Peruvian Metal Month
Throughout 2023, trying to order Hamadría’s ‘Sesión de Estudio’ made me dive deep into the heavy metal scene of Peru. The contacts I made along the way allowed me to devote a full month to some of the amazing bands Peru has to offer in January 2024. All reviews an interviews published that month concerned Peruvian metal from various eras, with a fairly strong emphasis on heavy metal, power metal and thrash metal, mostly due to personal interest.
The 13 interviews and four reviews of Peruvian Metal Month can all be found right here.
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César Gonzáles Salaverry (Mauser): A Solid, Creative Machine
Mainstream metal with great vocals has become a bit of a rarity these days. And yet, that is exactly what Mauser is offering. All the excellent songwriting, strong riffs and well-written vocal melodies and harmonies an album in that style needs are present on their studio albums ‘Mauser’ (2014) and…
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Kranium: A Shared Madness
While there are quite a few bands combining various types of metal with traditional Andean music these days, Kranium was one of the first bands in Peru – if not the very first – to experiment with this mix of styles. Coming from an extreme metal background, Kranium evolved into…
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Ingrid Castro: Never Stop Learning Something New
In a way, the voice of Ingrid Castro was the catalyst for Peruvian Metal Month. Her powerful, emotional performances on Hamadría’s ‘Sesión de Estudio’ set the whole project in motion. Shortly after her departure from that band, we talked with her about her background as a singer and what her…
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Album of the Week 04-2024: NMK – Ravenous Spectre
Out of all the Peruvian bands I have dug into over the past few weeks, NMK is probably the one with potentially the biggest international appeal. And it’s not for the reason you might be thinking of. Sure, the lyrics on the band’s debut album ‘Ravenous Spectre‘ are in English,…
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Armagedon: Overcoming Obstacles with Hard Work and Conviction
Although their debut album ‘Nunca Digas Nunca’ was not released until 2011, Armagedon is a veteran of the Peruvian heavy metal scene. The band has been around since the late eighties and has steadily worked on music for most of those years. Their latest album ‘Sobrevivir’ was released earlier this…
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Adrián Del Aguila (Miserable): Passion Never Dies
With three albums under their belt in just over six years – and a fourth one on the way – thrash metal band Miserable is remarkably prolific by Peruvian standards. When talking to their singer and bassist Adrián Del Aguila, it immediately becomes clear why: he is a man of…
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Album of the Week 03-2024: Mauser – Más Fuerte que la Muerte
Mainstream metal doesn’t really seem to be a thing anymore. Even as late as the early 2000’s, there was always a band with somewhat heavy guitars on fairly frequent rotation even on the most metal-averse radio and music tv stations. A band like Mauser, however, proves that an accessible hard…
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Coqui Tramontana (M.A.S.A.C.R.E): Great Expectations
M.A.S.A.C.R.E, then simply known as Masacre, was one of the first real heavy metal bands in Peru. Their debut album ‘Sin Piedad’ might actually be the first properly recorded metal album in the country. Guitarist and main songwriter Coqui Tramontana talks us through all the highs and lows the band…
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Fernando Jara (Abigail): The Origins of Ancestral Metal
Abigail could really not have come from anywhere else than from South America. While the influences from European extreme metal bands are apparent, their 2022 debut album ‘Imperio Maldito’ is clearly influenced by the band’s Andean roots both musically and lyrically. Although ‘Imperio Maldito’ was released recently, Abigail has been…
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Album of the Week 02-2024: Miserable – Gran Náusea
When ‘Gran Náusea’ was recorded, Miserable was still pretty much the solo project of Adrián Del Aguila, fresh off releasing his first album with M.A.S.A.C.R.E after a decade fronting that band. But two things are clear immediately: one is that this material couldn’t really have worked within what M.A.S.A.C.R.E was…
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Gustavo Fernández Zaferson (Fallen Symmetry): Finally Completing Their Sound
Progressive metal band Fallen Symmetry left an indelible mark on the Peruvian metal scene with their 2016 sophomore album ‘Renacer en la Tormenta’. ‘Rehenes’ (2022) shows the next step in the band’s evolution. Singer Gustavo Fernández Zaferson talks us through the musical journey of the band. “We set out to…
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Contracara: Different Shades to Play With
If you are looking for meat-and-potatoes heavy metal riffs with touches of both classic and contemporary metal, Contracara has got you covered. And yet, their recent album ‘1307’ shows that the band from Lima is also aspiring to be more than just that. Founding guitarist Gino Bogani, singer Sara Monzón…
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Nathalie Markoch (NMK): Expanding on Dark and Aggressive Aspects
NMK is a bit of an anomaly within Peruvian metal. Their combination of melodic death metal riffs, progressive song structures with both clean vocals and growls by Nathalie Markoch does not really sound like anything else in the scene. The band has just announced its return after a three-year-long hiatus.…
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Album of the Week 01-2024: Masacre – Sin Piedad
Recorded in 1987 and 1988, but not released in their native Peru until deep into the nineties – though it was released on cassette in Venezuela in 1991 – it is safe to say that Masacre’s debut album ‘Sin Piedad’ had a bit of a troubled birth. Given the economic…
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Fred Aching: Always Learning What He Doesn’t Know
There aren’t many Peruvian drummers with a schedule as busy as that of Fred Aching. That was the case when he still lived in Peru, but his resume has expanded significantly ever since he moved to California. Between session gigs, he has recently found time to do his own thing…
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Martín Revoredo (Spectral Souls): Renovating the Lost Underground
Old school death metal seems to be going through a bit of a revival in recent years. Spectral Souls might just be the Peruvian band making the most of the renewed worldwide interest in the genre. Their 2022 debut album ‘Towards Extinction’ is chock-full of riffs that pay homage to…
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Héctor Ilizarbe (Hamadría): A Special Sensitivity to Melancholy and Suffering
With their impeccable symphonic arrangements and exceptionally strong melodies, Hamadría is one of the brightest hidden gems of the international power metal scene. Their music was also arguably the catalyst for Peruvian Metal Month, so it is only natural to have an interview with drummer, lyricist and band leader Héctor…
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Announcement: Peruvian Metal Month
Exciting news! January will be Peruvian Metal Month on Kevy Metal. What does that mean? For starters, every interview that will be published here throughout the month will be with a metal musician from Peru, and each of the four Album of the Week reviews will be about releases by…
Kevy Metal 