While the announcement of a new album is typically a routine affair, for the Bogotá-based band Herejía, however, it arrives as a symbol of persistence, a work of profound historical and personal significance forged in the wake of tragedy. The veteran band has revealed its third full-length album, ‘In Nomine Obscuritatis,’ will be released independently on October 31, 2025. This is not merely a new collection of songs; it is the continuation of a legacy, a work completed in tribute to the band’s late founder, Ricardo Chica Roa, that solidifies Herejía’s evolution from the raw aggression of early death metal into the sophisticated, orchestral force it is today.
Founded in 1988, Herejía stands as a pillar of the Bogotá metal scene, a city with its own rich and complex history of extreme music that developed in parallel to, yet distinct from, other Colombian musical centers.1
The album’s title, translating from Latin as “In the Name of Obscurity,” can be understood not as an invocation of a forgotten regional style, but as a deeply personal exploration of internal struggle, a theme that runs through the band’s recent work and finds its most poignant expression on this new record.
With ‘In Nomine Obscuritatis,’ Herejía honors its past while defiantly charting its future, transforming grief into a powerful expression of artistic rebirth.
Herejía: A Capital’s Proving Ground
The story of Herejía reflects the specific trajectory of the metal scene in Colombia’s capital. While the city of Medellín in the 1980s was birthing the ferocious and primitive sound known as “ultra metal,” a direct sonic reaction to the endemic violence of the era, Bogotá was cultivating its own distinct ecosystem of rock and metal.
Bands like Neurosis and Darkness laid the groundwork for a scene that, while still aggressive, often embraced a different kind of technical and thematic exploration. It was within this environment that Herejía was formed by guitarist and composer Ricardo Chica Roa (then known as Ricardo Rocha) and vocalist Nelson García in the late 1980s.
As pioneers of death metal in the country, their first album, ‘Extractum ex Infernis’ (1994), was a landmark of the burgeoning Colombian underground. Yet, following this initial period of activity, the band entered a long hiatus. They re-emerged with renewed purpose years later, culminating in the 2017 album ‘Renascentia in Tenebris.’
This record marked a pivotal transformation, showcasing a more mature and elaborate sound that integrated the symphonic and theatrical elements that now define their work. This evolution was not a departure from their roots but an expansion of them, a deliberate move to incorporate the grandeur of classical orchestration into the framework of extreme metal.2
This journey of persistence has set them apart, continuing to build their legacy even as other pioneering bands from their era have retired.
Born From Grief, ‘In Nomine Obscuritatis’
The path to ‘In Nomine Obscuritatis’ was marked by profound loss. In 2021, the band’s founder, guiding force, and primary lyricist, Ricardo Chica Roa, passed away, leaving the future of Herejía in uncertainty.
After deliberation, the remaining members, with the blessing of Roa’s family, made the decision to continue. Keyboardist Andrés Triana, who had already been a key musical collaborator, assumed leadership of the writing process to complete the album that Roa had started.
This context imbues the album with a powerful narrative of resilience. It is a work born from grief but defined by determination. The thematic threads of introspection and the struggle with internal demons, present in their recent singles, take on a deeper resonance.
The album becomes a dialogue with a legacy, a musical memorial where the band’s founder’s final lyrical contributions are given voice. The obscurity invoked in the album’s title is transformed into a space of creation, a darkness from which a revitalized and resolute Herejía emerges.
The Heretic Soundscape of Rebirth
The singles released in advance of the album map this journey of musical and emotional evolution. The first, ‘In Death We Trust,’ serves as a particularly poignant mission statement. The lyrics were written by Ricardo Chica Roa following a near-death experience, transforming a moment of personal crisis into a philosophical reflection on mortality.
The song itself, with music composed by Orlando Parra and Andrés Triana, is a masterclass in the band’s modern sound. It opens with a dramatic orchestral introduction before launching into a formidable structure of ostinato guitar riffs, thunderous drumming, and Frank Tuay’s commanding vocals, all interwoven with intricate symphonic layers.
A subsequent single, ‘Demonology,’ further explores the album’s introspective themes, examining the genesis of internal torment and the influence of external manipulation.
The track is described as a deliberate nod to the aggressive, direct sound of their early days on ‘Extractum ex Infernis,’ now reinforced with the impeccable orchestral and choral arrangements that have become their signature. Together with ‘Retribution Is My Name,’ a track whose music video was directed by Santiago Campos, these singles illustrate a band in full command of its artistic identity.
They are consciously bridging their raw past with their polished, symphonic present, creating a sound that is both a tribute and a progression.
A Symphony of Colombian Metal
‘In Nomine Obscuritatis’ stands as a significant cultural document for the Colombian metal scene. It is a product of the capital, shaped by the unique history of Bogotá’s artistic communities and its most celebrated music festival, Festival Rock al Parque, where Herejía has been a recurring and celebrated presence for decades.
The album’s production credits reflect a commitment to this local excellence, with mixing handled by Sebastián Piedrahita of Mythic Records and mastering by Jaime Suarez.
The current lineup—comprising Francisco Tway on vocals, Orlando Parra and Andrés Triana on guitars, John Porras on bass, and Camilo Bautista on drums and folk percussion, with Triana also handling symphonic orchestrations—represents a unit solidified by shared history and a collective mission.
Their work continues a tradition of Latin American metal that often serves as a critical reflection on its social and historical context, a phenomenon scholars have explored as a form of cultural resistance and identity formation across the continent.
A Legacy Resurrected
‘In Nomine Obscuritatis’ is a profound statement of resilience. It is an album that confronts the finality of death and chooses to answer with creation. Herejía has taken a moment of immense loss and transformed it into a powerful, sophisticated, and deeply moving work of symphonic death metal.
The album is more than a tribute to a fallen founder; it is the fulfillment of his vision and a bold declaration that even from the deepest obscurity, a powerful legacy can be resurrected, reborn in darkness and melody.
Herejía’s evolution from traditional death metal to a symphonic sound marks a significant artistic journey. How do you perceive such stylistic shifts in a band’s long career, and which artists do you believe have navigated this evolution most successfully?
References:
- Varas-Díaz, Nelson. ‘Decolonial Metal Music in Latin America.’ Bristol: Intellect Books, 2021, accessed October 18, 2025. ↩︎
- Rodriguez, Carlos. ‘Contributions to the memory of metal in Colombia: A critical reading of the book Bogotá: más que pesado, metal con historia by Carlos Arturo Reina Rodríguez’ – Intellect Discover, accessed October 18, 2025. ↩︎
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