Relations is a hard rocking group. More metal than we´re used to here. The interview was done in may 2024.

Please tell me a little about every member and the history of the band? Tell me a little about every member, previous bands and band on the side of Relations, work, age and what do you work with besides of the music?

-Well, we’ve been a band for ten years now and basically Michael (Drums) and Ray (me-Vocals) started everything way before, which resulted in several other projects before we found a solid line-up with Jakob on guitars, Florian on Vocals as well and “Nudel” on bass. We are all ranging from 28 to 43 and have fairly regular jobs. I work as a team lead in freight purchasing field, while the others are doing some production shift coordination works, paper producing and public service management. Kind of boring but still solid haha

Your music is a style which came forward many years ago, old favorites which you like today?

-Several favorites. I mean, obviously everyone in our band has different influences but we can all agree on certain bands that made in impact. I think everyone can jam out to Slayer and Sabbath but we really have so many different influences that it would not be possible to namedrop them all. But I think it’s save to say that we try to take everything in. Ranging from Old School Hip Hop ala Gang Starr and Nas on my side to Deftones, Converge, Misery Signals, Nirvana and also a lot of black and death metal in the name of darkthrone, immortal, entombed, dismember and cannibal corpse. The list could go on and on really.   

The name Relations where did it came from? You weren´t afraid that not any other would be named so before?

-Actually it was quite classical “how do we name our band” gathering where everyone made some suggestions and on Relations we all could agree on since it just stood out from the rest. We actually never cared if there is any other band with that name. But at least that I am aware there is no other “big” project with the same name.

Is it important to release physical things? Or can you feel that you have done a record if you only release it digitally? How do you release this record?

-I think we all agree that the physical component of a record is still fairly important as far as the identification and the enjoyment of a record goes. Of course it is really important nowadays to make everything available digitally but nothing quite touches the magic of putting a physical copy on a turntable while enjoying the artwork.

You have never been to Sweden and played or been here as tourists? With this band or any other band you have been in? If you not have when do you come?

-As a band we’ve never been to Sweden. Hopefully that changes soon haha. I think our guitarist made a vacation trip not so long ago though. If we would get the opportunity to play some shows we would definitely manage to set this up. So if you know anyone that would be interested in booking us, let us know!

Which countries have had the pleasure to be hearing the band live?

-Actually we’ve only been fairly active within Germany and sometimes managed to visit the Netherlands. But as we are still a more or less local band, future will tell if we’ll visit other countries as well. Of course that would be a dream coming true.

I think your music is a hybrid between death metal and hardcore, how do you describe it yourself?

-I think that describes it quite well. We never tried to follow any trends when writing these songs and I think the album shows quite well, which influences we bring to the table. Although the finished record is not quite the usual metalcore sound you would expect as it contains some more grit and harsher influences from black and death metal that separates it from the modern day productions within the genre. I often get to hear that we sound like a more hardcore leaning Heaven Shall Burn which is quite the compliment haha

Who does the lyrics? Never in german?

-I usually write all the lyrics in English because I think it translates better in terms of an identification platform. Also I think it’s really hard to write good German lyrics that do not sound forced and pretentious. We do have two songs in German though, namely “Abschaum” which translates to Scum (a shot at facists) and “Schwarzes Blut” which means Black Blood. The latter was written by our second front man Flo.

Is there any subject you never will sing about?

-Nothing is crossed out but I think you will never hear a song about the bad ex-girlfriend or something like that because I often find those songs to be rather cringey.

How is it to live in Germany nowadays, racists, politic,?

-Well, Germans typically have a pessimistic outlook on the world and their own country. Looking at the new rise of alt-right parties such as the AFD and also the other European right wing parties getting stronger, it is quite hard to stay optimistic. While the active reigning politicians might not be perfect in what they do and offer some room for critics, it should never be an option to enable openly racist people to gather more power. Therefore we’ve got to position ourselves against this development actively. Also keeping in mind our own national history. We’ve got the responsibility to avoid another genocide really.

Is it better to live in Germany if you compare for say about 25 years ago??

-That’s difficult to answer since I’m only 32 by now but I think in these past few years things have definitely taken a turn for the worse. Also considering the situations in Gaza and Ukraine which are so shameful to watch nowadays. But I guess we’ve got to make the best out of it and hoping these things will turn into more peaceful circumstances quickly. Additionally the effects of climate change are getting more and more evident and we all need to find a solution on that individually to gather a higher common knowledge of our resource management.

Do you have any favorite football team(I support Arsenal and a Swedish team called GAIS myself)? Or any sport favorites at all?

-Borussia Dortmund for sure. That’s basically the place we are coming from since the city is 30 minutes away by car. Our guitarist Jakob however would favor Schalke 04 somehow. The other guys do not have any interest in football to be honest.

Beer is expensive in Sweden. I have a very big interest in beer and brew myself? Your favourite beerstyle ? You don´t have an own Relations-beer? If you do that or will do that what is it going to be called? Or maybe you are straightedge?

-I think since we are living in an area where rather big breweries are located (namely Veltins, Krombacher and Warsteiner) we are all classical Pilsener drinkers. None of us is straight edge and I think the chances are fairly low that one of us will turn to it in the future haha. Although we highly respect that lifestyle. Nudel also is a rather strict vegan nowadays which we respect equally.

