Para establecer un río - "Los mapas del fuego" (2017)

PARA ESTABLECER UN RIO - "Los mapas del fuego"

Year: 2017
Genre: Post-Rock
Country: Argentina

Tracklist:

        1. 66;3;9
        2. 40;5;44
        3. 23;58;7
        4. 30;6;3 (30;5;4)
        5. 45;10;9

Facebook // Bandcamp

"Los mapas del fuego" (The maps of fire) is the second release from this amazing three-piece band located in La Plata, Argentina.

They are part of Comunidad del fuego, an independent small label releasing albums with beautiful hand-crafted artwork, poetry books and fanzines. Also, most of them play in different side-projects, such as Emya, Blien Vesne and Los mares en las manos, bands that range from ambient music to post-hardcore/screamo.

The album moves freely in post-rock territory, from calm and clean parts to dramatic crescendos leading into noisy climaxes. Their addition of sparse acoustic guitars, piano, horn and electronics gives the band a distinct feel and sets them apart from others in the genre. Although this isn't a political band, they're strongly involved with their local scene, thus fitting with the philosophy of the blog.

Flagare - "Arder" (2017)

FLAGARE - "Arder"

Year: 2017
Genre: Post-Punk
Country: Argentina

Tracklist:

        1. Desacato (Contempt)
        2. Ebullición (Boiling point)
        3. Desollados (Skinned)
        4. Marea (Tide)
        5. Vacuum

Facebook // Bandcamp

"Arder" (To burn) is the first release from the Argentinian post-punk band Flagare. They are located in Buenos Aires and define themselves as anarchists and vegans, which is really clear in their lyrics. Also, in the Bandcamp bio you can read "We'll burn, day after day, before the atrocious reality that beats our senses, we're not going to accept indifference, we choose the disorder generated by our ideals' burning to keep us lit".

Musically, you can find a pretty straight-up post-punk sound, but with a strong emphasis on the atmosphere and textures, and a slightly raw but clear mix.

Oh, and this is my first time posting as well. I've been following the blog for a couple of years now, and recently joined to share some of the material I came across.

Astraliste - "διάβρωση (Erosión)" (2017)

ASTRALISTE - "Erosión"

Year: 2017

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Country: Argentina

Track List:

1. Incesante (ceaseless)
2. Turmalina (tourmaline)

Bandcamp 

Astraliste in a one-man project from Argentina. It is a band that tries to capture the landscapes and the feelings generated by being a human among nature.
With the poetry contained in the lyrics you can ask yourself, who are you? Who do you want to be in the immensity of the landscapes that surrounds you?

I know this is not strictly political, but the man behind this has been very supportive with this blog and with the ideas expressed here, so this totally has a place for us.

I took the photo used as a cover and it was a gift for this project and the beginning of it's music. 

Ruinas/Raíces - "Untitled" (2017)

RUINAS/RAÍCES - "Untitled"

Year: 2017

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Country: Argentina

Track List:

1. Dos colores fundiéndose (two colors merging)
2. Mis ríos abiertos, cayendo en tu abismo (my open rivers, falling into your abyss)
3. Creciente (growing)

Bandcamp / Facebook

Ruinas/Raices is an atmospheric black metal project from Argentina, with very strong and poetic lyrics about our feelings and our human condition, even though the band doesn't reflect their politics in the project, they are into DIY, and strongly against right-wing politics, racism and every kind of intollerance, so I'm sure they have a place in this blog.

In their facebook I've found a very beautiful text that can summarize what the hole band means, it's originally in spanish but I'm translating it: "We constantly look among the rubble we've covered ourselves with; in the void that surrounds us, between all that has been lost and is no longer spoken. The distance grows with each step. We do not have certainty, we don't do anything but ask ourselves"  

Tensión - "Sujeto automático" (2016)

TENSIÓN "Sujeto Automático"

Year: 2016

Genre: Post-Punk
Country: Argentina

Track List:

1. W.S
2. Vergüenza (Shame)
3. Boda (Wedding)
4. Coreografías absurdas (Absurd choreographies)
5. Batallones de amargura (Battalions of bitterness)
6. Los malos días terminarán (Bad days will end)
7. Insoportable (Unbearable)
8. Fe (Faith)

