Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

Have any of you played in other bands? Peter and me (Michael) used to be in a band called Teamkiller, that played a lot of shows and tours across Europe with bands such as Terror, Killing Time and Have Heart. Andy used to be in Haverbrook Disaster, who went out to tour with Stick To Your Guns amongst others. Adrian was in Skaggs and Domain, who were around for quite a bit.

What are your names? / Who plays what? Spirit Crusher is Dom on vocals, Peter on bass, Andy on guitar, Adrian on guitar and me (Michael) on drums.

Have you had other previous members? It's always been the five of us. For some shows we had friends filling in on guitar and drums though.

Where are you from? Adrian, Andy and I live in the Rhein-Neckar area in the South of Germany, Peter just moved to Cologne and Dom is located in Nuernberg.

What year did the band form? In 2015. We actually just had our 5th anniversary.

What's your style of genre? Hardcore.

What inspires you? Musical influences range from early 80s thrash metal to 90s crosssover and hardcore. Bands like Metallica and the Cro-Mags, but also classic straight edge bands like Youth of Today. Our lyrics are inspired by observations of everyday life and personal struggles. Of course we’re also inspired by vegan snacks.

Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that?

We all grew up in a DIY subculture where setting up shows in local youth centers or squats was/is the norm. So basically we are pretty much in the comfortable situation to be able to

handle all our booking needs on our own.

Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that?

We released a 7” called “The Absolute”, as well as our debut LP “Whispers against the Roar of the World“ on The Essence from London. Adam, with the help of some distributors, did a great job making sure everyone who wanted (or wants) to get our records is able to do so. Our LP came out last summer, so we are still in that cycle and (as soon as this pandemic is over) are able to go out on the road to promote it.

What are your songs about? Personal observations of the world within and around us.

Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? Usually we tend to write songs in a full-band environment. Nothing beats jamming in a tiny rehearsal room. Due to the Corona pandemic we currently cannot get together as much as we'd like to though. Therefore we try to write and record songs digitally and as soon as all goes back to normal we’ll finish the songs together as a band. Dom handles all the lyrics and constantly writes stuff.

Do you compose in a certain environment? Like I said, we love to just jam as a group, but at the moment, we mostly record ideas at home by ourselves.

Have you done any covers live? We did a bunch of cover songs in the past years. Classic songs by Inside Out, Turning Point, True Blue, Uniform Choice or the Cro-Mags. It's always a good way to introduce people to older/classic hardcore bands, that either inspired us or have managed to capture a certain vibe in their songs that we dig.

What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? We did play a couple of really cool/big festival shows like Fluff Fest or Ieper Fest, which had about 2000 people in the crowd. We also played one of the Have Heart reunion shows in Cologne in a 1500 capacity venue. Those were certainly the biggest. Smallest attendance was probably around 20 kids or less when we started out.

What ages are most of your concert attendants? It's nice to see older and younger kids getting our vibe, so I suppose the range is between 16 and 46.

Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? Since our first LP came out last summer, we have a decent amount of songs to pick from and try to come up with a cool setlist for every show. Picking songs usually depends on how long we get to play.

Do you have a regular place you play live often? We try to play as many different places as possible. The one location we have played the most so far is probably the infamous JUZ Mannheim.

What was your first gig like? It was almost exactly 5 years ago at the legendary “Pfingstfest” in Mannheim. It was cool, because a lot of people already heard our demo and were excited to come by to check us out.

What was your latest gig? / Where have you played live this year? We have not played many shows this year due to the Corona pandemic, but we did a short run with No Warning that brought us to Barcelona, Hamburg, Leipzig and Darmstadt.

When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? As probably every band we mostly have shirts and records for sale.

Where can people buy your merchandise? Either at our shows or online at our Bandcamp store.

What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? I think subcultures such as hardcore/punk can profit of downloading. People are able to get the music and find new bands easily, which they are likely to check out live then. Thankfully most hardcore kids still come to shows and buy records.

How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? I think through revenues in from of streaming and by also being invested in live and merch income the music industry is doing alright. Especially when it comes to bigger, more “successful” (pop-)acts. As for an underground scene like hardcore I don't really think the impact is as big, since the scene relies heavily on DIY ethics and thus is independent enough to find solutions to something like file-sharing (which I don't think is a big thing anymore due to Spotify and co.)

What do you think of my work? I have not had a chance to check it out yet, since most of your stuff is in Swedish. But I will!

How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? We are always happy to get to talk to people, be it in person or through an interview like this. I think communication is key to human interaction and therefore it's nice to get a chance to talk about a variety of topics.

Do you have any role models or idols? I suppose everyone in the band (or people in general) has someone they look up to. Be it family, friends or maybe musical idols. It's most likely to diverse to really answer that.

Why do you think that they exist? As humans we live in a society that interacts in various ways. That’s why we are influenced by a great variety of factors. These are not always positive but can also be resentment for example. Idols or role models can be an important factor in forming an individuals' character.

Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? Both I guess. Of course there are some classics that have stood the test of time and there is a reason for it. Either musicianship or content-wise. But it's also great to see younger/newer bands playing with a kind of spirit that moves people.

What have been your biggest obstacles? Time is always a big factor since we all work day jobs and have other obligations to fulfill.

What advice would you give other bands or artists? Just do it!

Do you have any new material? We are always working on new stuff, but we like to take our time to get things right. We don't like to rush things and make sure everything is as good as we can make it.

What are your web sites? https://www.instagram.com/spiritcrusherhc/ https://www.facebook.com/spiritxcrusher/ https://spiritcrusherxxx.bandcamp.com/

Do you have something to add? Thanks for the checking us out. Appreciate life!