A Look At Three Legendary Albums | White Metal Compilations In Argentina
The so-called “White Metal” scene in Argentina has always been emerging, entirely underground, and generally overlooked by the vast majority of the media and the public at large. There are several reasons for this, but that is not the focus of this discussion or debate—we’ll leave that for another time.
On this occasion, we set out to explore this unique and underground scene to see if there are any albums that compile part of its history, and we were quite surprised to find that there are only three instances where someone had the idea to compile a variety of tracks from different bands onto a CD—tracks that, in many cases, are the only recorded musical legacy these bands have left behind.
Recording and releasing music, at least in Argentina, has always been quite difficult and complicated—especially from a financial standpoint—and that’s one of the reasons why so many bands have come and gone without leaving anything recorded behind. Yes, it’s true, there are many demos, EPs, cassettes, or independently and self-produced CDs, and even “home” recordings or “bootlegs” circulating (some of which we have in our possession), but there are three releases we wanted to highlight because of the importance and value they’ve acquired over time, and above all, because they’ve captured a specific era.
First, we have the CD “Santuario: Lo Mejor Del Under Nacional,” released in 2004, which is naturally linked to the Santuario fanzine. Through this self-managed and independently released CD, they managed to compile a collection of 12 tracks performed by 12 bands from that era, with a variety ranging from the traditional Heavy Metal of Raza Fuerte, Doble Filo, and Tercer Día, to the Black Metal of Thusiasterion, including the Heavy Thrash Metal of Advertencia, the Death Metal of DeinMorten, and the power metal of Hombre Eterno and Stratos. The lineup is rounded out by Agnus Dei, S.A.N.T.U.A.R.I.O., Guerrero, and Uzias. This album was produced entirely by Santuario and mastered by José Luis Lucero.
And that’s not all; to celebrate Santuario’s 20th anniversary, a second compilation album titled “Fuerte Y Claro” was released. The main difference this time was that the scope was expanded to include Latin American bands, such as “Will Matheus” and “Antidemon” from Brazil, Bellatorium from Bolivia, Efesios Seis from Mexico, and Mission from Nicaragua—though the vast majority of the material comes from bands like Prevalece, Gadaren, Habacuc, Pacto Perpetuo, Gedeon, Cruxial, Jazer, etc., representing a wide spectrum of diverse styles within metal.
As far as we know, this was the only serious attempt to promote Argentina’s underground bands—which are numerous and diverse—but which often lack exposure and visibility. In this regard, Santuario has served as a highly effective channel for showcasing the diverse offerings of the entire scene, and it continues to do so today.
Another figure who was always in the thick of things, on the front lines when it came to metal and promotion, was Naldo Brizuela, who, through the fanzine “Santa Fe White Metal”, did (and continues to do) his part to bring many bands to the public’s attention. Specifically, along with issue No. 13, the fanzine released—completely free of charge—a compilation featuring many independent and underground bands, though in this case we can also note the presence of bands from neighboring countries, which is always welcome.
The fact is that this compilation features bands such as Altar, Cruz Metal, Guarnición, Lázaro, Triade, Voz de Estruendo, and even the legendary Saint contributed the track “Crucified” to be included on this CD—a magnificent gesture from humble people in the metal scene! The compilation is rounded out with tracks from the bands Elemiah, Minyma, and Redentor.
The CD was produced for the fanzine by the team at “Vampire Records” in Bolivia, who shaped and brought this entirely independent production to life—a project that served as a platform for many bands that would otherwise find it very difficult to promote their music. The idea, as Naldo Brizuela told us, was to include this CD with issue #13 of the fanzine as a way to promote the very bands featured in that issue.
It’s true that today, distribution through digital media has become the norm, and the reach of social media is incomparable to a simple CD release by an underground fanzine, but things are different when there’s a distribution channel that brings together several bands, promotes their music, and also releases it on a physical CD. At least in the past, that was essential and very important. We believe it still is today.
Very few bands have managed to record and release an album professionally. Add Lázaro, Boanerges, Triade, Barni and Heaven from back in the day to that list, and that’s about it, you could say. Aside from those rare cases, the vast majority have only been able to release a handful of demos. Sometimes even on cassette. And that’s what was relied upon most of the time to promote underground bands on the radio.
Although, as we mentioned, social media and digital music platforms exist today, it’s not as if there’s widespread distribution, which is why we felt it was important to remember and highlight these compilations that the folks at Santuario and Santa Fe White Metal have preserved in physical format—a record of many bands that may no longer exist today, may be on hiatus, or may still be struggling to make it.
Any chance of a reissue? It seems unlikely, especially since everything has been moving to digital platforms lately, though we shouldn’t rule it out entirely. What is important, though, is that this is undoubtedly collector’s item material.
And to continue spreading the word on what began years ago, here are several links where you can listen to two of the three albums in their entirety, so you can discover all those bands and their diverse styles that have left their mark on these compilations….