DOWNLOAD

I guess we have never shared post punk here before, but this came from one of our readers. "Tensión" are from Argentina and they have an Anarchist ideology. The lyrics on this album are quite simple but they got a good message on them. I also listen to their first album and in case you want to listen it too you can do it here.

bandcamp

Capgrass - "Reflections" (2014)

CAPGRASS "Reflections"

Year: 2014

Genre: Black Metal

Country: Argentina

Track List:

1. Intro
2. Dead In The Crowd
3. Disruption Of The Deepest Dreams
4. Material Agony
5. Shade
6. Voice Of Perdition

DOWNLOAD

Line-up:

Martin Alexis Franco Santillan - drums

Julian Corbera - guitar

Isaias Daniel Cañete Lucena - voice

Gabriel Ruiz Diaz - bass

Capgrass started in 2010 and released their first EP "Reflections" in June this year. The lyrics on this EP contain some social criticism, as well as the topics of psychology/psychopathology, but in general it's apolitical. However, at least one of the band members considers himself an anarchist, and in the future they plan to release more material that may be considered a statement against fascism, etc. 

bandcamp / facebook

Emerson Dracon - "La Capital De Todos Los Males" (2014)

EMERSON DRACON "La Capital De Todos Los Males"

Year: 2014

Genre: Darkwave / Neololk / Martial

Country: Argentina

Track List:

1. Pésame
2. Credo
3. Sanctum Poterentur
4. All Mine (Portishead)
5. Dirtnap Stories (Lee Hazlewood)
6. Vencedores Vencidos (Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota)

DOWNLOAD

After some 3 years of waiting, here's a new release from Emerson Dracon. It's titled "La Capital De Todos Los Males" ("The Capital Of All Evils"), and if I'm not mistaken, conceptually it's mostly against organized religion. Like the debut EP, it also includes a lot of covers.


bandcamp / facebook / reverbnation / soundcloud

Profecium - "En Los Albores de la Extinción Humana" (2014)

PROFECIUM "En Los Albores de la Extinción Humana"

Year: 2014

Genre: Old School Black/Death Metal

Country: Argentina

Track List:

1. Armagedon Nuclear (Intro)
2. En lo Peor
3. Esteros de Sangre
4. El momento de tu Muerte
5. Suprimirles
6. Desde el Interregno
7. Infierno Inevitable
8. Guerra Civil en las Puertas del Zar (Adelanto)

DOWNLOAD

At least some good news for today: Profecium, the pioneers of RABM in South America, are alive and well, and have released a full-length album just a couple of months ago, after more than 15 years of inactivity. While I'm not particularly big on their Trotskyist ideology, their music remains an excellent example of raw old school Latin American BM. Highly recommended!

Asilo - "Comunión" (2014)

ASILO "Comunión"

Year: 2014

Genre: Sludge/Crust

Country: Argentina

Track List:

1. Geografías
2. Pichiciega Fe
3. (epidemia mundial del desencanto)
4. La Paciencia del Cuchillo
5. Arquitectura del Silencio
6. (anti voz)
7. Dinámica del Cambio
8. Miedo y Curiosidad
9. (no a la vida)
10. La Ultima Voluntad

DOWNLOAD

Finally, a full-length release from a band that have appeared on my blog quite a lot of times before. Out of everything I've posted here recently, it's best comparable to Leechfeast. There's also a new album from another band that sounds similar to Asilo and was featured on my blog before - Windmill of Corpses - but I'll probably leave reviewing it to my co-editors...

"In Comunión we could listen many of the influences involved in Asilo: Doom, Drone Metal, Crust, Hardcore Punk, Industrial, Noise y Post Punk are mixtured in the whole album, molding an own sound identity.

Comunión is the first release of the band with actual band members (Manuel, Sebastian, Nacho y Sebaxxxtian). They are eager to playing live in 2014, besides of setting up new stuff for further releases.

