In March 1998, F. Penna Correa and Ronaldo Lima, two guitarists who had played together before from 1992 to 1996 in another Death Metal band, came back to the Metal scene… the last drummer who had played with them before, Sandro M., was called again, and a friend, Marcello Marzari, joined the group some months later to be the frontman of a band which is one of the most extreme acts ever seen: REBAELLIUN.
Living in the southernmost state of Brazil, where the underground scene does not support Death Metal music, REBAELLIUN rehearsed for just some months to record their legendary “Promo-Tape 1998” in November, and to invade Europe 1 month later, after they sold everything they had in Brazil…. the band landed in Belgium, where they played the first gig some days later and 16 more concerts during 3 months. REBAELLIUN also played gigs in Holland and Germany, and twice as an open-act for DEICIDE. All the European maniacs were blown out at the places where REBAELLIUN played in a way never seen before, in a pure demonstration of fury and havoc…
After 400 tapes had spread in Europe in a few weeks, they finally signed a deal with ever-growing Dutch label HAMMERHEART Records, and in April 1999 their promo-tape is re-released in an MCD called “At War”, which got superb reviews in magazines all over the world and showed that REBAELLIUN is a band which will make a difference in the scene. Back to Brazil, band recorded new stuff between June/July, 9 tracks which show very fast and extreme music under a killer production, that’s the debut-album of REBAELLIUN, named Burn the Promised Land (released in November 1999). A European tour followed for sure at the beginning of the year (Burning Europe – The Promised Tour 2000), the main tour with LIMBONIC ART and BEHEMOTH must go around 12 countries, and some more gigs were being booked, including a festival in Belgium with Polish masters VADER in February. Be prepared: REBAELLIUN crushes everyone on stage, Brazilian rebel force at war again!!
REBAELLIUN released a new MCD. It does not really last that long. Any comment?
We recorded Bringer of War to have new stuff to promote on the European tour we played in June alongside VADER. I am sure it is good stuff, the recordings are better than on Burn the Promised Land – especially the sound of the drums – and songs like Agonizing by my Hands and Bringer of War have a huge potential.
There is a MORBID ANGEL cover (Day of Suffering) on it. Can we expect more covers in the future?
About recording covers again, I am not sure about that, I can only say we will concentrate more on our own music in years to come.
How did you get signed by HAMMERHEART Records?
First time we went to Europe, at the end of 1998, when we were not playing the shows, we were sending our demo-tape to several labels. We got some offers, HAMMERHEART did the best one and so we signed the deal. Of course we visited their office in Holland and we had a few meetings, but since HAMMERHEART is a label which supports their bands with tours in Europe, we knew they would be the best label for REBAELLIUN.
Why did you record the CD in Brazil? Why in a studio that is not familiar with Metal?
Burn the Promised Land was our first album, it would be too expensive for HAMMERHEART to have the whole line-up in Europe or USA to record it. There are no studios for Metal bands in Brazil, but since we recorded Promo-tape 1998 with good results on that studio, we decided to record the album in the same place. The recordings are not 100%, but we did our best under those conditions, so we are satisfied with the sound. However, the next album will be recorded in Europe, probably in Germany.
The first gig in the FRONTLINE (Ghent) was astonishing and even was a step towards success. Any comment?
That show was an amazing experience for us, we will never forget that evening. After that gig things changed a lot for REBAELLIUN…
During the second gig in the FRONTLINE I barely heard the guitars. How come?
About the second gig, we still do not have our own equipment for shows, so we cannot give the fans a perfect sound every gig, it does not depend on us, it depends on the equipment that is available for us…
Dahl from ABLAZINE drew the logo. I am surprised it was not Christophe Szpajdel. Any explanation?
Actually Dahl started to draw the logo, Marcello (bass/vocals) did the final art. We chose his logo because it was exactly what we wanted. Christophe also drew a logo for us, but it was not good enough.
F. Sasaki is responsible for the cover-artwork. He also did the cover for KRISIUN‘s Apocalyptic Revelations. Tell us more about this guy.
I do not know so much about him, he worked for KRISIUN once, we liked that cover and so we chose him to make our cover art-work. I do not know if he is still working for bands.
How did the promo-CD, the full-length CD and the MCD sell?
Burn the Promised Land sold very well, especially for a debut-album. At War was sold for a very cheap price, it was more to promote the band. And the new Mini-CD is selling pretty well, this album does not last that long, so it is natural that some people do not show so much interest for such stuff, a lot of fans prefer to wait for a whole album, I think.
Isn’t REBAELLIUN more popular in Belgium than in Brazil?
I think that between 1998 and 1999 we were more popular in your country than in ours. Since last year, when we played a big festival here in Brazil, a lot of people started to get interested in our music, especially the press. Nowadays we have a strong name in the underground scene in Brazil, it is the response of the 3 tours we played in Europe. However, the response we got in Belgium since the beginning is really amazing, thanks to all of you who have helped us.
The recording of the CD took a month. Could you tell us what happened during this month? How long did you have to play each day?
I cannot remember how long we played during a day. I remember we stayed in the studio 8 hours a day, most of the time playing, sometimes re-writing the songs. We learned a lot during that month; the engineer was a great guy, he did not know so much about our music, but he was always trying the best for each instrument. Great time indeed.
Any last words?
Firstly, we would like to let people know in Belgium that after the last tour in Europe Marcello left the band. We are still looking for the new frontman, but be sure that the new album will be recorded in Germany in March 2001 at the latest and it will be really faster and more extreme than the previous ones. Thanks for this interview, see you all on the next tour.
Thanks, Fabiano & REBAELLIUN!
