Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Panamanian extreme metal band Athica is currently in the studio working on new songs, so Chaoszine seized the opportunity to chat with the group’s vocalist, Víctor Arias. The conversation focused on the outfit’s current projects, their historic participation in the 2019 Wacken festival (they were the first Panamanian band to perform there), their tours of Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Spain, the Netherlands, and Germany, and how they have maintained their musical and personal bonds for over two decades.
Formed in Panama in 2003, Athica has become one of the most uncompromising forces in Latin American extreme metal. With three studio albums and countless shows across Europe and the Americas, the band has built its name on raw intensity, precision, and an unshakable commitment to their craft.
In 2019, Athica made history as the first Panamanian band to perform at Wacken Open Air, and in the same year, stormed Colombia’s prestigious Grita Rock Festival. They returned in 2023 for Tattoo Music Fest Bogotá, sharing stages with a crushing lineup of international heavyweights. Over the years, Athica has performed alongside legends such as Sepultura, In Flames, The Black Dahlia Murder, Suicide Silence, and The Faceless.
In 2025, the band marks a new chapter with the release of “Parasite“, introducing a revamped lineup and a sharper, heavier sound. More aggressive and unrelenting than ever, Athica continues to push the boundaries of extreme metal — representing Panama with pride and unleashing their movement onto the world stage.
Regarding the band’s current situation, the frontman comments: “We’re experimenting and recording ideas. The band members go to the studio once or twice a week with new material. We’re going to release an EP in 2026 that moves away from our last album, just as we did with ‘Parasite’. This song is built on a different concept than our previous work. It’s rawer and more direct; it carries a different kind of violence than ‘The Eternal Cycle’ (2024). Our goal is to release the EP in 2026. We’re searching for that sound and refining other details”.
Playing at Wacken 2019 and becoming the first Panamanian band to do so was a remarkable achievement for the group. It’s one of those moments you never forget. This is how their frontman recalls it: “The Wacken experience was a turning point for the band. Winning the Central American Metal Battle and becoming the first Panamanian band to take that stage gave us a huge boost of energy. All the effort we’d put in over the years finally paid off. It was also the icing on the cake: that year we’d just released our album ‘Decimation’ and completed our first tour of Mexico, so we were super fired up, hungry and ready to go”.
The vocalist adds: “Coming from a fairly small country like Panama, we felt tremendous support from local bands, fans and our families. When we played at Wacken, it was 6 a.m. in Panama and everyone was watching the livestream, which was really cool. Playing at Wacken proved that in a country where extreme metal is almost underground or non-existent, it can be powerful and relevant. We felt the support of our compatriots and audiences from Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico. Our mindset changed a lot from then on“.
As for plans for the remainder of the year and for 2026, the Panama native explains: “The EP is on its way, and we are also looking for gigs. We’re trying to get out of Panama as much as possible because we have three albums and more. We have enough material to take our shows to other countries, connect with different scenes, bands, and promoters, and expand Athica’s name beyond our territory, positioning ourselves as a strong Latin American extreme metal band“.
Arias continues: “Although we write our lyrics in English, we consider ourselves authentically Latin American in musical identity. We want to aim for the global market and avoid being pigeonholed as regional, because we believe we can carry the Latin American flag of extreme metal to other latitudes, share experiences with people and bands, and help this scene grow even more“.
As mentioned above, Athica is a metal band formed in 2003. They have toured Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Spain, the Netherlands and Germany, sharing the stage with renowned artists such as Sepultura, In Flames, The Black Dahlia Murder, Suicide Silence and The Faceless.
When asked what he believes has kept Athica going for the past 22 years, the musician responds: “I could mention words like perseverance, obsession, absolute faith in what we do. We have experienced changes in the line-up, setbacks, fatigue, disappointments, joys, triumphs, everything. We pursue this project as if it were tattooed on our souls. I’ve been in the band for 15 years, and I’m one of the longest-standing members, alongside our guitarist and producer, George Barroso. Since I joined the project, we’ve continued with the same passion, giving it our all“.
Adds the singer: “Every member who has joined the group has contributed their identity and sense of belonging. We are all moving forward, and you can see that every time we go out to play, every time we see each other and talk. We are obsessed with the project. Athica is brotherhood and stubbornness too. I think you have to be stubborn to keep the passion alive and the desire to do what not everyone is willing to do for a project. Music has to be enjoyed and felt, and at the end of the day, that love is what has kept us together in this monster we built called Athica“.
Finally, Victor Arias is asked how he would describe the sound of the Panamanian combo and what they try to communicate through their lyrics. He replies: “Our sound is a dance, oscillating between the chaotic and the melancholic, obviously within the brutality of deathcore, pure death metal and melodic metal. We move around quite a bit and stay as raw and technical as we can. We play around with what we’re feeling“.
“The lyrics, the sound — everything has changed over the years. I would say there have been three turning points. On our first album, ‘The Horror Shall Begin’ (2013), we were extremely fast and influenced by bands of that time. Our music had a deathcore and death metal base and we wanted to sound like The Black Dahlia Murder, Job for a Cowboy and All Shall Perish. We were also influenced by horror films such as Halloween and Saw. Our lyrics were anti-Christian, and we wrote about blasphemy, horror and chaos. We really wanted to make people uncomfortable and sound super fast, aggressive and extreme to make it feel like a brutal show.”
Arias elaborates: “In 2019, we released ‘Decimation’ and a thousand things happened in between. That’s when we stopped trying to fit into a group of bands or a style. It was a more conscious and critical stage, because the lyrics talk about the decline of humanity at the hands of humanity itself and broken systems. It’s a brutal portrait of social collapse and what we’ve experienced over the years“.
“And then, ‘The Eternal Cycle’ (2024) is an LP we wrote during the pandemic, and it’s more introspective and emotional. It talks about forgiveness, mental chaos and the madness that was put into our heads. It was also a forced serenity; I think at that time we were forced to see other things. I’m not saying it was bad; for me, for example, it forced me to read and focus on other things. We were all going through those kinds of changes, and I think it’s the most human, honest and vulnerable album we’ve ever made. It’s a combination of strength, darkness and catharsis”, he concludes.
Athica is:
Athica‘s gear:
George Barroso: Kemper profiler player/MIDI captain pedal/direct to FOH.
Jean Muschett (guitars): Nano Cortex/MIDI Captain Pedal/direct to FOH;
Eduardo Medrano (bass): Line 6 Helix/direct to FOH.
Victor Arias: Vocals—Shure SM58 | Backing vocals/ Shure SM58.
Tony Sinclair: Drums – Mapex – Meridian Back Raven – Axis Longboard Double Right pedals- Footblaster Triggers. Cymbals: Sabian, HHX Complex and AAX Xplosion. Drum heads: Evans EC2. Pro-Mark 5B Forward Sticks. Drum mics: Audix DP7.
QSC Touch Mix for sequences and IEM mixes | Shure PSM 300 (x5) in-ear monitor system
Find out more here: https://athicaband.com/