Is there any good bands from Germany worth to mention? And how is the hardcore/metal/punk scene living on in Germany right now?

-There are several great bands to keep an eye on from Germany. Speaking of hardcore you should definitely check out the guys from Slope, Dagger Threat and To The Wire as they all deliver a pretty unique take on the genre. On the metal side we have upcoming acts such as The Night Eternal, Ch’ahom, Chapel Of Disease and Sulphur Aeon who all released stellar records this or last year. Highly recommended stuff.

What is your strength when you play live? What is the most difference between playing nowadays and if you compare when you started to play?

-I think we’ve really grown as musicians and offer a really straight forward and direct live show. We don’t play on click track which usually makes the songs a little faster live, opting for a pretty intense experience.  

Which type of people comes to your concerts? Which type of people do you miss?

-That’s highly different. I think we’ve got a pretty reliable and great following within our hometown area as shown on our most recent charity event, where we nearly had 200 attendants. Mostly metal heads I would say but also some hardcore kids who like to mosh haha. Generally we miss all people who did not mange to catch us live yet haha

Do you buy much records, or is it only Spotify and those type of things to listen to music? Any good record store in your town?

-I’m a huge sucker for vinyl personally. Same counts for Flo and Nudel. Of course we also use Spotify and stuff but as we are musicians ourselves we always try to support the artists we like directly via buying merch or LP’s. Favorite record stores have to be Idiots Records and Black Plastic in Dortmund! Shout out to those !

Are you selling any merch on your gigs, do people buy it? What sells best?

-Of course we sell merch. You can buy regular shirts, longsleeves, hoodies, shorts, beanies and even sunglasses but what sells best will always be the regular band shirt.

Which is your own favoritesong among your own songs? And which song is the people choice?

-Puh, that’s a really tough question. I think personally I would have to go with Every Truth You Ever Failed To See since it is a well-constructed and dynamic song that carries a different atmosphere than most of our songs that is more subdued and melancholic. People’s choice would be our latest single Paralyzed or album opener Eyes Of Medusa since they are more straight forward.

Do you do any coversongs when you play live?`

-We actually did a few live covers already. Namely The Killchain by Bolt Thrower and Roots by Sepultura. But most of the time we just play our own stuff.

Do you care about reviews? Which is the most peculiar you ever had, with this band or any other band you have been to?

-Actually we do care about reviews. If you’re putting so much effort into something which you cherish deeply, of course you appreciate kind reviews. First and foremost we make music for ourselves but nice reviews are always the icing on the cake. I think the most popular yet, was being in German edition of Metal Hammer and Rock Hard which are fairly famous magazines. Hopefully they’ll include our newest record as well.

If you could choose five bands from the past and the history and nowadays and both dead and living bands to have a concert together with your band. Which five have you been chosen? Or have already shared stage with all these bands?

-Ugh, that’s tough man. Trying to consider all our members influences and favorite bands, I think I’ll have to go with Converge, Darkthrone, Slipknot, Bolt Thrower and Terror. Weird mix and will never happen but that would be ridiculous.

Is music a good way to get out frustration and become a nicer person outside the music?

-I think creating music and playing it live is one of the best ways to get all negative energy out of your system. It’s rather cathartic and therapeutic in a sense that it can be compared to an intense sports session. And also you can express all different kinds of emotion through music which makes it so magical. I think that’s why we all love music. Life becomes more relatable you know.

Politics and music, does it belong together?? Which is your most political song or do you not want to put politics into your music?

-I wouldn’t say that every band or artist should charge its music with politics but if you are passionate about something as relatable as your music, it can be a great tool to educate people and transport your beliefs. I also would not call us a political band but the mentioned song “Abschaum” (= Scum) clearly states that we do no tolerate any sense of racism, fascism or discriminating shit.

Any good Swedish bands you like?

-There are actually so many great bands that it would not be possible to mention all of them. We’ve all been fans of the Swedish black and death metal scene with bands like Dismember, Entombed, Opeth, Dissection, At The Gates, Hypocrisy, In Flames, Soilwork and stuff like that but also other artists like Millencolin or Katatonia we do like fairly well.

Is it boring with interviews? Is it much interviews? What do you prefer Telephoneinterviews, face to face or as this one via e-mail?

-Interviews are never boring if the questions are interesting haha. As we do not do so many interviews it still feels exciting to us whether it be in written form or via video chat. Of course it is always great so have a face to face exchange but all formats have their pros and cons.

Futureplans for the band?

-Playing more shows, festivals and bigger support slots so that we as a band can grow our audience beyond Germany. That would be a dream coming true!

Futureplans for yourself?

-Actually not that much besides relocating at the end of the month and starting to write music again.

Wisdomword?

-Not really to be honest. I wouldn’t think of myself as a wise person therefore I’d like to leave the space for individual thoughts.

Something more to add?

-Thanks for having us on you zine and supporting us by giving us the chance for this interview! We’d love to visit Sweden as a band and play some shows. So, if you are reading this, please check out our latest records GAIA which is available on all streaming platforms as well as on CD in our Big Cartel shop or via Dedication Records. Thanks for listening!