Tripalium:This controversial band from the south of the Philippines is doing something many fear to tread. They were the oly band that I have ever seen who showed total hatred to the Zionist and suport to the Muslims, paticularly the Palestines, anfd they are doing it through brutal blastings. Guitarist Abdullah speaks of the music and why they chose the arabic theme to their brand of Death Metal.

Hey Abdullah, how are things going in the Iblis front?

We've changed names recently, from Iblis to Al Iblis. Right now, all is going well, things will stay that way until the 2nd or 3rd week of July this year, our 12 year old drummer will be leaving for the UK. After that, we have no idea what comes next.

The band's been around for only a short period of time and yet a demo is already available. Why did you decided to record that fast?

Like i said earlier, we'll be left out without a drummer by mid July. So we made it a point to record our stuff as soon as possible, even with the fucking 'little' means we had at our disposal.

Tell us more about "Righteous Hegemony"? This demo was dedicated to Ariel Sharon, right?

Ariel Sharon, personally, is my hero. A blood thirsty barbarian who should have been expelled out of his father's testicles, by whatever means - you fill in the details [LOL]. To make it short, Sharon is a Pig.

I'm quite intrigued by "Pig Speech". Will you tell us more about this song/sample?

I got it off the web actually. It's a speech by David Levy, I dunno what his position is, maybe a foreign minister of the state of Israel. These are the type of speeches that fuel chaos, death, and destruction. Its infuriating to hear, and to see speeches like these from a 'nation', who 50-60 years ago were subjected to racism by the Nazis.

And the Arabic chant "Awak", do you really think it is important to have it on your demo?

lol. I dunno, a lot of my friends are scared with that song, understandably so, as Filipinos are so used to western music. I just liked the idea of having that on our material.

The song "Ramallah", which is available on your site wasn't on the demo. Was it intentional not to include this song?

Nope. Our bassist/vocalist decided not to have that included. He 'abominates' [lol] the bassline I did for that song. But we're to record that in a few days to come, preferrably with a better song arrangement.

What about the instrumental "Schindler's Lie", was this instrumental track ever recorded?

This track will most definitely come in late. No drums, no crunchy guitars, just acoustics, and keyboards I think.

I'm quite aware of this but will you tell us about your lyrical contents?

hmmmm. I dunno dude, that's a sensitive issue for us. We are sticking to the idea that we will never divulge the lyrical contents of any of our songs.

I'd say that you guys are very brave, tackling sensitive political issues like the Palestinian conflict knowing that most people in our country sympathizes with Israel.

Yeap. I myself, used to sympathize with Israel. As a christian, speaking for myself and others, 'we' have this affinity for Israel, thinking that this is the same Israel 1,000 BC ago.

But no, this state of Israel, especially their leaders, are usurpers. The Ancient Israel were commanded by YHVH to respect human life, to love outsiders living among them, and is this the Israel we see today?

Another thing, how would I or you feel, for example, if the Philippines were attacked by a powerful country, just because they were 'promised' that the country - I consider home, the country where I was born - 'belonged to them'?Then they come in and demolish my house, rape my sister, and murder my relatives? If you were in the Palestinians' position, how would you feel? This is simply, human rights.

With your blatant hatred against the Zionist and almost provocative support to Islam, have you ever thought that you might get harassed by local pigs (cops), especially considering the current situation in Zamboanga?

Yeap. but how can they? We have nothing against the Philippine government, or express anything of that sort. We are just expressing our opinion, and support for basic human rights, especially in Palestine, where state domination and oppression is being enacted even as I write this. There is no other country today that does the same despicable things, as that which is being done by the state of Israel. 10 years ago, there was South Africa.

What is it you find very interesting in Islam?

Hmmmm. Its probably their discipline, and their dedication, and many of them have died for their religion. I have not seen that in most christian sects/denominations; not to mention the pervasive decadent lifestyle.

It's your deep interest in Islam that made Limmah "jittery", as you put it, in joining Iblis at first. How did you convinced him in the end?

Nah. Its not about Islam that made Limmah feel that way, its his fear that the government would 'hunt us' down. But I assured him, that this band is NOT anti-Philippine government, or anything of sort.

