I was in South America over the holidays, so like the saying goes, when in South America, do as the South Americans do. And that is listen to South American metal. So I did, unearthing several records I had forgotten years ago and discovering others that had passed me through the blind spot. From the most classic sounding visceral black metal to veritable classic thrash metal and the most insipid death metal this region way down there has it all. Read on and spread the word!

Masacre is one of the most legendary underground metal bands from South America. They hail from Colombia, were formed in 1988 and have released eight records, the most recent one titled Total Death dates back to 2004 and was issued via HateWorks.  I learned about Masacre right after the release of Requiem (their follow-up to Ola de Violencia, their 1990 split with Profanatica), their 1991 Osmose release.  The ten generation tape I got was of such poor quality I could barely differentiate between the guitars, the drums and the vocals.  It sounded like shit. But times have changed, and tapes are no longer necessary. CD’s have a longer shelf life and if you take good care of them you can spin them endless times. Therefore my copy of Sacro (1996, Lorito Records) sounds just fine.  Masacre is in fine form here, but besides displaying solid traditional death metal chops the band struggles to offer anything outstanding. For the most part Masacre sounds heavily influenced by the Florida scene of the late 80’s and early 90’s. Albeit, there is no Trey Azagthoth in sight. Traces of black metal also show, especially in a song like the ‘epic’ “Moral Esclava”, where the band uses clean strings, slow tempos and ghostly shrieks as an attempt to create an evil atmosphere. It works, “Moral Esclava” is the last tune and one of the best of Sacro. More recently this album was reissued by Obliteration Records from Japan, this version includes four bonus tracks recorded in 2001. 

Like Masacre, Witchtrap also hail from Colombia. Unlike Masacre Witchtrap have a thinner sound based on the death thrash speed Teutonic style of classics like Destruction and Kreator. The awesomely titled Sorceress Bitch was released in 2002 by Hell Attacks Productions and largely predates the current thrash metal revival. The recording itself is a bit on the thin side; the drums especially have a rather small sound, but fuck, it’s still better than Lars Ulrich’s. The riffs are excellent, and on occasion reveal the vast talents of Carlos Mario Uribe (AKA Burning Axe Ripper) who displays some very nice NWOBHM influences at the beginning of “Gypsy Ritual / Face the Evil”.  It is in moments like this where the talent of WItchtrap is revealed. The vocals get very close to those of Destruction’s Schmier, in other words they are awesome but very limiting.  Since Sorceress Bitch Witchtrap has released two splits, one full-length, a best of compilation and one EP.  Hard-working fellas for sure.

Heading down south to the Incan lands of Peru, we find the black metal quartet known as Illapa, which is the Quechua word for the Incan god of thunder, lightning and rainstorms. Very much like some Europeans dig their mythology and history so much as to fancy themselves Vikings, these Peruvians pay homage to their ancestors and lace their satanic tunes with Peruvian folk traditions. The band claim to be the ‘first band that plays black metal exclusively in fucking Spanish’ and though that’s a pretty hard fact to verify, I’ll just take their word for it. These dudes look buff. Illapa has been together since 1993, but Deshonestos y Hechiceros (1996, Aquelarre) is their first full-length following their Peruvian Warmetal Legend demo. Illapa’s primitive sound is quite charming, and though in this day and age it’s hardly unique I’ll take it over Striborg any day of the week.  The drums are nuts, it’s like getting punched by a machine on automatic, and besides the buzzsaw guitars the only other factor differentiating this band from thousands others is the occasional clear string. Witching, primitive and lo fi.

Also hailing from the land of the Incas comes Necropsya, who I remember seeing live back in the early 90’s.  That fateful Saturday afternoon midway through their set someone from the audience hated them enough to throw a tire onstage. Also, the drummer kept on getting blinded by the smoke machine so he kept on walking off from his drumset mid song which caused the audience to erupt in disgust. Anyway, Devastated By Time was released in 2008 (Icarus Music) and is their first full-length since their formation in 1989. Prolific they are not. I used to own their Slaves of the Magic demo, but this one is really where the band really comes alive. Necropsya plays pretty solid thrash metal, a fact that judging by their whopping seven MySpace friends may be hard to believe.  The recording is surprisingly professional and their style is quite modern. Maybe a mix between current thrash and the European thrash style of bands like Destruction. Good and solid, yet hardly outstanding.

A little bit further down to the south we can find a wine making strip of land known as Chile, which is where Necrosis hails from.  A couple of years ago RawForce Records issued their 1987 Kingdom of Hate demo and their 1988 The Search album in one CD.   To say that it sounds dated is an understatement, but to say that it sounds like about one thousand current thrash metal bands is the absolute truth. Necrosis’ thrash style is mostly American, therefore it favors staccato guitars and a vocal style that could barely be called a style. It sounds more like the singer is delivering his lines like he doesn't give a fuck about the song. With not much in the way of melodies either, Necrosis does what it can by resorting to repetitive fast passages and the usual switch into a thrashy groove. In the late 80’s there were about three dozen Necrosis-like bands signed to Roadrunner Records.  

From the land of samba and fake tits comes Mystifier. (pictured above) Talk about lifers, they’ve been battling out for Satan since 1989 and Wicca is their first full-length (Heavy Metal Maniac, 1992). It’s a bit of a classic, packed with blurry songs and with a production style that had me foaming at the mouth, this record rocks in its very own evil way. Most of the songs are very fast, so much indeed that the drums acquire a mechanical soul and the guitars totally distort themselves. The vocals are deep without going cookie monster. In other words, they avoid being death metal. In a way I am reminded of bands like Incantation or Immolation. Anyway, remember those times when production work was not able to capture the intricacies of guitarists and guitarists were not able to capture whatever it is they were trying to play? Well, that’s clearly recorded here. The joy of youth, the unreachable aspirations of inexperienced musicians. This rocks.  Mystifier’s black metal is excellent, I am getting teary eyed listening to this shit. In 2002 Mutilation Records reissued Wicca with five extra tracks. Very worth chasing.

And how could we cover South America without covering Argentina? We couldn’t that’s right. The cockiest country in the continent usually leads the pack as far as rock music is concerned and even though I wouldn’t say that Horcas is the best thrash/speed metal band in the Latin American world, it certainly is a damn fine unit. Reinara la Tempestad is their 1990 debut (Tripoli) and sure doesn’t sound any more dated than any of those thrash metal revivalist acts of today.  The recording is actually pretty great. I am surprised a Latin band achieved such a great sound, it's actually better than anything recorded at Morrisound at the time. Especially the drum sound. Weaknesses? The vocalist is very typical, a dude who really couldn’t sing, without a powerful voice leading the pack with a high pitch. Wisely, this cat avoids banshee screams. That shit is ridiculous I know. Like Mystifier, Horcas is another band of lifers. Together since 1988, they have been very active this millennium issuing five albums since 2000.

Finishing up this South American report is another band from Argentina.  Nepal goes way the fuck back. So much indeed that one of the members looks about 60. Too much of a metal lifestyle I guess. Nepal headbanged since 1984 and the album I got in my hands is their first Raza de Traidores, which was released in 1993 by Metal Command Records. Musically, not one of the great thrash bands has anything on Nepal. The guitars are especially brilliant, solid riffs and colorful solos. Very solid album.  The influence of early Metallica and Megadeth is obvious, the main difference being that the vocalist sounds like a macho Dave Mustaine. This is a very strong record.