REFUSE RESIST
The 70s may have seen the birth of heavy metal, but the genre truly went global in the 80s. Trickling south of the US border, tape-trading networks helped lay the foundations for thrash, black and death metal scenes everywhere from Brazil to Argentina, Australia to Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. But where Brazil and Argentina embraced heavy metal as a form of post-dictatorial liberation, emergent scenes in and bordering Central America still faced an uphill battle against ongoing social, political and military issues in their respective countries.
“The very first interview I did, I was told ‘metal in Latin America isn’t about entertainment’” explains filmmaker Dr Nelson Varas-Diaz. “When you start travelling through places in South America or the Global South, you notice how people use metal in different
