LITURGIA, initially with Camilo, a.k.a Ctesias (guitars / vocals), Afar (bass) and Mauricio (drums), has a very interesting history that may go far back to 32 years ago in Manizalez, Colombia. After the dissolution of MORTANDAD (Camilo’s first band) in 1991, LITURGIA was formed in 1992 and showed up on the Colombian scene with a style that was not that “common” back in the day in the country, less in the region: Death / Doom Metal. Colombia was still mainly dominated by the “Ultra Metal” and “Metal Medallo” echoes and a band like LITURGIA, playing Death / Doom Metal, was kind of disruptive at the moment. Inspired by bands like BLACK SABBATH, HELLHAMMER, CELTIC FROST, VENOM, PENTAGRAM, SAINT VITUS, CANDLEMASS, SAMAEL, BATHORY, SARCÓFAGO, MY DYING BRIDE, among others, LITURGIA arose to cover themes like death, occultism and anti-Christianity in their lyrics, presenting 300 copies of their first release, the “Sanctum Regnum” demo tape in 1992. The demo opened with the track ‘Intro’, a fragment of ‘Toccata And Fugue In D Minor’ by Johann Sebastian Bach and then moved to ‘Olvidada Miseria’ (second track) immediately letting us know what LITURGIA had come to do. The third track ‘Enigma’ kept the same density. Then we had ‘Penumbras’ (fourth track) and ‘Apocalipsis’ (last track), getting a pretty consistent demo with all four tracks with Spanish lyrics and sounding heavy and dense as fuck. The demo had a very good reception within the national and international underground scene. Then, in 1994, LITURGIA came back with their EP “In Perpetuum” giving birth to two tracks: ‘In Perpetuum’ and ‘Liturgy’. Both tracks became the introduction of the band to the lyrics in English and reinforced even more the heaviness, density and gloomy tension of the band’s first release this time in an 11 minutes, 7″ vinyl offering. Getting this EP done was possible thanks to Alex Oquendo (MASACRE and MORBID MACABRE vocalist) who participated with the screams and chorus for this EP and Dilson Díaz (LA PESTILENCIA). They both collaborated with LITURGIA letting them use their instruments and found the sound engineer for the recording of the EP. Around 2000 full color copies were made to begin with and then some additional black and white cover copies were distributed at the time. This second release lifted up the band’s reputation and placed them again in better positions locally, nationally and internationally within the underground. By February of 2024, the Colombian label La Caverna Records, officially reissued both “Sanctum Regnum” and “In Perpetuum” bringing them back to life as a limited jewel case CD edition (300 hand-numbered copies). The layout was carefully reconstructed from the original demo and 7″ EP. A 12-page booklet with lyrics, flyers, liner notes and rare photos were added to give even more value to the edition. LITURGIA has been evolving and their sound has changed over the years getting to the point of playing Black Metal instead of the Death / Doom Metal that they played in the early days, however, their philosophy, integrity and consistency has been kept the same. They have released five full-lengths (their latest one being from last year, 2023) and one split besides “Sanctum Regnum” and “In Perpetuum”. Check them out! www.facebook.com/ctesias.liturgia, https://lacavernarecs.bandcamp.com