Feature: Ten South American Unblack Metal Records From the Depths of the Underground That You Need to Check Out
Maybe it’s just me, but South America is not the first place I think of when I think of black metal. And yet, some of the most important material in black metal’s tumultuous history came from here in the form of the earliest releases by Sepultura (think Bestial Devastation) and the brutal noise of bands like Sarcofago and Vulcano. Fast-forward to today, and South America’s black metal scene seems more prolific than ever. On the unblack side, so to speak, there are many bands peddling sounds that one would swear came from Norway or Sweden circa-1994. Here, I’ve compiled a small list of ten releases from South America’s unblack metal scene that I think are worth checking out.
Margorium – Margorium
Margorium’s story is a sad one. Like many bands on this list, they really only had one proper release. The main band member, Lord Scarborough (Lucio Rodrigues da Silva) sadly passed away from cancer several years after the release of this EP. What is left to us, however, is an amazing black metal EP that sounds like it could have easily come out of the Norwegian scene’s 90’s heyday. Cold, loaded with melancholy melodies, and keeping to a mid-level pace for most of its duration, Margorium’s lone EP echoes the sounds of early Hazeroth, Against the Seasons-era Woods of Ypres, Winter’s Dawn, and perhaps even a little Vardoger minus the Viking-themes. What could have come of this great band will never be known, but at least we still get to listen to this gem.
Golgota – From the Grave
Golgota have been going for years, and are one of the more well-known acts coming out of the South American scene. Despite the quality of their frenetic and aggressive approach that sounds like a blend of Immortal, Mayhem and early Emperor (i.e. before In the Nightside Eclipse), the band seemed to be caught in a cycle of re-releasing the same songs over and over on multiple records (think what the Smiths did with all those compilation records). By the time the band released their six-track EP From the Grave, I had almost given up on any new, fresh material from them. I’m glad I held on and gave it a chance. The band apparently didn’t like how the process was going, and unfortunately, From the Grave was released as they had left it. What could have been a half-baked release, however, is in my opinion the band’s strongest release so far (and easily has the best cover art too!). Largely skipping the keys heard on occasion on prior records, From the Grave has a more brooding, murky sound. Lord Ekklektus’ infamous frog-like croaks are in fine form on this one, but he also goes for a deep guttural vocal too (check out the very Crimson Moonlight-esque track “Luke 5:4”). The album’s darker sound makes for an unnerving listen, and as an Orthodox Christian, I absolutely love those Byzantine chants heard sporadically throughout! Menacing and ominous, I’ll never understand why the band didn’t like this one.
Inflamed – Slain From the Birth of Flesh
Alright, I admit that I am probably stretching things a bit with this one; the same debate over whether or not Cradle of Filth was ever a black metal band in the first place will most likely apply here (spoiler alert: they took from several subgenres and went for a hybrid sound), as it’s pretty obvious where Inflamed, the solo project of Pedro Segundo, is drawing its influences from. Still, I’d call this symphonic/gothic black metal (another debate – the mixing in of goth with black metal: yea or nay?) Frankly, to be so openly influenced by the classic sounds of Cradle of Filth circa 1996-2000 is a gutsy thing to do (thank God it’s not influenced by the later stuff). What’s crazy is that Segundo manages to pull off a record that manages to capture that classic gothic-meets-black and death metal sound virtually on his own. It’s a full and filling listen, loaded with all the musical and stylistic excess one would expect from a band like this, mixing all the velvet-laden darkness with the thrashier elements of a band like Frost Like Ashes. It’s no perfect storm – at times, it wears its influences on its sleeves too openly (the beginning of “Goddess of Monsoon in Decay” totally pays homage to Cradle of Filth’s “Funeral in Carpathia” track in a much too obvious way), and the female singing of Joana Azevedo, while sparing, sounds off and oddly mixed in – but for someone like me who grew up on records like Dusk…and Her Embrace in my teens, it hits the spot. The musical skill and the thought put into the song structures here is something to behold. If you’re craving some symphonic black metal with a serious penchant for the gothic and a twist on the redemption of Countess Bathory, give this one a shot.
