Acrania (band)
Acrania is a Mexican progressive/Latin metal band from Mexico City, founded in 2001 by guitarist and vocalist Luis Oropeza, drummer Johnny Chavez and guitarist Félix Carreón as Necrofilia. The band is known for their unique combination of death/thrash Metal with Latin jazz and Afro-Caribbean music as well as an unparalleled use of brass instrumentation and latin percussion. The current line-up includes Oropeza, drummer Johnny Chavez, guitarist César Cortés, bassist Alberto Morales and percussionist Dani Monti. The band has released three studio albums, one EP and two music videos since its formation. Their latest album Fearless was released on April 25, 2015 with the support of Mexico's Council for Culture and Arts, and has been listed among 2015 best albums from sites like Angry Metal Guy, Pure Grain Audio and No Clean Singing. The band has released all their albums with artwork by Israeli artist Eliran Kantor. History Formation and the Necrofilia years (2001–2005) Acrania was formed in 2001 in Mexico City by guitarist Luis Oropeza, guitarist Félix Carreón, and drummer Johnny Chavez under the name Necrofilia. This first formation of the band recorded a self-titled demo in 2004, together with singer Diego Merino, bassist David Mejía, and keyboardist Jimena Contreras. Merino left the band in late 2004, with Oropeza stepping up as vocalist. In 2005, Mejía and Contreras would also leave the band, with Alberto Morales taking over as bassist. After this lineup change, the band decided that their refreshed musical style required a new name, so it became Acrania. Unbreakable Fury and European debut (2006–2011) In 2007, after a year of writing songs and getting rid of the Necrofilia music, the band entered the studio for the recording of their first EP, In Peaceful Chaos. The self-produced EP, which consisted on four tracks, was recorded from April to June at Mexico City, and released on September. The band continued working on new material, which led to the recording of their first album, Unbreakable Fury, in 2009. The album contained all tracks from their previous EP, except "Emotionally Unstabilized", with five new tracks. Recorded at the same studio as In Peaceful Chaos, the album was mastered in 2010 by Jesús Bravo at Irapuato, and released on November. Due to Chavez moving to Switzerland for a year, Elli Noise's drummer Iván Morales filled in as drummer. Before the release of the album, the band had already built a local reputation that lead to sharing stage with Diablo Swing Orchestra on July 17, 2010. During December, with Chavez back at drums, Acrania made their European debut with a five date tour with the help of the Wacken Foundation. The band played at Berlin, Soest, Dresden, Helsinki, and Zurich. During 2011, the album began to get recognition among media and fans. On March, Unbreakable Fury was nominated for the Best Metal Album at the Fourth Indie-O Music Awards (IMAS). The band toured Mexico during fall, with new member Ignacio Gómez on percussions, and fell short during the Wacken Metal Battle Mexico final. An