Band Interview: Relentless Aggression

Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life are pleased to bring you an interview with heavy metal band, Relentless Aggression.

1. How did you get started as a band?

We originally started up in 1986, calling ourselves Hell Awaits (yes, we loved our Slayer, still do). We were just kids that wanted to play fast and aggressive music and have fun. These days it’s only me (Finn) and Yngve left, but back in the day we had Dag Nesbø on bass and Erik “Grim” Brødreskift on drums (later more known for drumming with black metal bands like Immortal, Gorgoroth and Borknagar).

2. How would you describe your sound?

We try to maintain that old school feeling from the 80s but with an upgraded sound. Iver (technician, co-producer and session drummer) also grew up playing thrash metal, so he knew immediately what kind of sound we needed. We are very happy with how the finished product ended up sounding.

3. What bands/artists would you say have influenced your style of music?

We grew up at the time when bands like Exodus, Slayer, Metallica, Dark Angel, Kreator and Vio-Lence released some awesome albums, so that was definitely an inspiration for us. But we listen to a lot of music, and get inspiration from tons of bands. From more mainstream metal bands to black metal and punk/hardcore.

4. Has the rise of YouTube & music streaming helped or hindered you as a band?

We have gotten quite a lot of attention on YouTube, from the autogenerated version of our album, to people that I contact and put out the album on my request, to people that covers our music, and of course also the people that puts our music out without asking. One thing’s for sure; a lot of people use YouTube for finding new music, so it’s important to be there. I think the combination of music and video still has a strong impact on people.

When it comes to streaming I guess it’s much the same. A lot of people streams the music they listen to, and that is good for us when it comes to spreading our music, but it makes little or no income. I guess we are a bit more fortunate since we are a metal band, a lot of metalheads want a physical copy of what they listen to.

5. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not making music?

My life mainly revolves around music. If I don’t work on my own music or practice, I’ll listen to other bands, or go to concerts (when that still was an option). I like to travel, but that is almost always related to travelling to a concert or a festival. I live in a city surrounded by mountains, so I like to take walks there. Also enjoy reading, watching a good movie or tv series and having a beer or six with friends.

6. What are your future plans musically? Tours?

It’s just a matter of keep going and keep making new music. We are just about finished with a song that will be on a compilation lp with several other Norwegian bands. We will also release it as a single and a video just before or after summer. We have also just released a video of «End of Religion» from our debut album «A Shadow of All Things Broken». I have a lot of ideas for new songs, so there will be a new album in the not too distant future. At the moment the band is more of a studio project, consisting of Yngve and me, and Iver doing the session drums. If/when things get back to normal, we will consider finding a live line-up.

Thanks for the interest in the band.

Links

Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram