Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

Have any of you played in other bands? We all have played in other bands. And those bands have led us to the band where we are today. And that´s all that matters.

How is it that you started playing music? Like everybody else I guess. We were and still are fans of music. So it´s a natural process to start by listening and then picking up an instrument and start playing.

What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you? Our names don´t matter and neither does our age.

Have you had other previous members? For a brief period of time we had a second guitarist for live shows. But all the records have been recorded as a three-piece. Three is all it takes to unleash chaos live and in the studio.

Did you make music even when you were young? We´ve been involved in music as far as we can remember.

Where are you from? Bilbao, Basque Country.

What year did the band form? The band formed the moment we started listening to music. Then it was just a matter of time for the right moment to come and make it the unstoppable force it is today.

What's your style of genre? We live in a time where every band needs to be labeled and connected to other bands or a particular genre. And we fucking hate that.

What inspires you? The need to create music, to push boundaries and deal with everyday´s bullshit.

How often and where do you rehearse? We live and breathe this band 24/7. Rehearsing is just a part of the whole.

How have you developed since you started with the music? We are obviously better at what we do after so many years but I´d say that the main development is that we know what to avoid and how to avoid it.

Do you have other interests of work outside the band? Any information regarding our lives outside the band is irrelevant.

Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? We are willing to play our music for as many people as possible. To do so we´ve worked with booking agencies in the past and we are looking forward to working with them in the future.

Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? We are currently working with Season Of Mist. I guess that labels are a necessary evil.

What made you decide to make this music? We play the music we want to play. There´s no conscious decision.

What are your songs about? That´s for the listener to decide. Once we write and record the songs, it´s the listener´s responsibility to make something out of them.

Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? Let´s say we have a main source from where the songs are born. Later, the band as a whole manipulate and deform them.

Do you start with the music or the lyrics? Sometimes music will be written first, others lyrics and concepts will be on paper before a riff is played.

Do you compose in a certain environment? No. Riffs and songs can be born at any given time, regardless of the environment or the condition you´re in.

Have you done any covers live? We are not that kind of band.

What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? We don´t have that information and, frankly, we don´t see how that has any importance at all

Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? We try to change our setlist as much as we can. Sometimes you play a festival or open for another band, so we obviously need to adapt our setlist to those situations.

What was your first gig like? Our first live show was in Porto, Portugal at the Amplifest 2016. It was a great show in an amazing festival and we are looking forward to playing there again.

What was your latest gig? Our latest gig was held in A Coruña, Spain a couple of weeks ago.

Have you had to cancel a gig? Well, not exactly. The St. Etienne show was cancel in our recent European tour with Horna, Iskald and Blaze of Perdition but it had nothing to do with the bands.

Where have you played live this year? We´ve played in France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Spain.

Where do you plan to gig the coming year? We are playing Madrid in May with Adrift and Resurrection Fest in Viveiro in July. More dates are in the works.

When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? https://altarage.bandcamp.com/

Where can people buy your merchandise? https://altarage.bandcamp.com/

What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records nowadays?

Downloading albums is, in some ways, similar to tape-trading or exchanging albums with a friend. As long as you don´t stop buying records, of course. The problem is that nowadays the amount of music out there is overwhelming so people have 200 albums in their hard-drives, hardly paying the

attention an album deserves to any of them. We live in the age of instant gratification so almost everything you want is just one click away. The way we understand music is directly related to the concept of an album, not just individual songs or singles. And it includes the artwork, lyrics and overall concept. All that is lost when downloading an album or streaming it. These options might be a good way to discover new music, but it seems like they have become the norm now

How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? Internet killed the music business as we knew it. Bands don´t sell records anymore so they are forced to tour nonstop to make a living and the market is flooded with festivals and tours. And then you have the social media. There´s too much exposure and bullshit. The mystique is lost. Internet is a magnifying glass, so mediocrity and banality are running rampant.

Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? There´s no doubt that the bands you listen to when you are younger have an impact and influence that stays with you forever. But it is also true that some of those bands, which are still active today, are putting out records that are below average to say the least. It seems like if they lost grip with the musical movement they helped creating. That´s why we think it is important to keep listening and discovering new music every day.

What have been your biggest obstacles? Time is and will always be our worst enemy.

What advice would you give other bands or artists? We have nothing to say to anybody.

How do you get psyched for a gig? The gig itself does the trick.

Do you have any new material? Yes. The riff never sleeps. The machinery never stops.

What are your web sites? https://altarage.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/ALTARAGE/ http://season-of-mist.com/bands/altarage

How can people reach? Through our albums. 

What are your plans for the future? Keep making and playing music. There´s no other way.

Do you have something to add? Thank you for your interest.