Hermética
The band's initial lineup consisted of Iorio, vocalist Claudio O'Connor, drummer Fabián Spataro and guitarist Antonio Romano.
[citation needed] At this point of their career, Hermética performed mainly in Argentina, except for one concert held in Uruguay.
Hermética opened for Black Sabbath and Motörhead during their visits to Argentina, but had to cancel their headlining tour in Paraguay.
Ricardo Iorio, who performed lead vocals on a number of tracks, formed a new band, Almafuerte, and served as its vocalist.
[1] Iorio eventually chose Claudio O'Connor for vocals and Fabián Spataro from the band Mark as drummer.
The name of the band is a reference to hermeticism; Iorio saw similarities between the hermetic doctrine and the context of the Argentine heavy metal.
The fanzine Zote organized a free concert at the main plaza of Lomas de Zamora, but it was canceled because of the failed military uprising of the Carapintadas insurgents.
The fanzine "Rebellion Rock" proposed an independent production, which would be sold at Parque Centenario, but the band rejected this offer.
Once they returned to Argentina, they performed at several locations in Buenos Aires and in Mar del Plata with Divididos, Los Violadores, Arácnido and Rata Blanca.
They accepted the proposal, and recorded improvised cover versions of songs by V8, Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota, Enrique Santos Discépolo, Motörhead, and Manal.
Iorio, a fan of a band called Budgie, made deliberate similarities to Metallica's cover EP, The $5.98 E.P.
Hermética performed at the "Metal en acción" festival at the José Amalfitani Stadium, sharing the bill with 2112, Lethal, Horcas, Kamikaze, Alakran, and Riff.
They played with the bands Todos tus muertos, Pobres pibes, Nepal, Militia, Devastación, Rapier, and Resistencia Nativa.
[8] Following an avalanche at San Carlos Minas in January 1992, Hermética joined a charity music festival held at the Chateau Carreras stadium.
In March that year, Ácido Argentino was certified gold by the Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers (CAPIF), having shipped 30,000 copies in Argentina.
[12] Tripoli invited them to produce a new studio album in Miami or Los Ángeles but the band refused, preferring to stay in Argentina.
[13] Hermética was scheduled to support Megadeth, but their guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine had health problems which forced the band to cancel the concert.
The album included a heavy metal cover version of "Si se calla el cantor", a song first recorded by folk singer José Larralde.
Hermética performed at the Olmos penal facility on August 17, along with Lethal, A.N.I.M.A.L., Massacre, Attaque 77, Pilsen and the British U.K. Subs.
[12] Hermética was part of the 1994 edition of the Monsters of Rock festival in Buenos Aires, alongside Black Sabbath, Slayer, and Kiss.
The band recorded a cover version of a folk song, "De los pagos del tiempo", also by Larralde.
O'Connor, Romano, and Strunz stated in Madhouse magazine that the harsh relation was because Iorio had not consulted the others about the decisions he was making, that he received most of the money, and that he avoided meeting them when they were discussing the problems in the band.
It was later reissued as a double album titled "En Concierto"; this version was not edited in the studio and reinstated the raw sound of the band's live performance.
[1] The success of Hermética's second studio album Ácido Argentino allowed the band to increase the budget for the production of its follow-up, Víctimas del Vaciamiento.
[1] The lyrics, except for covers, were always written in Spanish because Iorio does not approve of artists who write in English to gain foreign audience.
[13] The first two albums addressed a variety of topics; the track "Memoria de siglos" ("Memory of centuries") references the cult of personality, buck passing, peace through strength, and wage slavery.
