Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

What´s the name of your band? Insurrection

How was the band formed? The band was founded as Deathwish somewhere around 2008 by guitarplayer Marten Hutten and our former bassplayer/vocalist Sander Blok. It was not untill 2010 that the band was renamed as Insurrection as soon as the guys joined ranks with ENRAGED drummer Douwe Talma. With the addition of guitarplayer Armand Venema (ex-Crushing Jackhammer) at the end of 2010 the band finally got a stable line-up.

Can you tell about your band?  Insurrection is a metalband from the north of the Netherlands. With influences such as At The Gates, Carcass, Death, Symphony X and Dark Tranquillity, Insurrection plays a melodic variety of death- and thrash- metals and presents it with a shattering live performance.

Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? All bandmembers iive in the north of Holland.Douwe plays the drums and he is the one who takes care of the compositions of our songs.Armand plays the guitar and writes a lot of riffs together with Marten the other guitar player. Me myself, Pieter, I´m the bass player and I do the main vocals. I also write the lyrics for the songs.

What was the ambitions of the band when you started? We wanted to make aggressive thrash/death metal songs but they all needed to be very catchy. The tunes need to be remembered by the people who listen to our songs.

Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? Our music is hard, fast and aggressive but also very melodic and catchy. It’s dynamic and tight. The vocals are high pitched grunts with some sick slayer like screams. Yet they are understandable most of the time. You can compare us with bands like Carcass, Death and At The Gates.

Where was your first gig? My first gig with Insurrection was in Drachten, in a venue called Iduna. We played as support for a band called Entrapment.

Where was the latest gig? Our last gig was in Zwolle, in a venue called Hedon. We were the support for the Israeli band Hammercult

Who writes your songs?/ who writes the music who writes lyrics?Armand en Marten are responsible for the riffs. Douwe makes sure all the compositions are all right and I write the basslines, the vocal lines and the lyrics.

Who has the best since of humor in the band? That will be Douwe, the drummer.

What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are?

One of the good things is that there is never a lack of ideas, there is always a pile of riffs available for new songs. We are also a very structured band. We rehearse every week and always rehearse the set we are going to play the next show. Because of that and the musical level of our band and band members we play our songs super tight.

One of the bad things is that we all have school or work. We can’t put all the time we want in the band. That’s also the reason why it took so long to finish our first record.

Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about?

The style is a logical consequence of putting the personal influences of the members in the songs. We didn't pick a particular style.

Most songs are about oppression, unfairness, and other stuff that upsets me. Other songs are about the things I encounter in my live. Writing lyric and screaming them during shows is a way for me to express my feelings and exaggerate as much as I want.

Do you write your own material or mainly covers? All our material are original songs, writen by Insurrection. But we like to put one or two covers in our set.

Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? Our first 6-track EP 'Catatonic' wil be released on the first of february 2015 on Big bad Wolf Records. It will be available on Itunes, Amazon etc, and you can buy a physical copy at our shows.

Do you have any clips on YouTube? Yes, we've did a video of 'Apotheosis' one of the 'Catatonic' EP tracks recently. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ecp8-lKxh4

How old are you?/What got you started in music? I'm 23 and I don't really know what got me started in music. As long as I can remember I've had an obsession with heavy music.

At what age did you start playing? I started playing synths when I was 8. I got my first guitar on my 12^th birthday. When I joined Insurrection I started playing bassguitar. That's about two years ago.

How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? I was 16 when I did my first show with my first band Corda

What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? We're planning a little tour in Germany in the spring.

Witch band is the best you´ve seen? I think that will be Nine Inch Nails.

Is it always the same songs live? Almost never, sometimes when we play several days in a row. But even then we often change our set list. So it is very rare that we play the same set twice.

What has been the best/most promising gig so far? The most promising gig was our gig at the Waldrock festival. But due to a bad line up that year there was a lack of visitors and press. I really feel that we didn't get the attention we deserved from that show. But playing that huge stage was pretty nice.

What are the plans for the rest of the year? The physical EP's will be pressed and delivered this year, along with the first reviews of that EP.

How do you get psyched up for a gig? I always make sure my equipment is working and tuned. Then I'll do some vocal exercises and I'll visualize where I'm going to stand on the stage. I'll have a drink and a smoke and then its time to go!

What are your goals with your music? My personal goal with music is to leave something behind in this world. The idea that people enjoy something of me (my music) even if I'm not there makes me feel proud.

When did you decide to go all in for the music? In 2010 I decided to follow a musical education.

Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? My inspiration mainly comes from 90's bands. So inspiration from older bands is easier for me.

What are your sources of inspiration? Inspiration for my lyrics comes from everyday live. All the things that upset and little things that just doesn't match with my opinions. Also things that aren't happening to me but that I can easily relate to. 

What's the first step when making a new song? Write the riffs and arrange them. See if it matches the original idea or the original feeling.

How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? It upsets me that I can download an album faster than walking to my CD rack and put the CD in the player. Downloading music is unavoidable. So we have to use it instead of being upset about it.

What would be your dreams for the band? To travel the world and play everywhere! And be remembered all over the world.

Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? I listen a lot to Nine Inch Nails, Tool, Karnivool, Opeth, Combichrist, How to destroy angels and In Flames.

What would be your greatest fears for the future? Losing my ears or my hearing ability.

When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? Equipment failure.

Have you been part of any other projects? I'm also very active in Polter. An industrial rock band from Holland.

What would you do if there was no music? I would die an unpeacefull death.

How important are your fans? The fans give me energy. It feels really good to know that people like your music.

What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? One time a fan threw his tie on the stage. It was very random.

How often do you rehearse? Every week.

Where do you rehearse? In our practising room near an animalcorpse processing factory. 

Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? 'Exile' and 'Origin'. Exile wil be on the EP we will relaese in February.

What do you feel is the best live band you've seen? Nine Inch Nails.

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? It's easy, were just doing what we really love to do. So we're trying our very best to do those things as often as possible.

Do you have any webpages? https://www.facebook.com/Insurrectionofficial

How do you view the music industry of today? It's all do it yourself these days. You have to know the right persons to get somewhere or be really really lucky.

What advice would you like to give other bands? Go to as much shows as possible and get to know people. Everybody knows something you don't. And do it yourself because thats the only way you get something done the way you want.

What are the biggest obstacles for a band? Gas prizes, lazy people and never get the recognition you deserve.

Tell us about upcoming gigs and why we should be at them? Because we open for fucking Cryptopsy! So be there on time and buy our EP!

What is your favorite crappy instrument? My pocket synth. It's useless but a whole lot of fun.

Do you have anything to add? Go and check our clip on youtube, come to our shows and buy our EP!