SOURCE – First of all, congratulations with the release of Collapse Into Chaos. I recently heard the album and it was mind blowing! How is the reaction so far with the album?
Ralf W. Garcia (Bass) – Thanks for that. We appreciate the feedback very much. Glad that you like the new material. Well so far the response to the new album was incredibly good. Most magazines and reviewers liked the album and we’ve received messages from longtime fans saying that they’re very pleased with the new songs. That’s especially something we don’t take for granted. After nearly 25 years since the band started there are still some fans actively supporting us since the very first day. So overall I can say that we’re more than happy with the current result.
SOURCE – Every album has that distinctive Requiem style, but what’s different about Collapse Into Chaos?
Ralf W. Garcia (Bass) – You’re right with your assessment that in hindsight all our albums have that unique Requiem thing we do. It’s a combination of very groove oriented and rhythmic patterns, lots of blast beats obviously and that mix of old school Death Metal paired with Grind/Crust influences and a pinch of harmonies and melodies.
We personally think that “Collapse Into Chaos” is a natural continuation of all our trademark ingredients but this time reduced to the essence. Phil (Guitars) and Reto (Drums) who write all of the instrumental skeletons of the songs decided on a “more is less” approach. All the typical Requiem ingredients are still there but with less embellishments and unnecessary repetitions. That’s probably the difference that stands out the most when you’d compare the new album to our older stuff.
SOURCE – As you make more and more albums, does it get more difficult to break new musical ground and do new things?
Ralf W. Garcia (Bass) – That’s an interesting question. We haven’t really thought about that. Songwriting or creating music in general is always a snapshot of a certain period of time as we all know. So what happens in a certain timeframe is unique and can never be repeated again in the same exact way. Although we move and create within the genre of Death Metal with influences from Grindcore and Crust/Punk there’s still a lot of free space within the arrangements. Rhythmic patterns and/or harmonic movements like lead themes or chord progressions leave so many options. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that we have broken or will break new musical ground. We just try to write good songs within our own style that we developed for now nearly 25 years. “New things” mean to us developing even more well rounded fills, breaks and overall song form arrangements. We probably haven’t nor will we reinvent Death Metal of course. But that’s not our goal. As I said we take great pride in working out meticulous details and song structures that make the most sense to us. So for the most part it doesn’t get more difficult to create new music. As long as our hearts are in it there will always be enough creative scope for development.
SOURCE – Which is more important in music – being intentionally novel and innovative or being consistent?
Ralf W. Garcia (Bass) – Another interesting aspect of music or the arts in general. I’d say both. First and foremost for musicians or creative people it is important to come up with something that speaks to you. Or in other words something that somehow feels right to yourself independent from the outside world. If that’s new or innovative is a title that is given by listeners or reviewers after the songwriting and recording is finished. Now obviously we wouldn’t release something that wouldn’t feel right anyway. So I can only speak for our band of course. To come up with new riffs, rhythm patterns, harmonies and new song structures feels always innovative to us personally. On the other hand Requiem always was a band that used and developed it’s own strengths. We stick to our guns if you get my drift. Therefore consistency is a built-in mode of Requiem for sure. If you’d listen back to all our albums you’d instantly see and hear it. But on the other hand we always included a few new stylistic devices over the years without experimenting too much. It’s just the way we like to do things.
SOURCE – Anything you can say about the video for Mankind Never Learns?
Ralf W. Garcia (Bass) – I personally think it’s the perfect visual interpretation of the songs’ lyrics. It depicts all the things mankind could have learned from the past but didn’t so far. It was made by Ingo from Hard Media in Germany, an agency for professional visualization and video creation with a very big list of references including all the big names in the Metal music world. He did a fantastic job with that video in particular.
SOURCE – How do you see the next year in terms of promotion and development of Requiem – especially considering how the COVID-19 pandemic essentially shut down touring on a global scale until further notice?
Ralf W. Garcia (Bass) – I can only repeat myself in relation to what I said in other interviews. We can’t foresee the future. Not even the near future. So it’s a bit tricky to plan and/or schedule dates at the moment. We have a few dates booked for the end of 2021 and naturally hope that these gigs will happen. We can only wait and see which is a bit annoying but it is what it is. As soon as it would be possible to tour we will support the new album with a full tour in Europe at least. But when that’ll exactly happen isn’t clear as of yet. Unfortunately there’s nothing more to say currently.
SOURCE – Obviously before the album is released is a busy time for the band, but with quarantine have you had any opportunities to pick up any hobbies?
Ralf W. Garcia (Bass) – Actually just before the release date and right now is the busiest time while we’re still promoting the new album with interviews, features and chats with the media and fans alike. Regarding restrictions and lockdowns. There was and still is a difference between the restrictions throughout most countries. So I personally didn’t pick up a new hobby. I was and still am teaching/tutoring bass and music theory online and writing/playing music for various projects and in diverse styles. Apart from that I moved last year so I didn’t really have had the time to pick up another interest additionally. When I’m not playing, teaching or writing songs/lyrics I usually read books, do some training in the gym or walk the dogs.
SOURCE – Thanks again for your time and for this opportunity, feel free to leave a message to our readers!
Ralf W. Garcia (Bass) – Thanks a million for your support and interest in the new album and our band REQUIEM. We naturally hope to play the new material live rather sooner than later and of course we are looking forward to seeing new and older, familiar faces at gigs and festivals again. It’s about time for underground metal gigs again.
Contact:
Video: