Hello Adam. You guys have just released you debut EP "Abandoning the Flesh", through Venomous Records. How did the recording session go for that, and how has the reaction been?

Brutal hails Dave. Yes, "Abandoning the Flesh" has been released though Venomous after a few mild delays. The recording itself (mixing included) was done over 2 days in 2 twelve hour slots. Everything went very smoothly which left us a fair amount of time for mixdown, luckily though, I don't think it sounds rushed. We were fortunate to get the sound we did in such a quick time. The reaction so far has been excellent. In April of this year (2000) we did a co-CD launch-tour with Psychrist covering Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. The feed back from the crowds (from the live shows and the MCD) has been fuckin wild, and also all the reviews have been positive so everything is well in our camp.

Has it been released internationally yet, or just in Australia?

"Abandoning the Flesh" was released both locally and overseas, and is gaining just as much interest on foreign shores as it is here in Australia. Hail to the brutal masses!!!!!

Encabulos released a couple of demos, and appeared on the Razor Back Records compilation before being signed to Venomous, I believe. What's the reaction been like so far for Encabulos?

We ceased promotion of the 1st demo very shortly after it's release as we were just not happy with the result, so we focused on writing new, different material. When we released the second demo "Dark Divinity", we were a lot more pleased with the music and lyrics and therefore promoted it more thoroughly than the first demo. After 12 months we had distributed well over 500 copies and just felt we had done all we could with it, so again we focused on the material that appears on "Abandoning the Flesh". The reaction since the release of the second demo has been great, including interest from a few labels and it's picking up heaps now that out MCD is released.

How is Venomous treating you and how did the deal come about? Is it just for the EP?

Venomous is treating us reasonably well at this stage, plenty of promotion and that sort of stuff. Mark contacted us to offer a deal, and after many lengthy discussions, the decision was made to work with Venomous Records. For now, yes it's just the MCD, when we're ready to record again, we will see what happens.

Your sound could be described as Dark Death Metal, with a strong old school flavor. Was this your intention to play this particular style, or has it evolved since you started?

Thank you for paying such close attention to our music, Dave. This is what we mean by our first demo being displeasing - sure the musicianship is competent, but there was no feeling or purpose to the songs. We have consciously worked hard to get the sound we have and I personally think it's paying off. We are more than proud to be described as dark death metal and yes, this is the style we have been working at all along. The newest songs we have are what we've been striving at and we are all very proud and comfortable with all our material.

How is the song writing done? Do you have a particular writing method or is each song different? What inspires your lyrics?

The song writing is always guitar first, then drums, then bass and vocals. 99% of the songs are written the same way, occasionally something will be a little different. The lyrics are mostly inspired by dark, morbid forms of death/destruction/afterlife which mostly comes from my imagination, books, films or dreams.

The EP contains 4 Encabulos songs, plus a cover of Bolt Thrower's "Cenotaph". Why this particular song? Also, why did you choose to only do an EP and not a full length?

We decided on an EP as we were still fairly unknown and felt it was too early to release a full length. Our next release will be a full length. We had been playing "Cenotaph" for quite a while and when studio time came around, we decided to record it for personal keepings, but once we heard the final result we felt it had to be on the MCD. We chose this cover as it is an old favorite of all of ours. Many people have said it's better than the original - we're not arguing with them - but it is up to the individuals' personal opinion.

Are there any plans to do international tours? If so, when can we see this and who would it likely be with?

At this stage we're focusing more locally as international touring is way out of our budget. It is a dream of ours to one day play on foreign shores, but the reality is we are still a young band, who knows what or where we'll end up.

Apart from Encabulos, what are members involved with (jobs, school, etc)?

Myself, Steve and Adam are all unemployed, so I guess you could say Encabulos is our job. If we're not doing something band-related, we're usually getting smashed or sleeping it off. Michael has part-time work and full-time study so I suppose we're all pretty busy lads.

Whats in you CD player at the moment?

Krisiun - Conquerors of Armageddon, Miscreation - debut demo, Suffocation - Effigy..., Psychrist - Embrace Rapture in Disgust, Immolation - Failures for Gods, Incantation - Forsaken Mourning..., Morbid Angel - Covenant, Misery - Revel in Blasphemy, Angelcorpse - Inexorable, Abramelin - Transgression EP.

How serious do you see Encabulos as being, and what are your future plans?

We treat everything concerning Encabulos very seriously. Encabulos is something we focus our full energies into, therefore we're not going to let anything cease our plight. Future plans, our tshirts will be available very soon, do some more interstate touring and then hopefully venture down to Tassie (where I live - Dave) for a few shows and finishing material for a full length.

Any last words? How can people contact you?

Thanks for the interview and also your interest and support fellow brutal heathens. Anyone interested in contacting us, write to:

OK Dave, again thanks for your help, maybe we will see you on your shores one day. STAY BRUTAL!