Hi guys. After having a listen to some of your material I became quite fascinated by your style of heavy metal. I'd like to begin with the band members introduction and a history of Cemican.
Hi Ally thank you for your time. Well Cemican ia a band who fuses metal with pre-hispanic music of Mexico using instruments of Mexico and many other countries. In the band we had 6 members Tecuhtli guitar and vocals, Tlipoca Drums, Mazatecpatl instrumentalists, Yei Tochtli instrumentalists, Xaman-ek rituals/ nahuatl language and me Ocelotl bass and Backing Vocals.

What types of instruments do you use? What made you decide to do this unique style of metal?
We use whistle's (whistle of death), ocarinas, rattles (Ayoyotes), flautes (made of mud, reed and other materials) , drums (huehuetl), conches (atecocoli) etc. The idea of Cemican to print the greatness of the ancient Mexico came since several years ago, with the founders of the band (Tecuhtli & Tlipoca). They are a big fans of Jorge Reyes a musician who made music with al these pre-hispanic instruments who make an ambience and you can feel all the mysticism and power of our civilization. They decided to mix it with metal, making the first album of the band released in 2009 Ometiliztli. 

Was it difficult to get performances where you are located? What are your fans like? Do you enjoy meeting with them before or after a performance?
No it isn't difficult because our type of show is very attractive to all the fans who are an important part of the band. Our fans are the most unique, they appreciate all our shows, giving  us their energy in every show. We love to do meetings after every show. It's amazing to hear from their selves how crazy the show was and , then photos and  autographs are cool enough.

What inspires you to write? Do you read often? What bands do you enjoy listening to? Who are your influences?
Our inspiration comes with our day to day. The process of composition is so variable because Tecuhtli can show us one riff and we work over it.  All the members contribute with ideas for riffs, instruments and lyrics. 
There are many bands who are inspirational for us, and every member has different bands who they appreciate.

Tell us about getting ready for a performance, the tribal outfits and makeup? 
We have lots of work before every show, hours.  We were inspired by different Aztec gods.We tried to combine old and new. The Aztecs did not have boots or whatever else! We want to make people know our history through modern creations. It's very important to us. 

You have played some big festivals. 
We played in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany at Wacken. 

On behalf of Pest Webzine, I want to thank you for taking the time for our interview.  Thank you for continuing the tradition of adding cultural elements to our already rich metal scene. Be safe in your travels and we wish you luck in your endeavors. 
https://www.facebook.com/CemicanMex/
https://twitter.com/CEMICANband
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTFIdwKLsKejgIG5umgKSfA
https://instagram.com/cemican_mex

Interview by Allyson Kingsley

April 2019