Gerrit (16/9/2000)
In March 1998, F. Penna Correa and Ronaldo Lima, two guitarists who had played together before from 1992 to 1996 in another Death Metal band, came back to the Metal scene… the last drummer who had played with them before, Sandro M., was called again, and a friend, Marcello Marzari, joined the group some months later to be the frontman of a band which is one of the most extreme acts ever seen: REBAELLIUN.
Living in the southernmost state of Brazil, where the underground scene does not support Death Metal music, REBAELLIUN rehearsed for just some months to record their legendary “Promo-Tape 1998” in November, and to invade Europe 1 month later, after they sold everything they had in Brazil…. the band landed in Belgium, where they played the first gig some days later and 16 more concerts during 3 months. REBAELLIUN also played gigs in Holland and Germany, and twice as an open-act for DEICIDE. All the European maniacs were blown out at the places where REBAELLIUN played in a way never seen before, in a pure demonstration of fury and havoc…
After 400 tapes had spread in Europe in a few weeks, they finally signed a deal with ever-growing Dutch label HAMMERHEART Records, and in April 1999 their promo-tape is re-released in an MCD called “At War”, which got superb reviews in magazines all over the world and showed that REBAELLIUN is a band which will make a difference in the scene. Back to Brazil, band recorded new stuff between June/July, 9 tracks which show very fast and extreme music under a killer production, that’s the debut-album of REBAELLIUN, named Burn the Promised Land (released in November 1999). A European tour followed for sure at the beginning of the year (Burning Europe – The Promised Tour 2000), the main tour with LIMBONIC ART and BEHEMOTH must go around 12 countries, and some more gigs were being booked, including a festival in Belgium with Polish masters VADER in February. Be prepared: REBAELLIUN crushes everyone on stage, Brazilian rebel force at war again!!
REBAELLIUN released a new MCD. It does not really last that long. Any comment?
We recorded Bringer of War to have new stuff to promote on the European tour we played in June alongside VADER. I am sure it is good stuff, the recordings are better than on Burn the Promised Land – especially the sound of the drums – and songs like Agonizing by my Hands and Bringer of War have a huge potential.
There is a MORBID ANGEL cover (Day of Suffering) on it. Can we expect more covers in the future?
About recording covers again, I am not sure about that, I can only say we will concentrate more on our own music in years to come.
How did you get signed by HAMMERHEART Records?
First time we went to Europe, at the end of 1998, when we were not playing the shows, we were sending our demo-tape to several labels. We got some offers, HAMMERHEART did the best one and so we signed the deal. Of course we visited their office in Holland and we had a few meetings, but since HAMMERHEART is a label which supports their bands with tours in Europe, we knew they would be the best label for REBAELLIUN.
Why did you record the CD in Brazil? Why in a studio that is not familiar with Metal?
Burn the Promised Land was our first album, it would be too expensive for HAMMERHEART to have the whole line-up in Europe or USA to record it. There are no studios for Metal bands in Brazil, but since we recorded Promo-tape 1998 with good results on that studio, we decided to record the album in the same place. The recordings are not 100%, but we did our best under those conditions, so we are satisfied with the sound. However, the next album will be recorded in Europe, probably in Germany.
The first gig in the FRONTLINE (Ghent) was astonishing and even was a step towards success. Any comment?
That show was an amazing experience for us, we will never forget that evening. After that gig things changed a lot for REBAELLIUN…
During the second gig in the FRONTLINE I barely heard the guitars. How come?
About the second gig, we still do not have our own equipment for shows, so we cannot give the fans a perfect sound every gig, it does not depend on us, it depends on the equipment that is available for us…
Dahl from ABLAZINE drew the logo. I am surprised it was not Christophe Szpajdel. Any explanation?
Actually Dahl started to draw the logo, Marcello (bass/vocals) did the final art. We chose his logo because it was exactly what we wanted. Christophe also drew a logo for us, but it was not good enough.
F. Sasaki is responsible for the cover-artwork. He also did the cover for KRISIUN’s Apocalyptic Revelations. Tell us more about this guy.
I do not know so much about him, he worked for KRISIUN once, we liked that cover and so we chose him to make our cover art-work. I do not know if he is still working for bands.
How did the promo-CD, the full-length CD and the MCD sell?
Burn the Promised Land sold very well, especially for a debut-album. At War was sold for a very cheap
price, it was more to promote the band. And the new Mini-CD is selling pretty well, this album does not last that long, so it is natural that some people do not show so much interest for such stuff, a lot of fans prefer to wait for a whole album, I think.
Isn’t REBAELLIUN more popular in Belgium than in Brazil?
I think that between 1998 and 1999 we were more popular in your country than in ours. Since last year, when we played a big festival here in Brazil, a lot of people started to get interested in our music, especially the press. Nowadays we have a strong name in the underground scene in Brazil, it is the response of the 3 tours we played in Europe. However, the response we got in Belgium since the beginning is really amazing, thanks to all of you who have helped us.
The recording of the CD took a month. Could you tell us what happened during this month? How long did you have to play each day?
I cannot remember how long we played during a day. I remember we stayed in the studio 8 hours a day, most of the time playing, sometimes re-writing the songs. We learned a lot during that month; the engineer was a great guy, he did not know so much about our music, but he was always trying the best for each instrument. Great time indeed.
Any last words?
Firstly, we would like to let people know in Belgium that after the last tour in Europe Marcello left the band. We are still looking for the new frontman, but be sure that the new album will be recorded in Germany in March 2001 at the latest and it will be really faster and more extreme than the previous ones. Thanks for this interview, see you all on the next tour.
Thanks, Fabiano & REBAELLIUN!
Gerrit (16/9/2000)
THRONE OF ABSENCE 