Iguanas Club In Tijuana

Unearthing The Metal Underground: The Monterrey Mexico Metal Scene

Mexico is an enormous country just like our own, composed of 31 states and the Federal District. And like us, their music scene is exploding with bands and talent. Besides some of the bigger acts that have made a name for themselves over the years like Shub Niggurath , Cenotaph and Transmetal (a band once produced by Eric Greif) - not enough is heard with the requisite frequency about this active scene in Mexico. There are dozens of metropolitan areas all throughout this country that have metal bands, and there are several record labels that have been spawned to release this vast amount of groups. The interest in Mexican metal was no doubt piqued in American listeners years ago when such acts as LA's Brujeria showed what a winning combo death metal in Spanish could be. In focusing on one scene from our neighbors in Mexico, we will look at some of the interesting bands that have been coming out of the northern metropolis of Monterrey.

Living in the desert southwest where all of my Mexican neighbors come from Michoaca, Tamaulipas or Guanajuato, it is only natural I have wanted to discover more about this country and it's music. While I've travelled to my share of border towns, which have their own energy and club scene and bars that have pools where you can play volleyball, the only way to truly experience this country is to go deeper south and start seeing all the pueblos and cities that start to have a purer Mexican identity amidst the colorful landscape. I've been to Tijuana, Nogales and Mexicali countless times, been hustled off the street by guys paid to get you into their bar, and enjoyed plenty of drinks while listening to loud thrash metal.But to get a truer picture of what the country has to offer, it is essential to go further and begin to see the true essence of it all. You pass through countless towns that you go deeper into Mexico - almost all have a cathedral, a soccer field and a bar in the same block as the people are listening to their music ranchera. But you know, somewhere in the street are a bunch of guys with metal t-shirts of heavy rocking tunes on their stereo. The metal is great there.

A few hours southwest of McAllen, Texas, is the picturesque town of Monterrey. It is hard to believe that Mexico's third largest metropolitan area (ninth largest city) is this close to the U.S. Driving the desolate chaparral outback to get there is half the fun. Mexico has a system of free roads and toll roads - "carreteras de cuota" - throughout most of this northern area. If you can pay the toll you get to drive on the 4-lane highway. If not, you drive on the free road alongside a produce truck that's falling apart and emitting black smoke. As I watched a man trying to sell his hand tools so he could pay the toll, I couldn't help but be reminded of that song "Caseta de Cobro" by El Tri (about a toll booth operator who steals half the money he collects, buying pot and taking vacations.) I've been stopped by cops on roads like this, and a ten dollar bill usually gets me out of a ticket. Too bad it's not like this in the U.S. In Mexico, the laws of the frontier still prevail, which is sometimes a pleasant departure from regimentation and bureaucracy. You've got to love the rugged outback and a sense of adventure, and that's one of the reasons to head down to cities like Monterrey.

Iguana Run | Dastodd Photography

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So last year during Spring Break I made my way down from Chicago to Costa Rica for a week free of winter snow and full of sun and adventure.

One of the best parts of any Costa Rica trip is the wildlife. People from all of the world flock to Costa Rica to see monkeys and birds and lizards and sloths and tarantulas and many other things all in their native habitats. Perhaps one of my favorite spots there is the National Park at Manuel Antonio. The untamed rain forest in this amazing park gently hugs the Pacific Coast, with paths that wind through beaches and rocks and slopes and cliffs.

While hiking one day I came across several very large black iguanas. These things lumbered about in sunny spots or ambled on the forest floor as they made their way to the beach. Their scaly skin was mighty impressive and you often felt that you were looking into an ancient eye as they stared back at you.

I thought I had seen as big an iguana as I could see as the hike was coming to an end. Suddenly, off to the side I heard some rustling in the leaves. I paused momentarily to turn and look and just as I did the most massive black iguana came running out into the path and stopped just in front of me. He looked as surprised as I did for we were only about 5 feet apart. I froze in my tracks and so did he. We both just stood there. I, ever so slowly, began to lift my camera and he, ever so slowly, just turned his head from side to side, trying to sense if there was any danger.

But neither of us moved.

And so with my good fortune, I began snapping away, hoping that the new noise would not frighten him. And then, after a few minutes of our stare down, he decided he had enough and that it would be safe for him to run back into the woods on the other side.

And off he went.

Charles Dastodd is an international photographer and writer based in Chicago. He has an MA from Tufts University and recently received an MA and PhD from the University of Chicago.

You can find Charles’ on-going projects here on his blog and portfolio. His current collections include “The Kolkata Project”, featuring the city and vicinity of Kolkata – its people, its poverty, and its beauty. His second collection is titled “Faces of Winter” and features portraits taken in the snow, ice, and cold. The third collection is titled “Abandoned” and showcases decaying and forgotten places.

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