Mexican Folk Metal Band CEMICAN Unveils Cover Art For New Album

The Mexican-based Aztec folk metal group CEMICAN – who combine the modern instrumentation of a metal band with traditional pre-Hispanic instruments – will release their third album (and M-Theory Audio debut), “In Ohtli Teoyohtica In Miquiztli” (“the mystical path of the dead”), on August 23. The cover art was designed by Jesús Lhysta (Rotted Artist / Extreme Metal Artworks).

The music of CEMICAN, a name that means “the duality of life and death” in the Aztec language of Nahuatl (spoken by 2 million people in Central Mexico), incorporates elements of the legends, mysticism and ideologies of ancient Mexican culture. The new album further explores those themes, as the title refers to fallen warriors who travel to Mictlan, the underworld in Aztec mythology.

CEMICAN will unveil a new song from the album next week, on the eve of the group's appearance at the noted French festival Hellfest. The band’s theatrical live performances features makeup and clothing inspired by Aztecan legends, as well as dancers and pre-Hispanic instruments.