Kraken is one of the most influential heavy metal bands from South America, and arguably the greatest Colombian pioneer of the genre. Singer Elkin Ramírez was the only constant member of the band from its foundation in late 1983 in Medellín until his death at the age of only 54 in that same city in early 2017. However, in his relatively short life, Ramírez influenced multiple generations of musicians, not just through the music he created with Kraken, but also by creating opportunities for young musicians to develop their skills in the shape of music schools and places to play.

Stylistically, Kraken largely finds itself somewhere between the more melodic end of the heavy metal spectrum and the most metallic side of hard rock. After a pretty much full-on heavy metal debut album, the band discovered keyboards, and their experimentation with the instrument made them explore everything from very poppy AOR to heavier and more progressive sounds on their twenty-first century works. Ramírez’ characteristic voice is the one thing that makes even the most out-of-the-way detours sound like Kraken. While he may not be the most powerful singer, there is always something unique to his delivery that makes it charming.

After Ramírez’ death, the surviving members kept the Kraken name alive with new singer Roxana Restrepo fronting the band. I’m still not sure how to feel about this. This is no attack on Restrepo, as her voice is frankly spectacular. It apparently is the wish of Ramírez’ family for the band to carry on, and yet, it feels wrong for the band to perform under the Kraken name with zero original members. The album released since is nothing short of fantastic, however, and a logical continuation of the last few Kraken albums with Ramírez stylistically.

9. Kraken V: El Símbolo de la Huella (1995)

Judged purely on musical quality, ‘Kraken V: El Símbolo de la Huella’ is a far better album than its predecessor, as it is more focused and more certain of what it wants to be. But it’s even less likely that I will put on this one than ‘Kraken IV: Piel de Cobre’. Conventional wisdom states that this is an AOR album, but it’s not even that. It takes until the seventh track to finally get to the only riff-based song on the album. Everything else is built on a foundation of acoustic pop and rock. Sometimes it almost works, because the songs are reasonably well-written and Elkin Ramírez’ vocal performance is one of his best, but would it honestly have hurt to toss in one or two more rockers to keep the listener awake throughout?

Recommended tracks: ‘Déjame’, ‘Ilusión’, ‘Cuerpo de Arena’

8. Kraken IV: Piel de Cobre (1993)

By the time ‘Kraken IV: Piel de Cobre’ was recorded, Kraken was reduced to Elkin Ramírez, bassist Jorge Atehortúa, and a bunch of guest musicians, some of whom were once actual band members. That doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing, but ‘Kraken IV: Piel de Cobre’ never sounds like a band. Instead, it sounds like two members of a great eighties hard rock band struggling to cope with the changing music trends of the early nineties, and that’s exactly what it is. The songwriting lacks direction, and the final production has so clearly been pieced together in the studio that the album sounds lifeless. Even the good songs sound needlessly labored over or simply messy, and therefore like a shell of Kraken’s former self.

Recommended tracks: ‘O’culto’, ‘Piel de Cobre’, ‘Vive’

7. Kraken III (1990)

There was less than a year between Kraken’s second and third albums, and it kind of shows, because ‘Kraken III’ shares many pros and cons with its predecessor. It certainly is produced a lot better, but I still wished they turned the keyboards down significantly, or found a way to make them blend better with the guitars and bass. Also like its predecessor, it starts with a couple of more melodic hard rock tracks before it gets to the actual metal, and they are weaker here than they were on ‘Kraken II’. Having said that, the middle section of ‘Kraken III’ has a couple of very strong tracks, and especially the relatively heavy ‘Serres de Barro y Miedo’ and ‘Residuo Social’ profit from having the production tightened up a bit.

Recommended tracks: ‘Serres de Barro y Miedo’, ‘Razones Desnudas’, ‘Residuo Social’

6. Una Leyenda del Rock! (1999)

Technically a compilation, but it’s really only half a compilation, as the first five of the ten songs on ‘Una Leyenda del Rock!’ are all new material. In fact, most of it is the best material Kraken had released in about a decade. The riffs are finally back at the forefront, and the songs sound like they have been recorded by an actual band. Stylistically, the new songs on ‘Una Leyenda del Rock!’ are largely a throwback to the sound of the second and third Kraken albums, with maybe a slightly larger role for the guitar in the final mix, though the subtle Deep Purple vibe of opening track ‘El Idioma del Rock’ is fairly new for Kraken. It speaks volumes that the new material fits right alongside the classics, though I don’t quite understand the song selection there.

