MIKE BROWNING (USA)
PART II - INCUBUS


After your departure from MORBID ANGEL you joined INCUBUS, which was founded in Georgia, by vocalist/bassist Sterling Van Scarborough, guitarist Steve "Skellator" Shoemaker and drummer Rich Fuscia, how did you hook up with them? Did you move perhaps to Georgia?
No I never went to Georgia, Sterling actually joined MORBID ANGEL here in Tampa, David Vincent knew him because Skellator had been playing in David's band BARREN CEMETARY, but Sterling had this band before he joined MORBID ANGEL. So when Sterling and I split with MORBID ANGEL, we just got a new guitar player and reformed INCUBUS in Tampa.

How was at that time the metal scene in Georgia compared to Tampa? Were there in Georgia cool metal bands as well? I have no idea, I never went to Georgia. Sterling had a band before INCUBUS BURIED IN CEMETERY, what about this band? Did you know them? Did they record demos at that time?
I didn't know about any of his bands before INCUBUS, he never mentioned any. I don't know if Sterling ever recorded anything before that INCUBUS demo.

Skellator was the member of HALLOW'S EVE as well, was he in INCUBUS a session musician or a full time member?
Probably a full time member, but I never talked to him about INCUBUS, we only met once.

Did you like HALLOW'S EVE? They had a big (cult) name in the scene at that time, right?
Yes, from what I remember they had a pretty good following, but it wasn't a band I really ever listened to that much.

Steve played later in LESTREGUS NOSFERATUS, was it a project or a band? Have you ever heard of this act?
I heard an old demo, but I didn't realize it was Steve who was in it, I remember it being pretty cool stuff though.

What about the musical background of Rich? Did he leave the band after you joined them?
All I know about Rich was that he played drums in INCUBUS at first when they were in Georgia and that he also did that INCUBUS logo and artwork, but I never heard him play.

Skellator also replaced by Gino Marino, how did he get in the picture? What about his group TERROR?
I knew Gino from the Tampa scene, so after the split from MORBID ANGEL Sterling and I reformed INCUBUS with Gino on guitar. Gino had a band TERROR, I saw them rehearse a few times, but they nevere played out that I know of.

Did he join the band because Skellator didn’t want to move Florida and he didn't want to give up the career of HALLOW’S EVE? Was HALLOW’S EVE more important for him than INCUBUS?
No, Steve was never asked to join INCUBUS when it reformed.

At that time was another band which called INCUBUS, but they came from Louisiana, didn't the fans confuse the two groups with each other? Were there musical and lyrical differences between the two INCUBUS?
The two bands were completely different and actually those guys from Louisiana did move to Tampa for a little while, so that confused things even more, but by then I had already formed NOCTURNUS.

You recorded a three track demo "God Died On His Knees", what about the recording sessions of this tape? How would you describe the songs both musically and lyricswise?
Brutal insanity! We went in the studio and recorded it in one night and we had never heard Sterling sing before either, he never sang at practice. We didn't have a PA back then.

Was it a studio recording or did you record it at your rehearsal place?
It was a studio recording.

The demo was also known as "Engulfed In Unspeakable Horrors", was it a bootleg vesion? Were there at that time two different versions in the tapetrading scene? Were there differences between the tapes?
I only knew of the one demo and version, if there were others it is news to me!

Did you shop the demo to attract label interests?
NO, the band never lasted that long!

Was INCUBUS meant a real group right from the start or was it rather a hobby one, a project?
It was supposed to be a very serious band.

Have you ever gigged with INCUBUS? Are there perhaps INCUBUS bootlegs in the underground circulation?
No, we never got the chance to play live and we never even recorded any rehearsals, Sterling didn't allow it.

At that time were made some t-shirts as well, what about your merchandise? How many items did you sell at that time both from the demo and from the t-shirt? In my opinion the t-shirt is nowadays rarity, a real, underground, collector item, right?
The only two things we ever had was the demo and the T-Shirts and yes they are very hard to find an expensive when you do find one!

The demo was released two years later on vinyl as well. There are two different versions, the first one by Gore Records (label run by Slatko Dolic R.I.P.) with high quality cover printing and red vinyl, the second one was done by Nuclear Blast, the label that distributed Gore and it's simpler and has with poorer production than the original. What can you say about it?
Actually both were put out by Gore, the first was a limited edition and the second was just the regular release. I think altogether with both releases there were only a couple thousand ever printed.

Did Gore Records at that time offer you a deal? Did they have more bands? What kind of releaes did they have at that time?
No there was no deal at all, Slatko asked, if he could put it out and I said I didn't own the name or the rights to it, so if he wanted to release it, it would be as a bootleg and I had no involvement legally. I just gave him some artwork and pictures in turn for about 100 copies. That was my only involvement.

Were you in touch with Slatko? Did you know him
personally?
Just through the mail, I had never met him personally.

Why and when did he die?
I don't remember the year exactly, but I do remember he died from some type of brain tumor.

Why and when did INCUBUS split up? Why was it a short-lived act?
It only lasted about 6 months, I went to work one day and I came back home and Sterling told me that him and Gino had went to the beach and got drunk and got in a real fight and Gino beat up Sterling and took off and quit, at that point to I decided to quit and form my own band!

Would you say, that INCUBUS has/had a reputation in the scene, did you reach a cult status? Do still the old fans remember the band?
Oh yes, people still to this day ask about INCUBUS!!! I think because of it's short lifespan it definitely became a cult band.

What do nowadays Sterling and Rich do? Are you still in touch with them? Are they still in the music business?
I haven't heard from Sterling in over 10 years and I never actually met Rich.

What do you think about the reunion of HALLOW'S EVE and about thier comeback release "Evil Never Dies"?
I saw them play live here in Tampa, but it wasn't the same without the original singer.

Interview: David Laszlo

continue with next part -> NOCTURNUS

more infos about INCUBUS