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

1980s Black Metal: The Latin American Scene

Modern black metal would be virtually impossible to imagine without Sarcofago, there is no denying that.  And Vulcano was important as well.  But South America (especially Brazil) gave rise to so many crucial bands that helped shape international black metal that it only makes sense to mention them.  That being said, few of them were as overwhelmingly influential as Sarcofago or Vulcano (or, in a peripheral sense, Sepultura).  The one exception to this might be the Brazilian band HOLOCAUSTO.

 Brazil's Holocausto

 

Formed in 1985, Holocausto incorporated violent imagery and war themes into their lyrical content.  Their legendary debut album, 1987's Campo de Exterminío, was perceived as praising Nazis and fascism when it was really a critique of those ideologies.  After that album, they became less black metal and veered more toward thrash metal with industrial influences.  They broke up in 1994 only to reform a decade later.

"Forças Terroristas", off of 1987's Campo de Exterminío

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Also hailing from Brazil were the extreme black/thrash bands EXTERMINATOR and ESCOLA ALEMÃ.  Not as prolific as Sarcofago or Vulcano, these bands became known for one or two quality releases and demos in the mid- to late-80s.  Both bands used war and Nazi imagery for the sake of being extreme, and like Holocausto were mistaken for Nazis themselves.

In its entirety, here is Exterminator's only album, Total Extermination

"Germany School" is from Escola Alemã's 1989 demo, Vergeltungswaffe

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Out of Colombia, the band PARABELLUM is one of the oldest South American extreme metal bands.  Formed in 1981 and hailing from Medellin, their brand of black/thrash was a raw and primitive style that sounded very much like other extreme 1980s old-school bands.  Put next to Sarcofago, Parabellum definitely holds their own.  They never released any full-length albums, just EPs and demos.

"Engendro 666", off of the 1987 EP Sacrilegio

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Uruguay as a nation is not known for their metal scene, but the Uruguayan extreme metal band GRAF SPEE sure made an impact on the death/black scene in the 1980s.  They formed in 1985, but didn't really release any original material until the 1988 album Reincarnation.  They didn't release much after that album, and I'm not sure of their status today.

Graf Spee's "Freedom"

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Another Colombian band, REENCARNACIÓN is a fairly prolific black/thrash band that is still around to this day.  Like Parabellum, they hail from Medellin.  A style that is much more black metal than some of the other bands listed in this entry, Reencarnación made a pretty big impact with their 1988 self-titled album.

Their self-titled song from their self-titled album

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There are numerous other important South and Latin American black metal bands from the first wave worth mentioning that managed to combine some element of evil, rawness, speed, and atmosphere to fit into this discussion of old-school black metal.  Peru's SATANAS and HADEZ, Mexico's TOXODETH, Chile's PENTAGRAM, and Colombia's BLASFEMIA are all examples that bear mentioning.

From Hadez's 1986 demo Guerreros de la Muerte

From Satanas' 1989 demo Blasfemia

Off of Toxodeth's 1988 demo, Phantasms

The title song from Blasfemia's 1988 EP Guerra Total

Pentagram's 1987 single "Demoniac Possession"

As you can see, the Latin American scene produced some pretty interesting and influential bands in the 1980s.  Later bands came along who have been extremely important (Inquisition, Mystifier, etc.) but they will get their own entries when the time is right.

Select Discography of 1980s Latin American Black Metal Scene:

(in alphabetical order by artist)

Blasfemia, Guerra Total EP (1988)

Escola Alemã, Black War (demo) (1987)

Escola Alemã, Transport of Death (demo) (1988)

Escola Alemã, Vergeltungswaffe (demo) (1989)

Exterminator, Total Extermination (full-length album)  (1987)

Graf Spee, El lugar de los Asuras (demo) (1985)

Graf Spee, Demo '86 (demo) (1986)

Graf Spee, Reincarnation (full-length album) (1990)

Hadez, Guerreros de la Muerte (demo) (1988)

Hadez, Altar of Sacrifice (demo) (1989)

Hadez, Hadez Attack (demo) (1990)

Holocausto, Masacre (demo) (1985)

Holocausto, Campo de Extermínio (full-length album) (1987)

Parabellum, Rehearsal (demo) (1984)

Parabellum, Sacrilegio EP (1987)

Parabellum, Mutacion por radiacion EP (1988)

Pentagram, Rehearsal (demo) (1986)

Pentagram, Demo #1 (demo) (1987)

Pentagram, Demo #2 (demo) (1987)

Reencarnación, Dioses muertos (demo) (1987)

Reencarnación, Reencarnación (full-length album) (1988)

Satanas, Blasfemia (demo) (1989)

Toxodeth, Toxodeth (demo) (1988)

Toxodeth, Phantasms (demo) (1988)

Toxodeth, Mysteries About Life and Death (demo) (1989)

Next time: KAT