Welcome to a feature where we sit down and talk to bands and artists about their latest albums to find out all about it. Today we speak to Chiliean band Engrupid PiPoL about the album Quadragenta at Finem Mundi.

Hello nice to meet you, tell us about yourself!

Hi everyone! Engrupid pipol is an instrumental progressive metal band that was formed in 2000 under the name Sifilis, in Santiago, Chile. It consists of Kaztrol on guitar, John Dai on bass, and Nacho on drums. After recording two albums as Sifilis, in 2010, the band decided to take an evolutionary leap in terms of composition and commitment to music. This is how a new band concept was born with a new name: Engrupid Pipol.

The members remained the same, but music was now more than just a hobby; it was a way of life, and there was a vision, with short and long-term goals and objectives. In 2016, Engrupid Pipol debuted with their first LP, Essenchial Engrupid Element. Then in 2022, they released their second album, Engrupid Divais, which was nominated for a Pulsar Award (the highest award in Chilean music) under the category of best metal album. Both albums feature promotional singles Mama Oclo, Jueves de Trauko, and Chaknator, Tuto Wawa, and Championz of the Univerz, respectively. In January 2025, the band was awarded a grant from the Chilean government that allowed them to record their latest album, “Quadragenta at Finem Mundi,” which is now available on all digital platforms.

Tell us about the new album

Quadragenta at Finem Mundi is Engrupid Pipol’s third studio album and our first conceptual album. It consists of seven “acts” that recount the end of our days as a civilisation in a modern apocalypse. The themes addressed include philosophical aspects and a critique of the global lifestyle. Thermonuclear war, artificial intelligence to the deteriorating human development and intellect, the madness of pretending to be successful and happy on social media and going viral, consumer society, and the maelstrom of the fast-paced disposable world are the themes addressed in an album in which each song transports us to one of these scenarios.

Quadragenta at Finem Mundi already has a promotional single, Tripel Ultimatum, the opening track on the album, with a videoclip available on YouTube. It tells the story of three survivors of thermonuclear war and their last days before the end of time and a universal reset.

Favourite track in new album and why?

It’s a hard question to answer. I find that each song is a world unto itself, and I like them all almost equally. However, I think Tripel Ultimatum and Voragine are two songs that people should not overlook. The first is a more classic metal song, with exquisite riffs and melodies that will stay in your brain, and the second is a song that is influenced by our culture, more progressive, with original soundscapes that never cease to amaze.

Tell us a bit about the recording process, was it fun to do?

Of course, it was fun, but it was also an extremely challenging experience. To record and produce this album, we received funding from the Chilean government, which financed almost the entire recording and post-production process. This allowed us to work at the highest level in technical and human aspects for the first time, and forced us not to waste this opportunity and to give 110% to compose and perform an album that would be the best of our lives. We spent about three months extremely focused on everything related to the new album, rehearsing hard, putting our loved ones on hold, and testing ourselves as a team and individually, both musically and personally.

What inspired the album name?

We already had the concept for the album, the songs were finished, and they had their titles. Our concept for the album is the story of the end of days in a modern version of the apocalypse. Perhaps the logical thing would have been to use the name of one of the songs, but we found that boring and uncreative, so we decided to name the album with a title that encompassed the entire concept of the work. That’s how the title “Quadragenta at Finem Mundi” was born, a name that comes from Latin but has been modified to our liking.

It’s a title in “Engrupid Latin,” we could say, and can be translated as “forty for the end of the world” in relation to the first six acts of the album, which last approximately 40 minutes. The last song, Ameba Emenens, is an acoustic guitar solo track that speaks of a new beginning after the final reset and all life is extinguished. A solitary amoeba has survived and gives way to life once again. Since it´s after the apocalypse, it does not count towards the title.

Tell us the idea behind the album cover?

The album cover was made by our guitarist Kaztrol, who also works as an illustrator and traditional animator. He’s made all our album covers and 99% of our art and gig posters. In it, we can see what has become some kind of our mascot called “Mama”, a skeleton-like figure dressed as a Machi (spiritual and healing figure of the Mapuche people). She was originally created for our song “Mama Oclo”. We see her as a force of nature. She is looking at an hourglass in her hand that has earth inside it being filled with sand, implying the world is coming to its end.

What one of your songs on the new album do you think will the most difficult to rehearse for a live audience?

As a band, it is important for us that our live performance is equal to or better than what you hear on the album, so being well prepared when we go on stage is essential. All the songs must be played flawlessly, giving our all to the flow of the music. Beyond any particular song, perhaps the most difficult thing is to clear our minds of any worries or distractions that may exist when we play, so that we can connect with each other on stage, feel and listen to music we are creating, and convey it powerfully to our audience.

Being able to flow in the present moment of the music, all three of us simultaneously, and deliver this energy to the audience is the real challenge of every show. Now, being more pragmatic, probably the longer songs that require more concentration and also involve the use of sequences can be a little more “difficult” from a technical standpoint.

Why should people listen to the album?

Quadragenta at finem mundi is an instrumental progressive metal album that does not follow the current model of modern metal composition. We could say that it does not belong to the mainstream of instrumental metal. Beyond its conceptual nature, the musical offering presents us with different soundscapes influenced by classic metal and progressive rock, fused with elements of the cultures of the indigenous peoples of Latin America, mixed together in the blender that is Engrupid Pipol. The album is a complete, mind-blowing, unexpected journey.

Music from the guts and the heart, which never ceases to surprise song after song, elegantly mixing different musical elements and styles that reflect the musical maturity of this power trio in 25 years of making music together.

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