Very early heavy metal albums from any country have a tendency to be charming and promising, but also flawed. More often than not, that is the result of even the most experienced sound engineers at the time not knowing how to capture the raw power of a rock band on tape, though the inexperience of a young band may become apparent through amateurish songwriting as well. Resistencia manages to avoid all these pitfalls with ease on their spectacular debut album ‘Hecho en Venezuela‘. This is truly one of the more accomplished heavy metal albums of its era both sonically and compositionally.

For 1981, ‘Hecho en Venezuela’ sounds monstrously heavy sometimes. The guitars of Rodrigo Yoma and Marco Ciargo have a lot of body to them, and while their sound is still clearly rooted in the heavier side of seventies hard rock, the riffs are a large part of why ‘Hecho en Venezuela’ hits as hard as it does. In fact, aggressive riff work pushes ‘Tierra Prometida’ pretty much as close to thrash metal as the style got back then. Víctor López Inaudi’s bass also provides a beefy bottom-end in that late-seventies way you unfortunately don’t hear on metal albums very much anymore.

Then there is the voice of César Somoza. I have a weak spot for the type of deep, powerful, semi-operatic vocals he employs, and his theatrical delivery works wonders for the song material. That may sound like there is no aggression at all, but the opposite is true. Sometimes, a delightfully subtle raw edge pops up in his voice, and Somoza has such great control over his vibrato that the intensity of it greatly impacts the atmosphere of certain sections. I’m not saying these songs would not have worked without his voice, but they certainly wouldn’t have worked quite as well.

Obviously, all of that would have been pointless if the songs did not live up to a certain standard, but the songwriting is consistently fantastic. Very dynamic too; while ‘Tierra Prometida’ and closing track ‘Templo de la Oscuridad’ push the style to its aggressive limits, ‘Resistencia’ is a more subdued metal track that extensively explores the possibilities of creating more space in the arrangements, while ‘Ángeles Cayendo’ is a masterpiece with its dramatic guitar and vocal arrangements. Looking for more straightforward fun? ‘Muerto en Vida’ and the more upbeat ‘Pared de Concreto’ have got you covered.

Albums as good as ‘Hecho en Venezuela’ were hard to come by in 1981, but on their first album already, Resistencia delivers a great-sounding masterpiece as if it was no trouble at all, in a continent that had almost no prior experience recording music this heavy. Today, ‘Hecho en Venezuela’ rightfully still stands as a hallmark of early South American heavy metal. Don’t mistake it as solely a historical artifact because of that, however; this is an amazing collection of songs, and a must-hear for anyone who likes traditional heavy metal and the heavier side of seventies hard rock.

Recommended tracks: ‘Tierra Prometida’, ‘Ángeles Cayendo’, ‘Muerto en Vida’