Ammit

While Latin America was a hotbed of first wave black metal activity in the 1980s, the 1990s saw that situation change. Really crucial bands were few and far between. The major exceptions,  then, are worth taking note of. Santiago, Chile's AMMIT is definitely one such band.

Ammit initially formed as a one-man band in 1991--that one man being Count Czar Yang. The demo material recorded in the early years was material that was never intended to be heard or reviewed by the black metal press (such as zines). In terms of style, the early stuff was a more atmospheric approach to an old-school black metal sound. You can clearly hear the influence of 1980s black metal and black/thrash, but there is an almost mystical aura to the music. Check out the title track to 1992 demo Return of the Wizards, below:

This is "Return of the Wizards"

For years, Ammit was an underground phenomenon. One of the primary reasons Ammit remained so entrenched in the underground was the fact that the man behind the band--Count Czar Yang--refused to do interviews (even with zines) or promotional photo shoots. As a result, the band's output through most of the 1990s was demo material.

In 1998, however, Ammit finally released their first full-fledged studio album, Steel Inferno. By the time of this release (and its follow-up, 2000's Mass Suicide), Ammit had abandoned some of more eerie, atmospheric elements present on their early demos. Instead, their style was a raw, old-school style that resembled classic bands like Hellhammer, Sarcofago, and Venom.

Steel Inferno gives us this song, "Ritualistic Crime"

Their style is one that is not for everyone. It's raw, vicious, and fast. It has a crude production style that--to many black metal fans--feels out of place now that the genre has passed its 'growing pains' phase. That being said, this is black metal, and there is always a certain ugliness inherent in it.

Ammit, now having some full-length albums under their belt, was becoming more widely known outside of the darkest corners of the underground. Count Czar Yang has even gone so far as to do interviews with zines, and he recruited additional members to the band--making it a one-man band no more. Since Mass Suicide, Ammit has put out some really spectacular work. Albums like Extreme Speed Satan (2003) and Hammer of Darkness (2006) draw on the vilest, rawest, thrashiest corners of the black metal world. While not exactly a household name, Ammit is a band that continues to carry the torch for nasty old-school black metal, and, in their own way, can be seen to be part of the aggressive South American scene that was initiated by bands like Vulcano, Sarcofago, Holocausto, and Blasfemia.

"Las garras del mal" is from Hammer of Darkness

Here's a sample from 2009's Armageddon Cobra 

Select Discography: 

Return of the Wizards (demo) (1992)

Promotional Tape (demo) (1995)

The Demoniac Defloration (demo) (1996)

Steel Inferno (full-length album) (1998)

Mass Suicide (full-length album) (2000)

Extreme Speed Satan (full-length album) (2003)

Hammer of Darkness (full-length) (2006)

Armageddon Cobra (full-length album)  (2009)

Next time:  WINGED