Comunión is available for downloading/streaming in bandcamp, also it can be downloaded in Zann’s Music, label that will release it on cd in Argentina. distroiart will release it on tape; Confirmations of further editions in Brasil, Colombia, Chile, and other countries are being awaited"

bandcamp / facebook

Incipit - "Desiertos" (2014)

INCIPIT "Desiertos"

Year: 2014

Genre: Black Metal/Punk

Country: Argentina

Track List:

1. Desierto I
2. Quien Canta Bajo
3. Desierto II
4. Mirando Adelante
5. Primeras Luces
6. Desierto III
7. Respiro
8. Salvando
9. Desierto IV

DOWNLOAD

The 3rd release from Incipit, if we don't count two splits released in 2011 and 2013. Again, it isn't bad for a DIY one-man band, but I think the drum programming could be better (as the drums are too repetitive at times). From now, Incipit has a bandcamp page, with all 3 releases available for free (or for whatever price you want).

Dark Blasphemer - "Drowning in Depression" (2012)

DARK BLASPHEMER "Drowning In Depression"

Year: 2012
Genre: Black Metal
Country: Argentina

Track List:

1. Intro
2. Eternal Sleep
3. Hate & Spirit
4. Black Warrior
5. Blasphemer
6. Dead Emperor
7. Suicide My Mind
8. Tenebris Artium
9. Devastation World
10. Drowning in Depression
11. Dawn of Destruction
12. Outro

DOWNLOAD

Black metal band from Bahía Blanca (Argentina), formed in December 2011. Their music is more or less standard BM, nothing really groundbreaking here, but at least we can be sure that they're RABM-friendly (according to their guitarist's posts in our facebook group).

facebook

P.S. And finally, some more bad news for you: I'm afraid I can't continue this blog anymore, or at least I'll have to put it on hold for a quite long time. If you wish to help me writing reviews, you can contact me via email, and I'll consider giving you a guest author access to my blog (preferably if you're one of my long-time readers, and your English is better than mine ;)). Either way, don't expect many updates here (at least until the end of the summer. In the meanwhile, you can read the blog of our comrades in Greece, or the Black Spring blog (mostly dedicated to the Berber BM scene, but very RABM-friendly too). Let's hope it won't be the end, stay tuned!

Some news from Argentina

Maybe some of you would be interested in Zann's Music, an independent label started by one of the members of Asilo. Among the other free/independent releases by Argentinian artists, they've released the newest tape "The Green Scar" by Anne Des (formerly just Anne), a Buenos Aires-based anarcho-neofolk one-man project. Unfortunately this tape generally sounds like ordinary folk music (without the adjective "dark-", except for a few tracks like "Moonlight Death"), so it probably won't fit in well here. However, you can get it for free off bandcamp, if you wish.

Asilo - "Geografías / Wardance" (2012)

ASILO "Geografías / Wardance"

Year: 2012
Genre: Doom/Sludge
Country: Argentina 

Track List:

1. Geografías
2. Wardance (Killing Joke cover)

DOWNLOAD

Line-up:

• manuel p: vox - bass
• nacho dp: drums
• adrian m: keys - fx - ambiance - noise
• sebaxxxtian: bass - backing vocals

"released 08 November 2012
Recorded and Mixed by Nicolas Trovato, M. Platino and A. Medinas in Estudios MG and Randolph Carter Studios.
Produced by asilo.
Cover art by A. Medinas
Geografías composed by asilo; lyrics by Ignacio Dal Pra.
Wardance composed by Killing Joke"

A new single from a Buenos Aires-based doom/crust band that was already featured on my blog. The first track will be included in their first full-length album, which is expected to be released in early 2013. Won't recommend this single to everyone, but fans of sludge/doom drone may find it interesting.

facebook / bandcamp

Incipit - "Ida" (2012)

INCIPIT "Ida"

Year: 2012
Genre: Black Metal
Country: Argentina

Track List:

1. Muerte del humano
2. Transcurso Dia-Noche
3. Falso
4. Ida

DOWNLOAD


"Ida" is the second demo by Incipit, an one-man band from San Juan. It's fairly good for a self-produced demo, especially if you consider that it was recorded in a provincial Argentinian town. BTW, the project has a facebook page now.