He probably felt relieved when I told him that there are even Americans who openly protest against the cruelty of this apartheid policy of the State of Israel.

You guys aren't Muslim but you have adapted Muslim names. Do you think this is really important?

Well, its just like role playing, you just need to have the look, and the feel to make it work.

Muslim has a bad image not only in our rotten country but in the west as well. This is mainly because of the terrorist activities by some fundamentalist/ extremists. Will you tell us your opinion about these acts?

First off, i wouldn't consider our contry rotten. There can never be a replacement for Filipino Dishes, and most importantly the Filipino laungage. Iba talaga ang wikang Pilipino - hehehe. Its an awesome country, The only fault we have is the leadership, both past and present, and probably in most of the future. Corruption is a virtue by most politicians, like overgrown pythons, they act in accordance with the serpentine call of bloating one's innards first.

As for the main question regarding terrorism: We do not support acts of terrorism, this is where 'we' are at 'fray' with Islamic fundamentalists. THERE IS NO WORLD PEACE, you cannot enforce peace by domination, even if the whole world converts to Islam, or to Christianity, strife and suffering will always be there, for so long as Al Iblis is at large, it is but a pipe dream to achieve world peace by any means. We can only do so little as respect human life, our differences, that we can contribute a little to stabilizing the situation.

So much for that. Let's talk about the latest gig that you had in Davao. Tell us more about it. Who are the bands that participated?

It was fine. We were upstarts, we hadn't any fan base like the other bands, as you probably are not aware, the Davao 'crowd' is very DIFFICULT to please, even mainstream artists are aware of that. Anyhow, we managed to move the crowd at about the third and fourth song, and they were shocked to see a little boy pound the skin with that furious energy and consistency.

Major local bands like Decapitated, Dysentery, and Funebral were there, and they had a large gathering.

Was it on that gig that you recorded the Deicide cover? That was an awesome track despite its raw production.

Nope. We recorded that track at the basement of my cousin.

The demo has a different sound quality between songs. Can you tell us about the recording of this demo?

I dunno, but Boyet- my cousin, does that, I dunno much about the production.

Will you tell us more about each member's musical background?

im stuck with the old death metal bands such as Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, Mortificaton, Incantation, Brutality, and Sinister. There are the bands that really hit me in the arse, lol.

Limmah is more with Obituary, Death, Slayer, and also goes for Cannibal Corpse.

Khalil our drummer has the same taste as mine, but he goes on with bands like Cryptopsy, Cephalic Carnage, Dying Fetus, and Internal Bleeding.

Aside from Iblis, do you have any other side projects/bands?

nope, Limmah is with a hardcore band, while Khalil is currently forming a grindcore band.

Davao Death website is a very good idea to support local (Davao) bands. Whose idea is it in the first place?

I believe it is you who updates this site. Its my cousins' site, the one I mentioned earlier - Boyet. I frequent their internet cafe, that's why I get reply e-mails that fast.

Tell us more about the scene in Davao. Who are the bands that you feel really deserves stronger attention?

In my opinion - Dysentery, they are really good.

Why do you think there is a very strong underground following in Davao?

Its probably the stupid financial crisis we have in our coutry. Here in Davao we have an extremely narrow progression financially.

Korihor and Decapitated somehow opened the door for local bands to get active in the scene? What can you say about these bands?

These bands are really awesome. I got to hear the demo 2002 for Korihor, and it really kicks ass, especially their song - Nefarious Christian Annihilator. Decapitated is somewhat doomish, a nerve wreaking band!

What about in other provinces around Davao? Are you in touch with some bands in Mindanao area?

I personally have acquaintances with bands from Tagum, North Davao, such as Infernal Storm, and Apocalips.

Thanx a lot Abdullah for your time in answering this interview. Last words are yours bro.

Thanx Bro! Salamat sa supporta mo sa mga local bands galing Pinas! More power and keep it Sick! Al Iblis will probably record four more songs, but it wont be included in Righteous Hegemony. We already have track titles for the said material i.e. RIGHTEOUS HEGEMONY, GULBUDIN ALI AL RABBANI, RAMALLAH. That's it for now - DEATH IS PEACE ETERNAL! ! DEATH METAL IS THE ONLY WAY!

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http://www.iblis.freeurl.com