one time keyboardist/violinist. Tom, Tony, and Zacc are the remaining founding members

Did you make music even when you were young? Yes, for years. None of us are coming into this group as novices. We've all been writing and performing for most of our lives

Where are you from? New Hampshire and Massachusetts 

What year did the band form? Officially formed in 2012

What's your style of genre? We're a Metal band. Without succumbing to the over subgenrefication of the genre we try and touch on everything. From Doom to Prog and everything in between. There are no limits and no rules to what we want to sound like as long as it's loud and distorted and stays with you.

What inspires you? Fiction and Non-fiction alike. We try lyrically to tackle our real life issues  through a surreal filter, or sometimes even take one idea and run to the extreme with it, whether it be suicidal thoughts, or a zombie apocalypse. Musically however... where do we start?! Between film score, or our favorite albums, we can find the beginning of a song in anything that makes sound

How often and where do you reherse? We try and get together at least twice a week if not more often in our rehersal space in New Hampshire. Rehersal is like a work out regimen, the more we put into it, the better our results

How have you developed since you started with the music? Harder, better, faster, and stronger the way crazy miscreants ought to

Do you have other interests of work outside the band? We have hobbies outside of music in similar creative fields however our main focus is this band, writing and performing are are passions

Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? Though we have all the freedom we could imagine booking ourselves it would be beneficial in the long run to work with an agency whose job it is to take us out of our neighborhoods and surrounding states and get us on a bigger stage in front of more people. We've had a few offers in the past but so far nothing has been in our best interest, we are still looking for the right deal that benefits everyone involved

Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? A label would be great as well. We can only do so much to promote ourselves, labels have rosters of people who can get what we need done. Whatever it takes to get us out there and to get us sounding and performing the best we can is what we're on the hunt for. The support of professionals in the industry could be a wonderful help to us. A label is also a way to introduce yourself to a new band and feel good about it before you've heard anything or seen anything. If you see a record company's stamp of approval on something you've never seen before you can rest assured that band has something worth checking out.

What made you decide to make this music? It comes completely naturally, it's a pleasurable violence and an outlet. It's the best way that we've found to  play around with our dark sides will still remaining law abiding citizens. It's all in good fun, and as long as it's still fun well keep doing it

What are your songs about? Our first album  "Infection" plays mostly as a kind of aural horror movie with songs about zombies and other such monsters. Corpse bothering and disturbing the deceased, never letting the dead rest in peace. We go through topics like war, both present and past, and explore viking mythology as well. All of which are topped off by songs about killing kings and becoming insane

Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? Tom, Tony, and Zacc all handled the lions share of the lyric writing, though to date all members of the band have begun to contribute. This way we get what we'd humbly consider great lyrics as well as staying fresh song to song.

Do you start with the music or the lyrics? Whichever inspiration dictates. There have been lyrics that songs are build around as well as musical ideas that draw out the words to them

Do you compose in a certain enviroment? Wherever we just happen to be. Naturally the rehersal space is where we will meet and trade riffs or lyrics but we're always writing and creating between out homes and day jobs

Have you done any covers live? Plenty, we'd see it as a disservice to our heroes not to awknowledge their impact to us by trying to keep some of our favorite artists or songs secret from our fans. We're never done working on our own music or anyone else's. It's always exciting to get the crowd to open up to you with music they already know and love

What language do you sing in? English

What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? Being a working band we've played to both no one as well as packed halls/clubs. The most people we've played in front of would most likely be a few hundred depending on different festivals we've been a part of

What ages are most of your concert attendants? Currently all over the place, some are younger, many are our age, and quite a few are much much older than us. We'd like to consider ourselves a band that anyone of any age can get behind and so far we have been

Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? Our first album consists of 18 songs, that alone gives us enough material to vary. We do have a few regulars we like to rely on such as "Martyr Your Messiah", "Bone Vomit", "Feed From The Coffins", and "Rite Of The Slayer" to name a few

Do you have a regular place you play live often? We play wherever were welcomed, our return stops are places like Sammys Patio in Massachusetts as well as Opus Underground and the Cantab Lounge 

What was your first gig like? It was a birthday party where we played covers and the 2 originals we had at the time. It was in a backyard and as it turns out the police officer neighbors were fans as well as the invited guests

What was your latest gig? One of the best we've played. It was the first time we played in Maine and the response was incredible, we were the only out of state band performing that night, both the bands and fans took to us quick and we were blown away by their embrace. We made some new friends and got some great advice about how to move forward in our career

Have you had to cancel a gig? Only once when we lost band members in a short time between eachother, we weren't able to play without them at that moment. Since then we've never had to turn down a gig even if a member couldn't make it we soldier on without them and join them again at the next one

Where have you played live this year? Currently Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. Several stops in MA and NH respectively, we're doing what we can to make our way to new locations

Where do you plan to gig the comming year? We hope to continue to spread ourselves all over New England and hopefully more of the east coast or north east of the U.S.

When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? Last year when our album came out we put out shirts and CDs. We stayed simple and modest as far as our merch has gone though as more attention falls on us we've introduced an additional shirt design and are currently in talks for other misc attire 

Where can people buy your merchandise? At a live show, or on our bandcamp page. Also our music is available on major music sites and streaming services such as iTunes, spotify, and youtube.

What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? A majority of people will follow anything that makes media consumption easier. Downloading has taken away the idea that writing a song will make you rich, but it has opened up the flood gates to have people on the other side of the world find your art. It's as if there's been a trade off between making yourself money and making yourself known. We've come into an industry with nothing to lose so we have no problem embracing technology as an aide to take our music across the planet. The flip side to that is most people aren't  sitting down with a record and really giving it it's time to set in and get something out of it. Music is still worth purchasing, opening up, sitting down and listening to.

How do you think the music industry changed because of this? The availability for anything is everywhere allowing oceans of subpar art to make it into your ears, making it harder for greatness to be discovered. The biggest change is definetly that where as once you went on tour to support an album, you now put out an album to support yourselves touring

What do you think of my work? So far so good, keep it up and thank you for your time and for getting our name into Sweden, we'll be showing off your stuff here as well. We cant wait to see what else you put out for us and everyone else to enjoy

How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? More exposure, and hopefully an insight for anyone interested in what makes our machine move

Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? Lucky for us both. The classics are always there to look back on but we've been able to find new bands as well as bands where we're from that we can get inspired by such as Apollos Resurrection, Deranged Youth, Devlyn Sydus, Don't Cross The Streams, and Travel Amygdala

What have been your biggest obstacles? Member changes have caused us the past to come grinding to a halt. Now that we have a reinvigorated line up we're doing everything we can to regain lost momentum. 

What advice would you give other bands or artists? Make music that you get excited about. If you don't care about what you're putting out why should anyone else?

How do you get psyched for a gig? Being in the crowd and feeling out the audience is the best way to get ready, it's not much fun just sitting on your hands backstage with the gear. The people in the crowd are why you're there and their how to get excited

Do you have any new material? Working on a new release as we speak. Playing out our new song as much as possible and has quickly become a crowd favorite. Hoping to have a new demo or EP out by the end of the summer

Email: [email protected] 

Instagram: @beneaththemachine

Facebook: Facebook.com/BeneaththemachineMA

Bandcamp: Beneaththemachine.bandcamp.com

What are your plans for the future? Currently working on our follow up to "Infection". We'll be looking forward to new music and playing in new places to new faces