Hazeroth – Mene, Mene Tequel Ufarsim
Hazeroth are tops when it comes to Brazilian black metal, despite having more line-up changes than Napalm Death or Incantation throughout their career. Their early material, compiled like Sorrowstorm’s into an album entitled Arsenal was a real hit or miss affair, but it wasn’t long before the band hit full stride with their second full-length. A much more pronounced blackened death metal vibe is heard on this one, something similar to what you’d hear on Swedish black metal records by Shadows of Paragon and Marduk. While Charms of Sin saw the band adopt a more arena-friendly style akin to later Immortal and Antestor circa-The Forsaken, their second release managed to maintain the aggression of their early days while fleshing it out with some serious sonic muscle. Great stuff.
Clamatorius – Consummatum Est
Clamatorius formed largely from the ashes of death metal band Burial Sarkikos, and like others here on this list, released only one EP. Consummatem Est predates Imperial Dusk’s work by a few years, and yet follows in a similar vein – simple, aggressive black metal but with a sense of melody as well. “Lord of the Sabbath” blends in some doomier, slow passages and also boasts some melancholic clean chant as well. Fans of early Antestor and Offertorium may wish to explore this one.
Anima Mortuum – Morbid Temple
First-wave style black metal is a thing few and far between nowadays. Most black metal bands now seem to go for the gusto in terms of over-the-top horror and edginess, rather than capture the raw, organic sound that made black metal so exciting in the first place (minus the ideological and spiritual leanings of course). If you’re a fan of old-school first-wave black metal, Anima Mortuum have you covered here; giving a nod to a rather infamous Mayhem album with the cover art, the EP takes heavy influence from bands like Celtic Frost, Hellhammer, the defiantly 80’s sounds of latter-day Darkthrone (which, of course, are really just channelling – you guessed it – Celtic Frost, Hellhammer, Bulldozer, etc.) and funnels it all into a driving black metal assault straight out of 1985. If you dig what Darkthrone is doing nowadays, you’re going to love this.
Devotam – Para Sempre Guerreiro da Luz
Devotam is certainly a unique band on this list, being the only one fronted by a female vocalist, Lady Danmarys. Do you recall when Hazeroth were briefly fronted by vocalist Hadassah? Lady Danmarys’ bloody shrieks are similar to hers, but much more lacerating in delivery. Add to the mix the raw aggression of fellow South American acts like Imperial Dusk, Hazeroth and Emperador, and you’ve got quite a mix, all augmented by an overtly melancholic tone to the riffs. A bit of a lost classic, this one.
Cerimonial Sacred – Our War is Only Against Hell
What I love about Ceremonial Sacred is that they manage to capture all that was great about Dimmu Borgir’s stately gothic approach to black metal as heard on albums like Stormblast and Enthrone Darkness Triumphant, but infuse it with a sense of underground raw production and more blood-curdling vocal work. While their second album, Christ Worshippers, upped the symphonic elements further, I prefer this record’s ability to combine the full-speed ahead approach of Dark Funeral and mix it with the best of symphonic black metal’s over-the-top emphases. Fans of Anorexia Nervosa, early Cradle of Filth, and classic Dimmu Borgir, take note.
Imperial Dusk – Black Priest of Satanic Blood Rituals
I was never a huge Marduk fan back in the day, at least of the Legion-era stuff. But early Marduk, Opus Nocturne in particular, was a favourite of mine. Imperial Dusk manage to capture that sound, adding an extra sense of cold atmosphere to the proceedings (atmosphere, if you’ve ever listened to Marduk, was never their focus). Though the assault can get a bit repetitive (something Swedish black metal in particular seems to suffer from due to its often hyper-aggressive, speed-focused nature), if you’re looking for relentless old-school black metal that rarely lets up, here’s a good option.
10. Offertorium – The Unblack Metal from Light
Okay, let’s get past the title and the corny band photos. Lest we forget, Immortal were just as corny with that “Call of the Wintermoon” video (Demonaz running around in a costume pointy witch hat is hilarious). Instead, let’s look at the fact that this little-known band were pioneers, the first to play unblack metal in South America. That said, it’s one thing to be the first, it’s another to actually be good, and Offertorium offer up some really cold black metal here, minus a few missteps (the keys halfway through “Shekinah” or the oddly clean “Domini Jesu”). Expect mid-paced and grim, old-school sounds for fans of Clamatorius, with elements of Antestor and even a bit of Darkthrone in the mix.
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