Jun 252024
 

(Today we present Comrade Aleks‘ interview of Tania Duarte, vocalist of the Peruvian heavy doom band Titania, whose debut album The Maverick was released on CD this past spring.)

Most die-hard doom metal fans will name two bands if we ask about Peruvian doom metal: Reino Ermitaño and Kranium. The first one was a traditional doom band with a lady on vocals, and the second one is a band with a huge history and only two albums in their discography.

Kranium (founded in 1986) released their second album Uma Tullu in 2020, so it’s okay, we know that they’re more or less active. But Reino Ermitaño… they haven’t released anything since 2014, and it seems that the band is no more.

Honestly, I almost missed it, but two years ago both bands gave birth to Titania, a traditional doom band that includes members from Kranium and Reino Ermitaño: Mito Espíritu (bass), Eloy Arturo (guitars), Tania Duarte (vocals), and Manuel Lozano (drums). Their first album The Maverick was released in late 2022, but the CD-edition was released only in 2023.

Tania Duarte gladly accepted our request and answered about the band’s current occupation. Continue reading »

Feb 242021
 

 

(This time Comrade Aleks interviews one of the members of the unorthodox Peruvian metal band Kranium, whose roots go back to the early ’90s and whose new album Uma Tullu (which you can stream below) was released on December 1st, 2020.)

Kranium is a legend of the Peruvian underground. The band was formed in 1985 as Murder but since 1986 it’s been known as Kranium. Their early material tended towards savage a thrash/death meta, but years passed, some members left and others joined the band, and their first full-length Testimonios finally was released in 1999. The story behind its making is long and far from easy, as Kranium drew the attention of the Swedish label Plasmatica Records  who promised to fund their recording sessions but had a hard time, and lack of money prolonged recordings for almost three years.

This material appears to be a mix between traditional doom metal with a bit of a raw edge, lyrics in Spanish, and arrangements of traditional Peruvian instruments. I’m surprised that this album is a kind of “lost gem”, forgive me this cliché, and I hope Kranium’s new and authentic-as-always album Uma Tullu (released in December 2020) will reach more listeners all over the world.

The band’s lineup has changed, yet its core remains the same: Eloy Arturo (guitars, songwriting) is one of the founding members, and Mito Espíritu (guitars, wind instruments, charango) has been in the band since 1991 (there was a break for a few years, but it doesn’t make a difference). Dennis Yamazato (drums) has played in Kranium since 2005, and Ian Chang (bass) since 2010. Our current guest Christian Meléndez (vocals, keyboards) is a relatively new member — his experience in Kranium is “just” ten years. But he’s quiet a talkative collocutor, and I’m glad we had this interview. Continue reading »