1989 was an important year for the Chilean underground metal. During that year several bands emerged releasing their first demos and laying the
foundations of what nowadays is and has always been the powerful Chilean metal scene. One of those bands was DARKNESS, although they have had a short career
and released one demo until their reunion several years later, the band has alwasy been an important piece with great influence and legacy among their countrymen. This is
an interview with its founder, guitarist / vocalist Suivan Kong.
This year marks the 30 years of my Ibanez model Artist 1980!. We met at school, Mauricio Acevedo was a partner of mine, in 85 we got into metal and gradually learned to play in 86. Then in '87 we found “Gitano” and he called our original drummer Jean Aravena. Our first rehearsal, without bass, was the easter week of 87 ... the neighbors threw stones at my yard ...[something reasonable] we were playing outdoor songs from Sepultura´s Morbid Vision on holy Sunday ha ha ha. Later Guido Flores on bass joined.
In 1989 when your demo was released [Demo I] bands like Atomic Aggressor, Sadism, Death Yell or Totten Korps unleasshed hell releasing their very first releases, tell us a bit more about your activities and your perception of the scene in Santiago during those years?
It was an excellent time for metal, an artistic explosion in great part due to the rebellion against the dictatorship and its principles. It was an exciting adventure for everyone who lived at that time and attended to concerts. Usually the police arrived and screw up everything. It had a big impact on the press which I think it attracted even more people. The bands were distrustful of their environment and many enmities were created for very absurd things. I think we had a good friendship with the bands that played at Sala Lautaro, unfortunately we didn´t play much at the Manuel Plaza due to stupid rivalries of one our band member.
I think that name was inspired by the Ozzy´s song “Waiting for Darkness” an amazing song! Honestly, we thought that we were the only ones using it, I was surprised that no one had found this fantastic name before us ... but soon learned taht tere was a band in Germany and one in Colombia too, and then, we were Darkness from Chile.
What bands did you listen to back then? What influenced you musically and lyrically?
Heavy Metal at first, later the best metal bands influenced us, but an album that entered directly in my veins was Slayer Reign in Blood, also Exodus “Bonded by Blood”, Possessed “Seven churches” and Morbid Visions by Sepultura!!!
A lot of marijuana, and great expectations, great concerts during dictatorship, we began to take hold and that for a teenager is to do everything you dreamed...
I really think that the quality of the demo is really outstanding, both in compositions and sound, I personally think that "Under the Grave" should be considered as a classic of the Chilean death metal [I´m sure that Chilean death metallers and all those who know the Chilean scene would agree]. What do you think about that?
I really think that the quality of the demo is really outstanding, both in compositions and sound, I personally think that "Under the Grave" should be considered as a classic of the Chilean death metal [I´m sure that Chilean death metallers and all those who know the Chilean scene would agree]. What do you think about that?
I think it's a song of worship for the followers of Darkness. It was my first song and that's why the song reminds me of our first rehearsals... we were lucky to find a great drummer since the beginning.
Who was responsible of the design of your magnificent and cool logo and the drawing of the cover artwork? That iconic grim reaper is one of the coolest I´ve seen.
Who was responsible of the design of your magnificent and cool logo and the drawing of the cover artwork? That iconic grim reaper is one of the coolest I´ve seen.
Enrique from Atomic Aggressor was the creator of that image and our logo. It's a great designer, many metal bands welcomed their input. Thanks Enrique!
I mentioned Atomic Aggressor, Death yell Sadism.., did you use to trade demos with other bands? Did you get along well between the bands?
We share many concerts with them in Sala Lautaro... It was a time of “Lautaresque” fraternity.
I must ask you about the gigs in the famous Sala Lautaro gigs, what memories and anecdotes do you remember from that time? Any show that is specially remembered?
At that time I always played drunk, high etc. The sound was almost dreadful, the lighting was a pain in the ass for the whole scene, and the old lady Marta didn´t pay even one... I think we played for more than 3 years for free, we didn´t care, but who was taking money? The owner, “old” Marta and the organizer, they made good surely ... The concerts were a big party until the cops arrive and carried 300 people in jail with no reason...
We had a good reception on the national scene, unfortunately at that time almost did not exist places to play in the province. In Rancagua we had to play with Massacre and the cops cops canceled the concert at the moment we arrived. It was a risk for the organizers to invest too much money in such conditions so we didn´t play much outside Santiago... We had interviews with zines from Peru, Argentina and especially Chile, ha ha ha, Acevedo was in charge of mail until I took over since 1990 and since the band dissolved...
When, and most important, why did the band split up?
Guitarist Mauricio Acevedo left because he was about to begin studies, Gitano was no longer interested in singing, Guido began playing unmotivated and he did not learn the songs well enough before the concerts, Jean by that time was only motivated by weed, he stood me up many times and I finally I got pissed off and look for a drummer friend, Tito Isla from Sepulchre, a friend band from Sala Lautaro, and then I called Pancho from Torturer.
Pancho and Tito did not agree to follow as Darkness, so we started playing under the name K.I.C. [Kong - Isla – Cautin]. All the songs were written by me and I used them later for the return of Darkness.
Besides K.I.C., I formed a Punk Rock group called Calefont and share many concerts with the band Fiscales Ad Hok, since early 90s until 99.
K.I.C. was dissolved in 95 and I convinced Jean to play drums with a vocalist friend Ninios Morgue from Rancagua, thus we formed Metalmorfosis, a band that never played live but did great songs that maybe one day I´ll use them with Darkness as I did with K.I.C.
The only ones who continued making music were Jean Aravena and me. Jean Aravena many years later with his band Adamantium, in 2000 something...
