Around the World: Chile

 

SWITCH TO POLISH

Chile! A country with an unusual shape and location, occupying virtually a thin slice of Latin America's western coast. At the same time, it's a relatively dynamically developing country, considering the difficult conditions, and surpassing the giants of Brazil, Uruguay, and even Argentina (and of course Venezuela, but we all know why).

Stylistically, this country is largely founded on Thrash, as it lives and breathes Thrash. Everything else is subservient to this fundamental source of inspiration for every musician from Chile.

I have a feeling I'll probably disappoint some people here, but Chile isn't Scandinavia. You won't find a cult single or demo that went unnoticed, and then became a hit online. In this country, most bands that were worth anything, sooner or later released an album or at least a demo compilation. In Chile, the general rule of thumb was: if you miraculously recorded a demo? That means you can record an album (just like that). If you didn't? In 90% of cases, you recorded it 20 years later, when access to professional studio was easier.

It was common in Latin America for many bands, whether from Bolivia, Argentina, or Paraguay, to record albums in Brazilian studios and then distribute them through Mexican labels. Chile was no different, although, as I noted before, they enjoyed slightly better conditions, than their neighbors, granting them a bit more economic autonomy.

Generally, I don't want to just list bands or spam the names only, but as an exception, I'll have to group them together, based on some common characteristics. So let's start with the more classic Thrash: Necrosis (especially their debut, "The Search"), Massakre (more preferable are demo tapes, but albums are okay too), and the strange amalgam of Slayer and progressive metal (?) that is Abhorrent. Oh, and Pirosaint, although they prefer to release singles rather than anything longer. 

More importantly, these groups have a knack for incorporating elements of local folklore, whether in their album artwork, or in references to legends and myths. Going from Thrash Metal, some bands have more or less incorporated Death Metal into their mix.

Among these bozos are first and foremoest Torturer, Belial, Saken, Dark Age, Beyond Death. Teofobia and Sentencia had painfully gave birth to their debuts several decades after forming, but let's just say the older stuff is better. I have to admit that while I usually appreciate Death/Thrash, this style didn't quite work for Chile in the '90s, as it wasn't overly aggressive or riff-driven. Unfortunately, the most horrific examples of this genre's faux pas were Execrator, Undercroft, and the downright awful Criminal. Like it or not, they're also the more well-known representatives, though way undeservedly. Among the more unusual Deathrash acts, there was Coprofago, a band steeped in technicality and technological fetish.

The exception to the rule is definitely the legendary Pentagram (now with "Chile" added to its name), which not only had a global reputation but also were simpatico with many famous musicians, including the ubiquitous Sepultura. Unfortunately, Pentagram, for various reasons, failed to capitalize on their fame and remained in the memories of only the most die-hard fans for decades, until they returned with their debut album in 2013. Definitely my personal favorite, both in this country and beyond.

Going further, we'll encounter bands pushing Death Metal harder, and it certainly works better, albeit sometimes it feels like listening to a band from Colombia, due to the visual and sonic similarities. Still, among the cream of the crop are Necrodead, Atomic Aggressor, Cancerbero, the mysterious Cerberus, the cowboyish Regnant, the short-lived Necrophago (they only released a mini-album on cassette), Sheolgeenna, the succinctly named Them, and above all, the well-known Sadism, who have recently begun to reclaim their rightful place on the throne, from which they were almost displaced by Homicide back in the day.

Lesser-known bands, for the sake of clarity, include Cadaveric, Gravestone, Porta Daemonium, Anima Mortalis, Ancestral, Abaddon, and Acrimonious – they've all struggled for years to release a full length, sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing. And of course more brutal bands like Satanica, Dethroner, Orategod, Harasser, the morbid Totten Korps and Dominus Xul (I recommend this one), the noisy Death Yell, and the slightly avant-garde Inanna. Thornafire seemed unable to decide what they wanted to be: brutal or cultured, and their style also fluctuated depending on the weather. Incidentally, this band recorded an acoustic album in Poland ("Rituales acústicos" from 2022). Overall, I'm only mentioning the best, let's say, from the second- and third-tier ranks.

Chile wasn't just inspired by Colombian brutality, as it has its own gloomy melancholy, which, for a change, reminded me of the Mexican Doom/Death school - I'm mentioning this right away because sometimes, when I listen to a given band, depending on the sound I can sometimes get the countries mixed up. Here, I'd definitely recommend Mischievous Augury, Daedeloth, the slightly Black-tinged Poema Arcanvs, and Lapsvs Dei. 

Deathgrind is not something that is thankfully populous and the main course are bands like: Eutanasia, Cranial, Forked, S.D.N., and Noisecore. Similarly with Melo-Death, albeit there are some examples too: Letargo, slightly Brazilian-ish Necrodemon and definitely Psicosis, who were slightly classier. Not much Power Metal. Among the better ones only Inquisicion is worth mentioning.

From the Blacker side, to avoid going into too much detail, I have to mention Temple, Dark God (!), as well as the slightly overcomplicated Undertaker of the Damned, the ritualistic (and divided into chapters) Unaussprechlichen Kulten (was their grandfathers in Wehrmacht?), and the somewhat underrated Inferis. Godless, on the other hand, is inspired by Greek bands. I don't listen to typical Black Metal bands, so no recs, but then again, they're not really that popular or notable.

My next favorite is Apostasy, a sort of ambivalent, devilish Speed meets Black/Death. They recorded one classic in the '90s, but their real dish are their newer releases, recorded during their unexpected reunion. Anyway, I wanted to dedicate this paragraph to them.

Not everyone succeeded, and some only had compilations as a remembrance. Decide for yourself whether they're worth anything: Corpse Grinder, Asbeel, Doom, Necrolog, blah blah blah, enough of this crap.

 

When it comes to unconventional genres, Dorso takes the cake. Let's say they first played Tech/Prog Thrash, then Avantgarde Rock, Death/Thrash, Funk Metal, Groove Metal, and ultimately, they combined their Avantgarde-Progressive leanings with Death metal/Goregrind. I admit, such musical schizophrenia is pretty rare. 

This is obviously just a sampling of what Chile has to offer, but I'm always happy to hear about anyone's favorites that aren't listed above.

 

For a very long time, the main reason I believe Chile struggled to break through, were poor vocalists who strayed too far into the so-called "Hardcore" genre, which, combined with frequent flirtations with Groove Metal, led to disastrous results. Over time, newer generations began to replace the older ones, and became returning to the roots, namely the hellish Speed Metal, and drawing inspiration from there.

The future, belongs to Chile, and it's undeniable that they will become more and more important, and popular. Let's just only mention the latest newbies from the recent years: Dekapited, Demiurgus, Ignominia, Mayhemic, Parkcrest, Raijin, Ripper, Suffering Sights, Suppression, Thirsty Demon - it's only a small sample of groups, which probably are known to most, but I have a feeling this is just a warm-up, and this country will show what it's truly capable of. With time, the number of heroes on the scene can only grow. 

P.S.: if someone is STILL not satisfied and wants a supplement of only the most obscure releases from a given country, I would rather refer them to Metal-Archives and the unfortunate RateYourMusic, especially when it comes to the so-called recommendation lists.