The artist of the week: Chaquen (Colombia)
Let me take you on a ride through one of Colombia’s most underappreciated, yet spiritually crushing underground bands: CHAQUEN. These guys didn’t just start a band , they summoned something ancient. Born out of Chía, Cundinamarca in 1998, CHAQUEN is the brainchild of Miguel Orjuela, a guitarist-vocalist whose vision was never just about playing metal louder or faster. This was about echoing the voices of the Muisca, were an indigenous people from Colombia’s central highlands, mainly around the Bogotá savanna in present-day Cundinamarca and Boyacá. (They were known for their advanced society, gold work, agriculture, and spiritual beliefs tied to nature)., through the blackened roar of extreme music. And when Miguel picks up that guitar, it’s not just for a riff , it’s for ritual.
Influences: they are diverse, ranging from atmospheric black, death, and thrash metal to traditional Colombian music, which is deeply connected to their ancestral ideology. Bands spanning from Metallica to Bal-Sagoth, Iron Maiden, Ancient Rites, Rotting Christ, Samael, Mayhem, among many others.
Their first offering, El Llanto de las Piedras (2000), came out swinging through Avathar Records. This wasn’t just another raw demo , it was a thunderclap. While it was well received in Colombia’s underground, the real surprise was how fast it crossed borders. Copies found their way to Central America, the U.S., and even parts of Europe. But just as quickly as it all started, CHAQUEN went quiet. By 2001, the band had taken a break.
Then 2003 hit, and Miguel wasn’t done. Far from it. He resurrected the project with new blood and sharper focus, setting the stage for the band’s most defining era.
Fast forward to 2011: a split with Sweden’s Demorian opened the door for their second full-length, Elemental. That album was a step beyond , more refined, more cohesive, yet still just as visceral. It lit a fire on Colombian soil and got traction overseas. But Miguel didn’t want to just mark time. On their 15th anniversary, CHAQUEN dropped 15 handcrafted boxes , full packages with CDs, videos, shirts, caps, pins, even gender-specific merch , pure underground luxury for the die-hards. No shortcuts, all heart.
In 2015, they released a digital EP, Un Lugar Para Morir, pushing into more experimental territory. The riffs got twisted, the structures more unpredictable, the vibe unsettling in the best way. Between 2015 and 2018, they released three splits with acts from Peru, Argentina, and Uruguay, building a pan-Latin American brotherhood of darkness. Then came Sacrum Mortualia in 2017 , a cold, relentless black metal assault that screamed '90s nostalgia without ever feeling derivative. This record carried them through South America, sharing stages with legends like Inquisition and Theatres des Vampires.
2019 saw Retornando al Pasado hit the streets via Hydra Productions , a compilation of old tracks and a bonus piece that later got absorbed into the 2020 reissue of El Llanto, co-produced with Blasphemous Attack. Then the world stopped. COVID-19 hit. CHAQUEN stripped down to a brutal, no-frills power trio and went rawer than ever , old school death metal, live streams, test-driving new songs in isolation, feeding the underground from the shadows.
Now in 2025, they’ve just dropped Lamentos del Pasado, a new compilation that’s making waves in fests and obscure venues across the region. But this isn’t some nostalgic rehash. CHAQUEN has cemented their place by living the music appearing in zines from Bogotá to Berlin, and slaying every stage they set foot on: La Media Torta’s Festival de Festivales, Rock al Kennedy, Soul Metal Fest, Movimiento Rock por los Derechos Humanos name the fest, they’ve marked it.
And look at their shared bill: Moonspell, Korpiklaani, Graveland, Theatres des Vampires, Inquisition, Flesh Hunter, Analssaulter, and Latin American underground beasts. Not to mention standing shoulder to shoulder with Colombian giants like Masacre, Witchtrap, Athanator, No Raza.
Today’s lineup is As tight as it gets. Miguel Orjuela still commanding vocals and guitar with spiritual fury, David Cifuentes anchoring everything on bass with depth and aggression, and Freddy Robayo blasting drums with surgical precision. Three men, one purpose.
Now let’s talk evolution because CHAQUEN’s isn’t some commercial arc. They didn’t soften with time, they sharpened. El Llanto was a descent into myth, raw and unfiltered, thick with ancestral fog and tremolo-picked ritualism. Elemental felt like breathing in cold mountain air still heavy, but cleaner, more melodic, more spacious. You could hear them coming into their own.
Then Un Lugar Para Morir flipped the whole thing on its head. That EP messed with your expectations fractured song structures, experimental textures, introspective dread. It wasn’t just dark it was disturbing.
But Sacrum Mortualia is the one. Their masterpiece. A love letter to second wave black metal, but inked in blood and soil. Cold, merciless, yet undeniably Colombian. You could feel the roots breathing between blast beats. No gimmicks. Just atmosphere, venom, and soul. If you dig early Mayhem or Samael, but crave something with a spirit that’s lived through conquest and resistance, this album will bury you.
And if I had to loop one track on repeat, no question “Elemental”. That song doesn’t play, it summons. The guitars whisper and howl, the drums hammer like ancient war drums, and the vocals don’t just scream , they invoke. You don’t headbang to “Elemental” you stand still and let it possess you. It’s grief and fury, history and prophecy, all crashing together like a storm on sacred ground.