Rare live videos of Profecium & Sartan

So, it has come to my attention that Solrak (a former member of Profecium, who now plays in Vorkuta) is making the detailed history of Profecium, Sartan (his early black/death metal band) and Zoretor (hardcore/punk). While I don't share his Trotskyist views, it'd be definitely interesting to read the history of the first RABM band in existence. Here are some live videos from the 90s:

Profecium

Sartan - probably the first BM band in Argentina

Vorkuta (a recent video; but to be honest, they look and sound like they're forever stuck in 80s)

Asilo & Fracción George Best - split (2011)

ASILO / FRACCION GEORGE BEST "split"
Year: 2011
Genre: Sludge/Crust (Asilo), Hardcore/Screamo (FGB)
Country: Argentina / Chile
Track List:
Asilo

1. Mecanismos de la Vida Moderna
2. Oración

Fracción George Best

1. III
2. Caronte

I've received an e-mail from one of the members of Asilo not so long ago. Actually, I already knew about Asilo before, and even posted one track from their split w/ Tzara on my other blog, but it's always good to know that the band members themselves are reading my posts. They define their style as "a mix of black metal, doom, drone, sludge and many other kind of music", but for me it's mostly sludge/drone/doom with some blackened crust overtones. Not bad, but definitely not for fans of fast and aggressive stuff. As for Fracción George Best - they're from Chile, playing some kind of hardcore/screamo (not metallic at all). To be honest I didn't like their side of the split that much, but you might have a different opinion.
Release notes:
"bio: asilo is a sludge crust three-piece band from buenos aires, argentina. their members (nacho dp: drums / manuel: vox - bass - analogue devices / sebaxxxtian: bass / vox) played and still play in underground bands from the underground metal scene, like voightkampff, gran cuervo, milica, etc. we've released our first split with tzara (post hardcore, with manuel playing bass), including a live song from our very first show live in april 2011. Nowadays we are releasing this second split with fraccion george best, from chile, with two songs each band... this split cd will be releasing in chile and ecuador too.

In 2012, we are eager to play live and record our new songs and trying to be edited in usa or europe.

you can listen asilo

http://www.myspace.com/estoesasilo
http://www.facebook.com/estoesasilo
http://www.asilo.bandcamp.com
http://www.last.fm/music/Asilo

their releases are available in
http://www.myspace.com/distroiart
http://www.facebook.com/distroiart
http://www.zannmusic.com.ar
http://www.facebook.com/zannmusic"

Temple Av Lidelse - "Sesiones en el Infierno" (2011)

TEMPLE AV LIDELSE "Sesiones en el Infierno"

Year: 2011
Genre: Raw Black Metal
Country: Argentina

Track List:

1. El último de los Romanov
2. Han Som Reiste
3. Sistema de Opresión Social
4. Chainsaw Gutsfuck
5. Penumbra
6. Temple Av Lidelse
7. El Fin de los Tiempos

DOWNLOAD

Well... here's another Argentinian band. Temple Av Lidelse started in 2010 as just another underground BM band playing covers of Burzum and Mayhem (as well as their own material in the vein of early Norwegian BM scene). However, their vocalist became interested in radical leftist politics, that's why they made songs like "El último de los Romanov" or "Sistema de opresión social", dealing with political/historical subjects (not to mention they're against the nazi scene). Apart from this demo, they have released two more demos (which I can upload, if you're interested... but they contain mostly different versions of the songs from this demo). They even put the R&A symbol on the back cover of their demo "jævla tortur" to demonstrate that they're on our side:

Emerson Dracon - "Mañana Lloverá En Buenos Aires" (2011)

EMERSON DRACON "Mañana Lloverá En Buenos Aires"

Year: 2011
Genre: Martial Industrial
Country: Argentina

Track List:

I - Los Himnos

1. A Las Barricadas
2. Reign Forever? (Blood Axis re-cover)

II - 1955 / 1956

1. Fusiladora
2. Operación Masacre

III - Love & Doom

1. Sear Me MMXI (My Dying Bride cover)
2. They Walked In Line (Joy Division cover)

DOWNLOAD


Just another demo found in my mail... but it turned out to be absolutely not what I expected. I expected to hear some metal (not nesessary black), but it turned out to be martial industrial/neofolk/post-punk. However, I really liked this EP after a few listenings. It's maybe the first example of leftist martial industrial I've came across, and it's quite good, despite more than half of these tracks being covers. I'm not sure if I understood the concept of this EP correctly, but looks like it's inspired by Plaza De Mayo events. Here are the release notes (in Spanish):


"Este proyecto musical es algo que estaba en mente, pendiente, desde hace bastante tiempo.
Vamos a intentar ser simples.

