In the late eighties and early nineties, it seemed like Florida had the market cornered when it came to American Death Metal. But in the years following, there wasn't much in the way of new blood rising from the Sunshine State... until now. Hailing from Tampa Bay, THE ABSENCE are that new blood. Incorporating the more European melodic style in with the American brutality, THE ABSENCE are making waves with their debut album "From Your Grave" on Metal Blade Records and have won over audiences across the U.S. and Canada on the recent Metal Crusaders tour, opening for bands no less than VADER, KATAKLYSM and DESTRUCTION. If this is what happens with THE ABSENCE after the release of just one album, there is no telling just how far they will go in the long term.

What is like being such a young band going out on tour with so many established veterans?

"It's pretty amazing, I guess would be the first word that comes to mind, flattering, you know. We've learned a lot, you know, just as far as the business aspect goes, so touring with all these big bands that have been around for a long time has definitely been a help on us. With the stuff that they know, they've given us an insight on a few things that we didn't have before that we have now, to a certain degree. It's been a really good time - been good all around."

Are there any shows that have stood out among the others?

"Montreal was pretty awesome, San Francisco was pretty awesome... Florida, Tampa, was awesome; it was a good welcome home. Fort Lauderdale, I guess those would be the stand out ones."

What was it like working with Erik Rutan on your first album?

"Pretty much amazing, you know, like I said with the first question. I mean, he's a legend with HATE ETERNAL and with his previous bands and stuff, so... I don't know. He's just an awesome dude, he's really easy to work with and he knows his shit."

When can we expect work on a new album to begin?

"We've started writing some stuff that Pete and Patrick have. So I can't really say a date or any specific times, 'cause we've got some tour obligations and stuff like that, but when we get home, we're going to sort through some things and pretty much get started on this new record."

How's the relationship with Metal Blade?

"Oh, it's awesome. We just finally met with them face to face on their ground in California and we went out to dinner with them - we had a really good time and they came out and saw us at a couple of the shows and, you know, it was awesome all around. So it was cool to see them and they were supporting us and obviously we're supporting them, so it was a good time."

Okay. Now do you think we'll ever see recordings surface of the songs that were written during the band's original incarnation?

"Probably not. I know we have some demo/scratch stuff, but that's probably been long erased. I know I had some stuff, um... I don't think I have it anymore, but it's not like there was any vocals or leads or anything - it was just like scratch guitar and scratch drums and it was pretty bad, so probably not."

So just kind of a different style back then?

"Yeah. In all honesty, it was pretty much a completely different band, but Patrick and I jut carried the name over and said 'look, it's a good name', you know. We've... I don't know. I mean, we're pretty much staying the same style, we're still a metal band; we just kind of trimmed the fat off a little bit, so to say. So we're like "you know what, we're busting our ass for this, so we're keeping the name."

What was it like filming the title track from the album, the video, in a former convent that is reputedly haunted?

"It was pretty cool. There was definitely a weird ambiance going around. I definitely got stuck on the top floor and the elevator wouldn't work, which was kind of creepy and stuff like that. Other than that, nothing really weird happened, but there was definitely an aura, I guess so to say, going around, but the crew was awesome, the place was awesome - it was a beautiful old building and it went relatively easy, smooth." [FIN]