Recommended tracks: ‘No Te Detengas’, ‘Sin Miedo al Dolor’, ‘Explorador’

5. Humana Deshumanización (2009)

The only unnumbered Kraken studio album was their first of all-original material in over a decade, and their first with what would remain the band’s line-up until Elkin Ramírez’ death. At this point, their last full-length had been a mostly acoustic pop/rock affair, so it may have come as a shock how modern and heavy ‘Humana Deshumanización’ sounds. Kraken isn’t desperately trying to remain cool here, however, as most of the songs are built around Ramírez’ melodic vocals, but twenty-first century progressive power metal dominates the album. Some songs outstay their welcome – ‘La Gran Legión’ could have been a masterpiece if it was six minutes long instead of nine – but ‘Humana Deshumanización’ is definitely the most dynamic, powerful Kraken album in a long time. Andrés Leiva’s fantastic guitar work also elevates the ballads, closing track ‘Tríptico’ in particular.

Recommended tracks: ‘Desde el Exilio’, ‘Amnesia’, ‘El Viejo Galeón’

4. Kraken II (1989)

Kraken’s second album, released in the very final month of the eighties, is their first experiment with keyboards in their sound, and the limited production options of the era let them down a bit. The keyboards feel like they are just thrown on top of the music, whereas a lot of the songs would have profited from them being a more integral part of the mix. The album also needs a little while to get going. Once it does, however, there is some great material here, showing a little more of that ambition that their debut album already subtly hinted at. As a whole, ‘Kraken II’ sounds a bit more eighties hard rock than the traditional heavy metal sound of the debut, though the best songs are somewhat epic heavy metal at its best.

Recommended tracks: ‘Camino a la Montaña Negra’, ‘Al Caer las Murallas’, ‘Palabras Que Sangran’

3. Kraken VII: Los Pasos del Titán (2024)

Let’s just put my feelings about whether ‘Los Pasos del Titán’ should be a Kraken album if zero original members appear on it to the side, and judge it on its own merits. Is it a good album? It certainly is. Exceptional even. Musically, it feels like a tighter, more modern version of ‘Kraken VI: Sobre Esta Tierra’. Andrés Leiva simply knows how to write a good riff, and how to combine multiple of them into dynamic songs. Roxana Restrepo also delivers an amazing vocal performance. She moves along with the dynamics of the songs seemingly effortlessly, and she has a nice subtle rough edge to her voice during the most powerful moments. It’s also one of the most consistent Kraken albums, and it’s surprising just how heavy ‘Kraken VII: Los Pasos del Titán’ is. This is crunchy modern power metal at its very best.

Recommended tracks: ‘Consecuente’, ‘Quien Sueña en Cadenas’, ‘Lumbre’

2. Kraken VI: Sobre Esta Tierra (2016)

Kraken’s final album with Elkin Ramírez, released just a few months before he died, shows what ‘Humana Deshumanización’ would have sounded like if it had been more focused. It has all of the fat that album had trimmed, delivering an excellent contemporary, mildly proggy power metal sound, that nonetheless sounds like Kraken through and through. The hard rock and traditional heavy metal elements contribute to that, but Ramírez’ excellent performance as well. Which is surprising, as he likely was very ill when the album was recorded. Andrés Leiva delivers amazing riff after amazing riff, and the songwriting in general is incredibly dynamic and ambitious, yet tight and accessible enough to bang your head to. ‘Kraken VI: Sobre Esta Tierra’ may have been released too late in Kraken’s lifespan to be considered a classic, but it damn well should be.

Recommended tracks: ‘Flores de Trébol’, ‘Sobre Esta Tierra’, ‘La Barca de los Locos’

1. Kraken I (1987)

It speaks volumes that the weak mix of Kraken’s first album does not even hurt the powerful impact of its songs. At times, Jorge Atehortúa’s bass overpowers the guitars of Hugo Restrepo and Ricardo Posada to a degree that one wonders if any mixing ever took place at all. However, when your album starts with ‘Todo Hombre Es Una Historia’, one of the best heavy metal songs ever to come out of South America, and the songwriting quality does not let up after that, that suddenly becomes a very minor problem. Kraken’s debut album sounds adventurous without being complex, and there is a surprising amount of melodic sophistication for a band recording their debut album. There are a few similar-sounding riffs, but really, the first Kraken album is a justified heavy metal classic.

Recommended tracks: ‘Todo Hombre Es Una Historia’, ‘Fugitivo’, ‘Soy Real’