Dentro de una escena, nos guste o no, inestable, se intenta aportar un grano de arena
dentro del concepto de 'contra-cultura'; creando espacios culturales y artísticos, históricos y sociales.
El trabajo a lo largo de estos años y el camino recorrido nos dice que hay muchas cosas por decir y hacer.

Desde ya, y no hace falta profundizar mucho, NO estamos de acuerdo con los productos culturales y artísticos hegemónicos, como se entiende socialmente en los medios de comunicación, masivos.
Por eso elegimos 'ésto'. Y no es moda, ni religión, ni nada de eso. Es una participación activa dentro de la lucha por el florecer en el under.

Como el punk años atrás, hijos de ese espíritu, con consciencia, dialéctica y respeto, presento este humilde EP a los 16 días de Junio de 2011.

¿Por qué esa fecha? Por el bombardeo que sufrió Buenos Aires un 16 de junio, pero en 1955; contra un gobierno, nos guste o no, elegido democráticamente; masacrando intelectuales y trabajadores comprometidos antes y durante la dictadura fusiladora, anterior a la que todos nombran.
Ante todo, defendemos la libertad. Cueste lo que cueste, por eso, el 'himno' "A Las Barricadas", canción popular de fin de los años 30's en la España de la Guerra Civil. Por eso, un no-cover de Blood Axis, volviendo el sampleo de Sergéi Prokófiev a su real lucha, cambiando las líricas.

Por eso también, un reconociemiento a las bases artísticas que el amor a la libertad nos implica pensar que no estamos solos en un mundo mal contextualizado históricamente, con mala memoria, con una verdad a medias y con justicia para pocos, sea social o cultural.

Espero les guste el proyecto, o aunque sea, les llame la atención...
Emerson Dracon"

myspace

Incipit - "½" (2011)

INCIPIT "½"

Year: 2011
Genre: Black Metal
Country: Argentina

Track List:

1. Live - Die
2. The Fire and Time
3. Time Wheel
4. Mulanima
5. Hymn III (Ulver cover)

DOWNLOAD

The only member of this San Juan-based black metal project has contacted me on youtube and asked to check out his music. Well, I'd say it's very good for a 1st demo, and despite the lyrics aren't political or religious (except maybe for track #5, which has anti-Christian lyrics), it's definitely an anti-nazi project.

Anne - "A Cursed Night" (2011)

ANNE "A Cursed Night" (+ various songs)

Year: 2011
Genre: Neofolk / Darkwave / Dark Folk
Country: Argentina

Track List:

1. Blue Surge
2. I Say...
3. VIII

bonus:

1. Demons in the trees
2. Bikes & guns
3. Depressive order of the golden dawn
4. Sol muerte
5. Rain forever
6. Sun
7. V

DOWNLOAD

Here are two debut EPs by an one-man neofolk project from Argentina. His main sources of inspiration were bands like Current 93 and Death In June, but he was tired by NS/fascist atmosphere surrounding this genre, so he decided to record his own music (his beliefs are close to individualist anarchism and environmentalism, if I understood him correctly):

"In my music and concept i try to go deep inside myself and go beyond words, search for beauty and freedom in the darkness. For me enviromentalism and anti state ideas can be perfectly embodied with this music, that represent nature, beauty, prosperity to diferent cultures and his relationship with their environment"

Of course I can't compare it with Rome or Sieben (BTW, the song "Rite Against The Right" by Sieben should be the theme song for the whole Neofolk Against Racism community), but it's not bad for a demo. There's one track which sounds more like darkwave/industrial than acoustic folk, and I liked it the best.


bandcamp