Getting to Know… Relentless Aggression | Interview 🎤

In the 184^th edition of our Getting to Know… series, we get some insight from Norwegian thrash metal band, Relentless Aggression.

Two words: 🎙 Relentless Aggression.  Wow – what a name! So, with such an angst-filled, distinct name, what does a band bearing this name bring to the table? Well, per their answer to our first burning question on our 184^th Q&A in our Getting to Know… series, the Norwegian collective brings a combination of old-school thrash metal, different tempi and rhythms, and dystopic lyrics (gotta have those dystopic lyrics!).  Sounds like a perfect formula for a hellish, kick-ass musical experience! 🎙 Finn Solemdal (guitars) answers our questions regarding the band. So, enough background already! Let’s get right into the meat and potatoes of 🎤 Getting to Know… Relentless Aggression: Interview No. 184!

Starting things off, for those who may not be familiar with you, what would you say makes Relentless Aggression distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?

🎤 We combine old school thrash metal with an updated sound, and we use different tempos and rhythms to keep things interesting while still delivering aggressive music and dystopic lyrics.

Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did your Relentless Aggression form and what were some of the goals or the visions you had as a band early on?

🎤 The band originally started up in 1986 under the name Hell Awaits. We were just kids that wanted to play thrash metal and have fun. We had limited playing skills but still a sense of writing a good thrash metal song or two. We rehearsed in an old fallout shelter close to where Yngve and I (Finn) lived. In addition to me and Yngve, the band consisted of Dag on bass and Erik (later drummer for Immortal, Gorgoroth and Borknagar) on drums.

Let’s talk more about goals.  Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

🎤 Our main goal when we got together again in 2017/18, was to release a vinyl single with two of the songs we made in the 80s. That was a great experience, so we discussed the possibility of making new songs. A lot of new songs were made, and we recorded them in Solslottet Studio (owned by Iver of Enslaved, he is also the drummer on the album) as we went along. Soon we realised we had enough material for a full-length album. It was a great feeling after all these years to end up with a fantastic piece of black vinyl in our hands! 💿 A Shadow of All Things Broken was released on February 19th this year. Our main goal is to always make music that we love ourselves. If other people also like it that’s great, but the need to make music is the main driving force behind the band.

Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?

🎤 The world is full of good music, so we have a lot of influences. We grew up at the time when bands like Exodus, Slayer, Metallica, Dark Angel, Kreator and Vio-Lence released some awesome albums. 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.

Ah, the fun stuff.  What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance?  Feel free to be creative.

🎤 Since we’re a studio project at the time, and the pandemic makes it impossible to play live anyway, there’s not much to say about touring these days. But I can tell a story from the second gig we ever played. It was in 1988 and we played a festival here in Bergen [Norway] called Kronstadfestivalen. It was like a talent competition, and almost every rock and metal band from Bergen in the 80s and 90s have played that festival. Actually, we played two of the songs from our debut album at that concert, 🎵 “End of Religion” and 🎵 “Time to Die”. On “End of Religion,” Yngve did a stagedive, and that was not very common at the time. I could barely believe my own eyes, and almost stopped playing in surprise. After we played the last song, “End of Religion,” a lot of people from the audience (our friends, he he) invaded the stage and had to be thrown off by the security staff. Great fun, and all was filmed. Always put me in a good mood when I see that video.

Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

🎤 For me, it’s got to be 🎵 “Epitome of Resentment”. It was the first new thrash metal song I wrote when we «restarted» the band. I hadn’t written that kind of song in almost 30 years so I was unsure of how that would sound like, but there was no need to worry. When I first picked up the guitar and started playing, the riffs came one by one, and the song came together very smoothly.

Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?

🎤 Yes there is, but you have to find that out yourself. We got to have some secrets left!

Fair enough! Closing things out, what is Relentless Aggression currently working on, promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure. 

🎤 We’re almost done with a new song that will be released on a compilation vinyl album together with other Norwegian bands. We will also release it as a single in August. We’re still heavily promoting our debut album, 💿 A Shadow of All Things Broken, and have recently released a video with a song from that album, 🎵 “End of Religion”.

Thank you so much for sharing taking the time to answer these questions, and best of luck moving forward. 

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Getting to Know… Relentless Aggression: Interview No. 184 [📷: Relentless Aggression, Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype]