Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

Have any of you played in other bands? Alexander: Both Der Pestarzt and I have performed in various other musical projects.  Currently, we also have a side project that goes under the moniker of Bleak Harvest.  Der Pestarzt's projects are of a more notable caliber, though, and a few include; Wanderlust, Old Forgotten Lands, Exclamavit, and he was also a previous member in Fin.

Alexander: We have been through various members in the past, some stayed with us for a while, such as Elisha, who contributed guitar work on Nothing, Bare, and A Premature Slaughter, In An Age of Torment, others just for a very short period of time, of which no fruition was shown.    

Der: Over time I believe that the two of us have become the backbone for the project, which has proven to be sufficient enough to hold us up. We've gone through a good amount of experiences together to know what are our best interests as a band moreso than anyone potentially coming into the fold.

Where are you from? Alexander: Originally the project started in Connecticut, but currently we are split between North Carolina and Florida. 

What year did the band form? Alexander: The idea for Maugrim originally started around 2006.  Though the idea was vastly different than the first material recorded in 2008, which is far from what Maugrim portrays now.

Alexander: It tends to range, originally started out as a string-based fantasy ambient band, then to raw depressive black metal.  Our upcoming release incorporates elements of doom and dark folk into the writing, and still encompasses the atmosphere of depression.  Whereas, the material we have been writing for the future is darker, faster, heavier, and hateful. 

Der: When writing for this project I try not to pigeonhole the sound too much. I believe us to be a bit more in the vein of black metal but this will not hinder or limit our reach into steeper territories.

Alexander: Many different things, often times I've found that the earth gives me the greatest source of inspiration.  Those who came before, and those who still speak in whispers on the wind.  They drive and possess, and give reason to be.  More recently, however, hate.  Hate drives the passion deep inside, but most are afraid of embracing it.

Der: I think having had the most tempestuous experiences of my life all occur within the timespan of this project... that is my driving force. Experience. Positive, negative... it is all relative. But my main interest is channeling cathartic energies, be they from before my time, or posthumously, if that makes any linear sense.

How often and where do you rehearse? Der: We typically will concoct the roots of certain pieces and then build off of them when we do join forces. It has proven most favorable to allow ourselves to leap beyond the paradigm of a simple idea.

Alexander: Absolutely.  There is a world of a difference between what we were and what we are.  Both in lyric and in music. 

Der: I tend to think of us as having several incarnations, the current one being the one in which a circle has been carved in full. What we were once has everything to do with what we now are, but what we now are is what we will continue to be.

Alexander: As for myself, I am into writing.  I am currently working on a massive fantasy series that will hopefully see fruition in the next few years.  I have done a lot of dabbling in free-word slam poetry in the past as well.  Outside of that.  Beer. Beer is my fucking life.  Typically being a stout drinker, the blacker the better. 

Der: I tend to wish to read and hike and explore whatever knowledge can be thrown my way, even if it seeps through my fingers after having found it. I see myself not as a musical virtuoso at all, but as a passionate and devout learner of music, and I have found it to be my calling, in and outside of this project.

Alexander: As long as we are separated between states, we are not.  In the future, should our residency be a formidable distance, absolutely.  

Der: We tend to spend more time honing our craft than manifesting it, ha. But that is out of choice.

Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? Alexander: Well, I co-run a small label, Swampkult Productions, and all of our previous material has been put out through it, and the next upcoming one may be as well, unless of course we can coerce someone else to put it out.  We are always looking for a label, but it isn't something highest on our priority list just yet.  

Alexander: The enticement that music itself withholds is enough in itself to make a person want to create their own, so long as they can find the creative expression within.  For me, it was always a matter of getting an aural collection of what went on inside.  How I felt.  What I experienced. 

Der: Working with an individual who is truly like a brother to me - that is not an opportunity everyone gets. We are very different people in our perceptions and goals but we converge in the ways which matter most. Music being one of them.

Alexander: The simplest way to put it would be to narrow them down to regret, hate, depression, and solace in the natural things of this earth.  While some bands seem to focus on the bullshit of no escape and suicide being the answer to everything (even though I enjoy a lot of these bands, I find the thought irrational) as I solemnly believe every person can find peace should they simply strip away all of the fucked up necessities that they have allowed themselves to become surrounded by.  

