Bloke - Demolición (1984)

Formed in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1981, BLOKE would be one of the first (and best) South American bands to fly the flag for heavy metal. Yes, there were other bands at the same time also doing this – namely Resistencia (Venezuela), V8 (Argentina), Stress (Brazil), and Riff (Argentina) – but unlike those bands, BLOKE were firmly and undisputedly a heavy metal band. The other bands mentioned are also usually categorized in such fashion, but there’s significantly more hard rock and blues rock influences in their sound. So for BLOKE to come along and play metal in the style of all the up-and-coming British metal bands like Iron Maiden, Saxon, Def Leppard, and Diamond Head, it was quite extraordinary and fresh.

After chipping away at the task of writing original material, BLOKE would release their one and only full-length album: 1984’s Demolición. The album opens with a cannon blast, and on comes the title track, “Demolición (Mental).” A mid-tempo affair, the song calls out Buenos Aires directly by basically saying “We’re here to play heavy metal and we’re here to stay. If you don’t like it, walk away.” I’m using an abridged version of the translated lyrics, but you get the point. Given that Argentina was in a time of civil unrest (a period known as the Dirty War) when Demolición was penned, a song about cultural changes was almost inevitable and furthermore, it just kicks ass! It has this long drawn-out guitar solo that effectively leads into the end of the song, taking several twists and turns as though we’re all going on some melodic journey. Up next is “Antes del fin” and “Paraíso infernal,” songs about the impending doom of the world and an “infernal paradise” where the military controls the population and ultimately repeats several horrific historical events to remain in control. “Listo a matar” and “Identidad real” close Side A (Heavy), each with great riffing and interesting lyrical themes. “Listo a matar” is about evil in the world and how “there’s always someone ready to kill,” whether it be for money, personal gain, or out of pure malice. “Identidad real” has a certain swing to it, which I find fitting since the song’s lyrics are about bouncing from what society perceives you as and who you really are – that “swing” makes it feel like the song’s perspectives are switching as it goes on. Very, very cool dynamic songwriting.

Side B (Metal) opens with the short and speedy “La fuerza del metal,” detailing the “strength of metal.” I’m glad to see the whole “writing songs about the genre you’re playing” theme was all over the world; it just has a little charm to it given how ridiculous in concept it is. “No esperen por mí” and “Bajo el signo del terror” follow next, with the first being a nice acoustic-introed heavier power ballad and the latter being, yet again, about the political unrest in Argentina. Aptly titled “Under the Sign of Terror,” the song calls the Triple A (Argentine Anticommunist Alliance – a right-wing death squad known for carrying out extrajudicial killings, kidnappings, and torture of suspected left-wing activists and dissidents) a pack of pigs and calls to end the dictatorship present in Argentina – and that is pretty badass, if you ask me. Closing out the album is the fast and sinister “Alma de chacal” (Soul of a Jackal). The song, once again, details the dictatorial perpetrators’ actions as being akin to that of a jackal – a person who uses greed and power to deceive and steal from others, not the animal per se. It’s a really fast song compared to everything else on this album, employing some gnarly double-kick drumming and an insane high scream from vocalist Nestor "Billy" Benegas where he goes “...y MORIRAN!!!” which translates to “...and DIE!!!” This song’s unrelenting fury is almost as perfect a representation of how the average Argentinian felt during the Dirty War as anything could be. It’s aggressive, full of venom, and uses its fast pace and almost punk energy to encapsulate how the repression people were experiencing felt. Quite an interesting topic, huh?

While I wish BLOKE had done more records, or even an EP or something, they disbanded in 1986 without releasing anything else. It’s been rumored that there’s a demo tape they made at some point prior to their dissolution, which would have featured entirely new songs for a planned second album, but that’s just speculation as no copies have been discovered. If you like any, and I mean any kind of NWOBHM, you’d be wise to check this one out. It’s essentially an Argentine version of Saxon and it absolutely rips.

Encyclopædia Metallum

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Originally published in Aug. '24 (Issue No. 4)