When people in the metal world mentions Brazil, inmediately the name of Sepultura arises But the brazilian metal scene is much, much more than this band. In this interview, Fabiano Penna shows us this world of extreme heavy music that is lurking in Brazil and it´s spreading its wings to the rest of the world.

How was the recording of the new album? Can you tell us the name of it and give us the name in advance of some songs? Why was it recorded in Germany?
"Annihilation", our new album, was recorded at
Stage One Studio, in Germany, cause we would never get
the same quality regarding recordings if we had worked
in a Brazilian Studio, we have good studios in our
country but we still don't have good sound engineers
to record extreme music. The recordings were fucking
well, we got a very good sound and it was really easy
to work on that studio. Some of the tracks which will
be in "Annihilation" are: "Unborn Consecration",
"Steel Siege", "Defying the Plague"... the album will
be out in August by Hammerheart.


How did you get the deal with Hammerheart Records? I read that it had something to do with a Belgium Tour
that you did...
This is probably the most important story about REBAELLIUN... We started this band in March '98, in November of the same year we recorded a 2 track promo-tape and then we went to Europe (Belgium) to look for better support for us. We played several
shows in that country (in Holland and Germany too...)
during the 3 months we stood there, and so a lot of
people started to talk about REBAELLIUN. We got some
offers from European labels and Hammerheart did the
best offer by far... so, in February '99 we signed the
deal and since then we have worked with this label
promoting REBAELLIUN and the Brazilian Death Metal in
the worldwide scene.


How has been the reaction of the European Death Metal audience to your albums and shows?
It has been great. We are still a young band in
the scene, but nowadays we can say that REBAELLIUN has
a solid fanbase around the world, specially in Europe.
In 2 years we played around 70 gigs in the European
territory, our label comes from Holland, and so
REBAELLIUN has got several chances to promote our
music overthere.


How were the beginnings of the band before you could record with Hammerheart Records?
The main story about our beginning was that story
I told you before... we have been in the Death Metal
scene since '92, playing in other bands, but since we
started REBAELLIUN we already knew that we wanted
something more intense for this band, I mean, we
wanted a good label working to make the band very
known in the scene and tours in other countries to
show our music to the fans. On the first months we
were just rehearsing and writing the songs, and then
we went to Europe and the real story started...


What can you tell me about your previous experience with Blessed?
With Blessed we learned a lot about music and
about the Brazilian scene. We played in that band from
'92 to '96, but we were too young and so we could not
do what we did in REBAELLIUN, I mean, going to Europe
to get a record deal, we could not have done this
thing that time, we were really too young for that.


How have the re entry of Ronaldo Lima and the addition of Lohy Fabiano affected the music in REBAELLIUN?
We feel that now we have a solid line-up, we can
say that we are finally finding our own style and
everybody in REBAELLIUN is very conscious of this
situation. This is our best line-up ever.


How different is "Burn the promised land" to "At War"? And how different is the new material to this two releases?
"At War" was recorded as a promo-tape. When we
recorded "Burn the Promised Land", the two tracks from
"At War" were re-recorded for the album, they are just
a bit faster and more intense in the full-lenght CD...
"Annihilation", the new album, sounds faster and more
intense/aggressive than "Burn the Promised Land", the
musicianship is now in a higher level as well, and the
production/recordings are much better. This is our
best album, but the next one will be better than
"Annihilation", this is always the goal.


Has the band been associated with Sepultura because of the country where you come from? Is that a strategy that labels use to promote Brazilian bands?
Not at all. REBAELLIUN plays extreme Death Metal
and there's nothing to be associated with Sepultura,
our label would never use this to promote REBAELLIUN,
we have our own style and this is enough.


Do you have plans of touring in South America and include Argentina in the tour?
Of course we have, I've heard Deicide, Cannibal
Corpse and Morbid Angel played in Argentina in the
past, and so, why not REBAELLIUN?? We are waiting for
offers from your gig promoters...


Have the members of the band succeeded in making a living playing Death Metal or is it almost impossible to do it?
It's hard, but not impossible. We still cannot
live by depending on REBAELLIUN exclusively, but we
know how to manage this situation to have 100% of the
time to focus on the band. This is a choice, if you
really wanna live by playing Death Metal, you can do
this, but of course you will loose other things...


How do you see the Death and Black Metal scene from Brazil these days compared to when you started the band?
Much better, of course. Do you want some band
names? Krisiun, Abhorrence, Nephasth, Mental Horror,
Horned God, Ophiolatry, Funeratus, Ancestral
Malediction, etc.


Have you been influenced by Brazilian Metal bands but also by composers as Villa-Lobos or Tom Jobim?
As a band, we have been influenced by Slayer and
Morbid Angel. As musicians, all kinds of good music,
and Villa Lobos & Tom Jobim are two of the most
important Brazilian composers ever, so of course we
have some influence from them.


Any final thoughts?
Thanks for the interview and support. As I said
before, we are very close to Argentina, and we would
like to play in your country in a near future, so we
are here waiting for an offer to play to the extreme
fans over there. Visit www.rebaelliun.com and keep
supporting the extreme Metal scene.