"Brutal Grinding Death Metal has been my favorite genre of music since 1998. I felt the calling and desire to start a solo project that was incredibly intense while writing lyrics that reflected my life, various social matters, psychological issues, and my faith as a Christian. I will always strive to glorify God in this manner, in good times and bad; in the midst of persecution, and for as long as it takes to complete Encryptor's mission." (Felipe Diez III).

(In the words of Felipe "Phil") Encryptor is a brutal death metal band / project from Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.A. It has been so since August of 2004. Before this time, it has always been mentioned as a musical project from the Republic of Panama. Even though I have always been proud of its Panamanian roots for more than 5 years, my move to Rhode Island in August of 2004 officially means that Encryptor is no longer from the aforementioned country, but is now part of the American Death / Grind scene.

The name "Encryptor" came to mind instantly after a few minutes of deep thoughts in mid-1999 while I was a freshman in college in Pennsylvania, U.S.A. There existed bold and daring plans to make this something impacting, but very few funds were available. I was determined, however, to make this vision a reality. I was in college at the time, and decided to focus on my studies rather than getting a job. With monthly government checks (long story) and aid from relatives, I was able to design this amateur website and begin a 3 song recording with a limited budget in late 1999 when traveling back to Panama for Summer and Winter vacations. The songs: PORTAL OF DEMONIC TORMENT, INTO THE LIVES OF THE UNBLESSED, and PROPHECY OF INFINITY were quickly written and recorded in only 3 days during one of these vacations. I had about 2 years of previous experience while playing and recording with my old band Ministros del Santuario (the first death metal band with Christian lyrics from Panama, which is now disbanded), so I had little difficulty in creating songs for Encryptor. The problem was a lack of time and money to do things correctly, and a studio that was not fit for a great sounding product. As a consequence, the three songs were rushed. The recording sounded raw, muddy, and was mastered improperly. I left back to college to finish my freshman year quite disillusioned, but not defeated.

I returned to Panama during the Summer of 2000 to record 3 more songs in the same studio, this time with a slightly larger budget. Some more time was taken to write and record INFERNAL CATASTROPHY, THE PRICE OF SUBMISSION, and DROWNING IN IGNORANCE. The production was better, and the songwriting had improved significantly. The songs were faster and more technical than in the previous attempt, but the production still wasn't great. After a few months, I decided to record two more songs (POST MORTEM SOUL and MISFORTUNED AT BIRTH) at a different studio (Insomnio), with better equipment. These songs are considered, in general, to be the best songs on Encryptor's first album. Returning to college for my sophomore year, I now had a cdr with 8 songs (35 minues of music). I decided that it would be a good idea to edit a first album, however, I didn't know exactly how I was going to do this. After a few months of label searching with no results, I struck a deal (the label will remain unmentioned). About 150 cds of the first album titled "Drowning in Flesh" were pressed and distributed, but the deal ended abruptly, so Encryptor was left with no option but to release its material independently. This is when my tiny but determined record label, Dysmorphic Records, was born. While in Panama in 2001, 200 cassttes and 50 cds of "Drowning in Flesh" were distributed in Panama (and in some parts in the U.S). They were somewhat of a success, and Encryptor was mostly well received by both Christians and non-Christians.

A few people expressed their discontent with the material, artwork, and packaging of the CD. After some thought, I understood why. Encryptor needed better production and more brutality to compete with the beasts of the time. Also, a low number of copies pressed meant that this first album would be very hard to obtain. No more copies were pressed, and I had to encourage people to pirate the music while putting the whole album on mp3.com, kaaza, napster, and other file haring programs which helped Encryptor immensely. Still, I again became disillusioned and began to focuson black metal for some time. My attention was shifted to creating Sorrowstorm (black metal band / project) in 2001, and the whole year was spent recording and heavily promoting this new enterprise. This decision would haunt me forever, and it hurt Encryptor significantly. I had to give my two "pets" simultaneous attention, and they were often fighting against each other to receive proper funding and "bacon strips". People from all over the planet were writing to me, requesting Encryptor cds, only to be told to download them and become pirates. Sorrowstorm was becoming much more successful at the time, but I knew that I had to continue Encryptor, as my love for Brutal Death Metal continued to grow.

In early 2002, I entered a Panamanian studio (Insomnio) and recorded 4 songs with, again, a limited budget (thanks to Sorrowstorm). There were 2 Encryptor songs in this recording. These were IMAGES OF TRAGEDY and BRUTALIZER OF HUMANITY, which appeared on the Screams of Abaddon compilation released by Dysmorphic Records (and the late Laceration productions). During the Summer of 2002, More Encryptor songs were recorded. The 8 Encryptor songs in total sounded raw, static, and were poorly mixed, because of the limits of Insomnio Studios. (In parenthesis, Insomnio Studios has recently sold their old equipment and is now a professional studio.)

