Massakre is a Chilean

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

band, and a pioneer for the genre both in Chile and throughout Latin America. The band started as a

garage band Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

from 1982 to 1984 and moved into thrash metal in 1985. They have released four studio albums, and various demos and compilations. They are also known for using

corpse paint Corpse paint is a style of body painting, used mainly by black metal bands for concerts and band photos. The body painting is used to make the musicians appear inhuman, corpse-like, or demonic, and is perhaps "the most identifiable aspect of the ...

in a thrash metal band, later imitated by others.

History

Beginnings

Yanko Tólic started his musical career forming a garage band in 1982 named Sepulcro. The band did not find much success and Tólic changed the name to Embrión. He also developed his skills by studying guitar playing, with the Chilean scene dominated by rock bands like Tumulto, Sol y Medianoche and Congreso. Influenced by acts like

Celtic Frost Celtic Frost () was a Swiss metal music, heavy metal band from Zürich. They are remembered for their strong influence on the development of several metal subgenres, particularly extreme metal,Bukszpan, Daniel. ''The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal' ...

Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...

and

Hellhammer Hellhammer was a Swiss extreme metal band from Nürensdorf, active from 1982 to 1984. Although the band's sound and style were heavily criticized and poorly reviewed during their active years, they have been widely praised in retrospect and are ...

, he changed his genre to thrash metal and established the band Massakre in 1985, by recruiting Andrés Cabrío Marchant from Necrosis. The band appeared in major events in Santiago and Valparaiso, where there was great support for this type of music, alongside groups like

Pentagram A pentagram (sometimes known as a pentalpha, pentangle, or star pentagon) is a regular five-pointed star polygon, formed from the diagonal line segments of a convex (or simple, or non-self-intersecting) regular pentagon. Drawing a circle around ...

, Belial, Tormentor and

Vulcano Vulcano () or Vulcan is a small volcanic island belonging to Italy in the Tyrrhenian Sea, about north of Sicily and located at the southernmost end of the seven Aeolian Islands. The island is known for its volcanic activity and contains severa ...

Career

After completing a successful festival tour, the band released some demo tapes that became popular, the first being ''Pissing into the Mass Grave'' in 1986, followed the same year by ''Altazor'' and ''Beyond the Psychotic Redemption'' in 1988. The latter contains the song "Morbid Death" that became a metal anthem for followers. But with success came controversy. A great point of opposition to the band was it using

which brought in charges of Satanic rituals and animal sacrifice and being possessed by evil spirits. The band tried to stop these rumours, but the accusations continued. Massakre released its first studio album in 1989. Entitled ''Massacre'', although being thrash metal, it contained symphonic touches, and a conceptual story that links all the songs. But it was with the release of the better-produced ''Psychotic Redemption'' in 2001. With the release of their third studio album ''Crematorium'' in 2005, the band incorporated

speed metal Speed metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It is desc ...

influences. The band continued to release material and has witnessed a comeback with the band also appearing in metal festivals like The Metal Fest in 2012.Orgullo Nacional (Chile): Conoce a las bandas nacionales presentes en THE METAL FEST
(in Spanish)

Members

Band members

*Yanko Tólic – vocals, rhythm guitar (1982–present) *Eduardo Vidal – bass guitar (1986–2003, 2005–present) *Gabriel Head – lead guitar (2004–present) *Héctor Melo – drums, percussion (2010–present)

Past members

*Andres Nacrur – drums (1985–1986, 1998) *Jose Miguel Nacrur – guitar (1985–1986) *Mauricio Yañez – drums (1985) *Alfredo Torres – guitar (1985) *Christian Miccolo – bass (1985) *Claudio Muñoz – drums (1986) *Marco Carreño – drums (1987 to 1990) *Manuel Castro – keyboards (1989–1990) *Alain Saintard – vocals (1990) *Patricio Albornoz – drums (1999)

Discography

Demos

* ''Pissing into the Mass Grave (1986) * ''Altazor'' (1986) * ''Beyond the Psychotic Redemption'' (1988)

Albums

* ''Massacre'' (1989) * ''Psychotic Redemption'' (2001) * ''Crematorium'' (2005)

EPs

* ''In Aeternum'' (2011)

Compilations

* ''Back from the Mass Grave'' (2006) * ''Pissing into the Mass Grave + Fantasmas'' (2007)

Singles

* ''Mortuary'' (2011)

Not officially released

* ''Demo I'' (1986) * ''Demo II'' (1986)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Enciclopedia del Rock Chileno: Massakre
Chilean thrash metal musical groups Chilean death metal musical groups Chilean heavy metal musical groups