Der: I feel as though balance is to be found after having experienced the highs and lows of polar extremes. In a way, I believe Maugrim is a part of my balance. I am a relatively peaceful person in my own time and Maugrim allows for my residual aggressive energies to be manifested in a healthy way. Knowing that some of my darkest energy has been poured out, rather than residing within, is a solace.

Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? Alexander: The first two releases that we did under the black metal style were composed by Der (of course with Elisha providing lead guitars), while I provided lyrics and vocals (and some occasional acoustic guitar parts).  The upcoming release is still predominately composed by him, but I played a larger role than the first two on it.  As far as the future material that we are currently writing, it's done by the both of us.

Do you start with the music or the lyrics? Der: If there is one thing which has always revealed itself, it is that his lyricism and my sounds always seem to intertwine regardless of our knowledge of each others' work, so that when they converge, they fit. A collective conscious experience, I suppose.

Alexander: The upcoming release was (not entirely composed here but finished) in a cabin in the smoky mountains in North Carolina, and I honestly don't believe that there could be a more fitting place to draw the music from within.  

Der: I have lived in four different places during the composition process of the last few albums, so I have come to feel that my composition process lies more in a state of mind than state of being.

Have you done any covers live? Alexander: We have only done a live ritual once, and we had discussed and rehearsed a Woods of Ypres song, but in the end, didn't end up going through with it due to some difficulties. 

What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? Alexander: The one manifestation we performed was an outdoor festival, and we had completely packed the tent out, which was quite the surprise to us, as not a single person there had ever heard of us.  We sold out of CDs immediately after the set was over.

When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? Alexander: Merchandise has always been a come and go thing.  There have been a multitude of shirts printed since the beginning, in our ambient stages, and since our transformation into what we are now, most have fallen into secret though, and very few people still have them in their possession.

Alexander: It's a touchy subject for most.  But in the end, it's a war that isn't worth being fought.  People will download regardless of what the law says, living in a digital age has spoiled everyone to the point of no return.  There is not a thing we can deny our hands beneath the keyboard.  With it being a pointless war, we have offered our music up for free download.

Der: Everything happens for a reason, and if our sounds fall upon the right ears, it does not matter to me which vessel or platform it was offered upon. Support is a thing which shines beyond a simple album sale.

What do you think of my work? Alexander: I'll be honest, before you had contacted us, I had no knowledge of what you do.  But, I do think it is fantastic that you reach out to smaller bands and give them an opportunity to be heard other than just in song. 

Alexander: Role models?  I think to place someone on a pedestal is out of my nature, but for inspiration, the list is long.  If I had to narrow it down to a specific individual (musically) then I would have to give it to Tim Yatras (Austere, Grey Waters, Germ, Autumns Dawn).  His (of course along with the other gentlemen he has worked with) creations have always come as breathtaking sources of natural beauty.  

Der: I only have respect for those who are worth respecting. Idolatry is a silly concept to me, particularly in the world of metal music - a world where a key common message is to be an individual. Having 'black metal idols' is the same to me as having religious idols. Humans are all as infallible as each other and should not be seen as less or more.

Alexander: That completely varies by mood.  One day it could be Burzum and another day it could be something like Young and In the Way.

Der: I mostly listen to ancient music or classical music more than metal these days, so I suppose that could answer your question in the extreme, hah.

What have been your biggest obstacles? Alexander: Distance. Maugrim will never meet it's full potential until we are able to physically write music with each other again.

Do you have any new material? Alexander: We do.  Our upcoming full-length, tentatively titled "Primordial Venom", will hopefully be seeing a release in late September/Early October.  We also have began writing for the follow-up album, with guitars being probably about 60% written, which will, in high hopes, be tracked next year.

or through the Facebook page.

Alexander: As a band, hopefully to produce many more albums and someday see the stage again.  

Personally, it would be to relocate somewhere that nature outweighs the footprint of man, and make a future out of my books.

Der: To continue to stay out of any spotlights but to continue creating and releasing. And on the personal agenda, to follow a path that had been buried from me for many years. Living in the middle of nowhere now has been one of the best things to ever happen to me, and I have only the people in my life that I feel necessary to have at this point. The best music will be created when life's balance is heeded.