I try to save Darkness with Pancho Torturer and Tito, we had an excellent time of creativity but very isolated from the scene, since we started playing in 92, and then in 95 we did a concert with Torturer. I think it was much more interesting musically the composition of that period [92 -. 95]
At that time we created the songs that are on the second release of Darkness, recorded in 2010, 15 years later...We still have about 10 songs to discover from that time, to me they sound like Darkness, but not as raw as before.
Why the other members from the original line up didn't get involved in the reunion?
Why the other members from the original line up didn't get involved in the reunion?
It was 2008 when I returned to Chile after a long time. Guido Flores told me his idea. He always told me that people still were asking about Darkness, I had to stay in Chile all the summer so we tried to join with Jean and Guido to reform Darkness for an eventual gig that Guido organized. I insisted in motivating Guido with to play bass, he didn´t play since the years of Darkness. Unfortunately Guido was not at the expected level and quickly had to find another bass player and who better than Pancho Torturer to replace Guido...professional and with many contacts to reunite Darkness once again.
A year later it was Pancho who organized the concert where we played for first time in 20 years, Gitano was on vocals and we got another guitarist, whom I did not know but he was very motivated ... The reunion concert of Darkness was a real journey in time for ne. It was g emotionally great, but we played really bad ... the sound was worse than on Sala Lautaro because it was a very difficult background music for theater, plus I was drunk like in the old times. I did a guitar solo that sounded painful and funny at the same ha ha ha, not so funny for those who did not know the band. Anyway it wasn´t a triumphal return but gave us a lot of energy to carry on. So when I returned in the summer of 2010 rehearsing with Pancho and his former drummer of Torturer. Jean Aravena had health problems and he couldn´t be with us.
The songs are great and I hope that people discover the great changes of the band.
This year 2016 we didn´t had the opportunity to play in a big concert, but we couldn’t as my flight to France was two days before the day of the concert with Fatal Conspiracy.
I only rehearse one month with Jean Aravena because I was very busy working on editing my film shot in Chile and France in the past two years. The movie is about the rock scene in both countries, besides telling a history marked by alcohol and drugs in a couple of rockers, a Chilean classic.
The film is called “Chichon Alegre Rock n Roll”, and I hope to premiere next summer in Chile in Cine Arte Alameda...
I also hope that we can record new material next summer, is not easy living so far from Chile, and I'm not interested in working with Darkness in France. I have a band there, it is a mix of Hard Rock, Punk Rock, Metal and Stoner Rock called Roll n Roll Doctors. I have fun with that music and I leave Old School Metal exclusively to Chile.
How was the writing process and the recording of the new material “Darkness” released in 2013? What differences and similitudes would you name comparing the old material and the new songs?
The writing process was intense because I can hardly write texts and wrote them in a rush to finish the recording. The music comes easy but the texts are more complex and is a work of rewriting ... I rely on my political situation in relation to Chile and the world, for certain texts, such as Liberty and being exiled from the world ... others are more old school such as “Morvis Terrum”, somewhat comic, is a satire to the lyrics about monsters, etc.
There are people still pretending to be satanic and is as pathetic as believing in God and Satan.
Other lyrics like “Nubes Negras” [Black Clouds] are more personal. I wrote them using marijuana in the rehearsal room a week before the recording.
Under the Grave... that song was originally more absurd and adolescent ... it is more political now, Pinochet must have paid for their crimes but was saved from prison, “Generals knows well about the crimes, They Have to pay eternal torments, under the grave...”
The new songs were written and sung in Spanish, why did you decide to change? Please state the lyrical contents of the new songs.
I think that it is good to make the effort that the musical messages are understood in your country ... It is very easy to write atrocities in English, but in Spanish you can´t be so basic. ...
The EP also includes a remastered version of the demo, did you have the idea from long time ago or the idea came when you started working on the new material?
The original idea came from Australis records. Their idea was to remaster the old demo, but I was totally disagree, as for me it was more important to show the new unpublished material, never even played live by KIC, then we agreed to re-record at least an old song and that was Under the Grave, the first song written by Darkness
Francisco [bass] is also a member of Torturer, another band formed during the “golden age” of the Chilean scene and if I´m not wrong there is some kind of brotherhood between both bands…
Of course we are brother, I even went on tour once with Torturer, and that makes two-bands, the drummer and Pancho played 2 times, economically was very good for the producers.
Do you have new material written for your debut full length? Can you advance some details regarding concept, style, song titles… Is there a release date scheduled?
Nothing so far, just memories of old unreleased songs from the K.I.C. era, and Metalmorfosis have a bag packed with more than twenty killer songs that never saw the light, only Darkness ... Only Darkness could save us …
I think The most shocking would be jail, but I never been in jail, but just by imaging how it would be I think it's the worst ... the war is also one of the worst ...
But looking Otherwise live in a very original place is an artistic collective, where we organize many events and where many different people comes to realize their projects, is a Utopian place full of fantastic scenery and people coming to have a good time.
The main idea is to share a free space to do what you want, forget a little while about money, of the everyday masks, appearances required by this absurd capitalist world, freedom is at first in your hands ... the reality of our world is shocking, in this bubble where I live it is possible to disconnect a little bit without being fully out of reality.
What are your current future plans?
I'm looking for a drummer for Rock n Roll Doctors, I'm finishing my film. I need to continue the music ...still I don´t know when I go to Chile.
Thanks for your time, is there anything else you would like to add?
Greetings to all the bands with whom we share scene in those glorious times. Greetings to all the rockers in Santiago and Chile from Feed Back concerts to the late 80s metalheads. Metal Fraternity! Boycott coalition companies. Boycott the system…
Freedom! Freedom for political prisoners suffering for our dignity. Long live rock n roll...
Freedom! Freedom for political prisoners suffering for our dignity. Long live rock n roll...
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