The new Encryptor album was recorded with a damaged Death Metal DoD pedal, a fender guitar and bass, and a damaged amp. To this day, I don't know how and why I let this happen. The only consolation to this whole mess was that the songs were faster and more brutal than any of the songs on "Drowning in Flesh," so I had made some vast songwriting improvements. After having spent an eternity borrowing instruments, spending money on taxis, running around in the humid Panamanian heat, and carrying my drumset up and down the stairs, I WAS AGAIN AND AGAIN DISILLUSIONED AND FRUSTRATED WITH ENCRYPTOR!!! I had nobody to blame but myself and my empty wallet. This prompted me to return to Sorrowstorm with a head hanging low and angry relatives demanding to know why I had screwed up so many times. Advertising and Promoting two solo projects was exhausting and time-consuming. The worst part is that Encryptor and Sorrowstorm had to be advertised both in Spanish and English, thus further increasing my work load. I would stay up all night many times, sending annoying but informative and productive forwards to thousands of people, only to complicate my health problems while receiving harsh discipline from my father for living a zombie lifestyle. Many a times, I was tempted to drop one project, but could not decide which one to dump. It was acruel and traumatizing stalemate.

Things for Encryptor would not remain bleak forever. God always rewards hard work, perseverance, and a willing heart. Later in the year 2002, I began associating with a lad from Tampa, Florida (He now lives in Seattle). For 1000 dollars (not including airfare), we would remix the new Encryptor cd in an excellent home studio. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my musical career. Ryan (the Florida Contact) and his friends made sure I had a magnificent time. I even got to meet members from the bands: Royal Anguish, Soul of the Savior, and Eversinceve. Problems did arise with the Encryptor material. There was a great deal of difficulty transfering the backup files into Ryan's computer, resulting in a long and tedious song reconstruction process and mixing. Some files were lost or destroyed, and had to be re-recorded (The song "Sermon Decay" had to be re-recorded entirely). Nevertheless, after a great deal of staying up late and eating fast food, the product was almost finished before my plane left back to Panama. The unfinished work was then worked on through long distance coordinating and sent to my computer while I was back in Pennsylvania during my senior year. I don't regret the arduous task. People all over the world were beginning to notice Encryptor, and the fanbase was growing considerably. I then had the master copy of Encryptor's "Sermon Decay" album with 8 songs (31 minutes) of ultra brutal death metal which rivaled some of the more brutal bands out there in both speed and brutality, according to magazines and websites. I was mostly content with the product and couldn't wait to send it to labels. I immediately struck a deal with a label but we then parted on good terms. Again, I was left with the task of releasing the album independently, this time pressing 1000 copies. The album "Sermon Decay" was released in 2003 and was very well received and distributed in 10 countries, mostly in Latin America where most of the fanbase is located. Most of the artwork and layouts for Encryptor packaging and the website were created by Joshua Croft, and were highly acclaimed by the public.

Beginning in 2004, I decided to put Encryptor in the back burner for some time due to immense stress and some serious health problems which left me mostly unable to pursue music at all. I quickly sold off the last copies of Sermon Decay and limited my operations to answering occasional interviews, e-mails, and the like. I had finally graduated from College, and a new chapter in my life had arrived. After Encryptor's 5 year anniversary, I condluded that I had done a pretty good job considering the harsh situations that I had endured. Recently, the Florida label Bombworks Records has expressed interest in re-releasing "Drowning in Flesh" and "Sermon Decay" in one disc, to distribute at Blastbeats.com. I will also re-press both albums (in spanish) as well to distribute in Latin America, to complement Bombwork's valuable assistance. After all this, Encryptor will rest. There will be no more re-pressings of past material. Someday Encryptor will return if God wills it.

Encryptor's lyrics, although many times rough and hostile, embody what I belive faith and endurance is all about in the Christian experience. They depict many personal emotions but focus on Biblical concepts and ideas.

If you are interested in a description of Encryptor's sound, here are the influences of the first album: (Suffocation, Incantation, Internal Bleeding,Monstrosity, etc.)

Second album: (Disgorge (Mex and Cali), Immolation (minor), Incantation (minor), Purulent, Internal Suffering, Suffocation, and Cinerary.)



Source : http://www.angelfire.com/band/Encryptor/bio.html