REPULSIVE AGGRESSION – Reborn through Annihilation

Repulsive Aggression’s debut album ‘Conflagration’ made such an impact on us here at Eternal Terror that we sent Peter Loftus on an all expenses paid trip to meet vocalist Holter. Here’s what he found out…

For readers who might not be familiar with the band – who are Repulsive Aggression?

Repulsive Aggression was formed in Oslo back in 2008 by Sæther and myself. Sæther is one of the founding members of Svarttjern, a band which I was also part of for a while. Later on Nødset would join us on drums for "Conflagration". He played for Framferd when they were still active and recently he has been playing with Frail Grounds among others. 

Repulsive Aggression is our sanctuary from all the "rules" and conventions in metal today. It’s about making and playing music that we enjoy and not bothering with the ever-increasing focus on genre rules and the need to lock everything into a sub-genre. So if we had a mission statement I guess it would be "Play music we enjoy".

Your debut album ‘Conflagration’ is excellent. You must be delighted with the way it has turned out.

Thank you. Yes we are very pleased with how it turned out. It’s very representative of what we want to do as a band in terms of sound and style.  And things actually worked well during the production of it, and that is always a nice surprise.

Tell us about your sound. It seems to me like you’ve managed to come up with something that is instantly recognizable as death metal, but it still feels quite original…

We obviously have a strong base in Death and Thrash metal, but we are willing to take inspiration from and include other genres in the mix. Often things that are quite far away from the more extreme sides of metal.

Adding to this we all bring in black metal experience from previous or current bands. The end result is something that is obviously death metal but with some added touches that are not too common in the genre

How does the song-writing work within the band? Do you have a very specific idea of what you want to do when you enter the studio or is there an organic element, where you just let things happen?

For most songs it starts out with Sæther creating and recording the music and then I write the lyrics and vocal lines. Of course it’s not like we have nothing to do with what the other person does and we will discuss it and toss ideas back and forth throughout the process, but that’s the main flow of things. We are fortunate enough to have access to a studio so we can record every step of the way. It allows us to try out a lot of things and cut or add parts until we are satisfied with how it sounds. So during the early recording sessions a lot of things will change and many variations will be tried. But when time comes to enter the studio for the final time and record what will be the finished product we are very certain what we want to do.

What was the concept behind the lyrics? Are they central to your philosophy and expression or something closer to the periphery?

A main theme throughout the lyrics is letting yourself go and following your impulses and emotions, challenging or completely disregarding the morality and ethics of society. The lyrics are written quickly and with a minimum of revision trying to maintain impulses of the moment. Most of it is very straightforward and to the point, I feel that getting bogged down in metaphors and explanations would detract from the aggression on display. When it comes to the band as a whole, I feel that the lyrics main objective is continuing and amplifying the aggression of the music. Repulsive Aggression is about creating and playing music we enjoy rather than fronting any ideology.

What non-musical influences do you have?

Quite a lot. Some of them I might not be aware of myself. I go through a lot of books and movies and pick up bits and pieces from most things I find enjoyable. If I have to name one thing I would say I find the works of Nietzsche to be a very enjoyable read, and I guess you can see some of the ideas discussed there reflected in the lyrics.

What musical influences do you have?

Again a whole lot. Of course some of them shine through quite a bit more than others. Obviously a lot of the great Thrash and Death metal bands that are and have been, especially from the earlier days of Death metal when the gap between it and thrash was a lot smaller. There is also a lot of music outside of metal. From rock and blues to the harder to classify stuff like Tom Waits.

What is your favourite thing about being in a band?

Finishing a song that you’re really satisfied with and knowing that you’ve made something good. And the rush of being on stage, having a great time playing your music to a crowd.

What has been your favourite gig of the last year?

2012 was a very quiet year for me when it comes to being on stage. As to being an audience member I would say my favorite show of the year was Accept in Oslo for a great night of beer drinking and heavy metal!

What next for Repulsive Aggression? Any gigs/touring in the pipeline?

We will continue working on new material and get the ball rolling when it comes to gigs. We are always looking for opportunities and we’re hoping that 2013 will be a lot more active when it comes to the live part of our music.

Any last message for our readers?

Thank you for taking the time to listen to us. Hopefully we will have the opportunity to see you all from the stage in the near future!

http://www.facebook.com/RepulsiveAggression