Colombia
INFO wins the first edition of Metal Battle South America North Region.
Colombian band INFO, with their futuristic metal and industrial rock sound, has been crowned the winner of the first edition of Metal Battle South America North Region, a competition that selects the best emerging metal bands from Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela to represent the region at the world’s most significant metal festival, Wacken Open Air.
The competition’s final took place on December 2, 2023, at the iconic La Media Torta Open-Air Theater in Bogotá, where INFO competed against ten other bands that had previously qualified in the regional eliminations. The jury, composed of musicians, producers, journalists, and contest promoters, evaluated the bands based on criteria such as musical skills, creativity, originality, potential, coherence, and identity.
The second place in the competition went to Cherxor, a band from Ambato, Ecuador, known for their impeccable musical ensemble and remarkable local work.
The third place was awarded to Syracusae, a band from Bogotá, Colombia, playing progressive and experimental metal with influences from jazz, fusion, and Djent.
INFO will have the opportunity to travel to Germany in 2024 to perform at the Wacken Open Air festival, where they will compete with other bands from different regions of the world for the title of the best metal band of the year in Metal Battle 2024.
The Metal Battle South America North Region contest is part of the Metal Battle initiative, created by the Wacken Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports the development and promotion of metal music worldwide. The competition aims to discover new talents and provide them with the opportunity to perform at the prestigious Wacken Open Air festival, held annually in the town of Wacken, Germany, attracting over 80,000 metal fans and 150 bands from various genres and countries.
The regional promoter is Felipe Szarruk, director of Subterránica LA ROCK, who, along with regional allies for this edition – Independet Booking Artist Manager and IT Experience in Colombia, Cresta Metalica in Venezuela, and Aquelarre Metal in Ecuador – organized the competition production. It featured 214 registered bands and more than 18 individual events. These promoters have been working for several years to promote the metal scene in their respective countries.
The competition also received support from sponsors such as Metalhead Tours, Wacken Latinos, Tarapaca, Nekronik Bar, The Grange Bar, Tinta Negra, Jazr, Artemisa, Guitar Labs, El Museo del Rock Colombiano, Wolfgnag, Ace of Spades, BOD, Breeze Ice, Talent Nation, LDM Alternativos, Calavero, Whitencolor, Kaijú Bar, Maniac TV, Jersey Bar, Cifuentes Strings, Sir Edwars, Tunja Metal Fest, among others. The support of the three German embassies in the region, Celina Hernández’s management of Subterránica, logistical support from the Foundation for Development Promotion, and audio engineering direction by Andrés Espitia were also crucial. The event received a visit from a representative of Wacken, Germany, and various messages and actions of support from artists and producers in the global metal scene and Wacken Open Air founder Thomas Jensen. It is a milestone in the region, of a unique nature as events of this kind are not independently organized.
The competition organizers expressed their satisfaction with the results and thanked all the bands, the jury, sponsors, media, and the audience for their participation.