More than four decades of Chilean metal will share a stage at Teatro Cariola on Friday, December 18, 2026. Cumbre del Metal Chileno has announced DORSO, INQUISICIÓN, DECESSUS, MAWIZA, CRITICAL DEFIANCE and TRIDENTE, bringing together established figures and bands whose recent activity includes overseas touring and releases through international labels.
The Chargola Pro production spans heavy metal, thrash, progressive death metal and groove metal. Its headliner will be announced on November 10; tickets are already available through Passline.
DORSO's history reaches back to Santiago in 1984. The band's combination of thrash, death metal and progressive rock draws on horror, fantasy and Chilean popular imagery. Albums including Bajo una luna cámbrica, Big Monsters Aventura and Recolecciones macabras del campo chileno have made its catalogue a reference for successive generations of musicians and listeners.
INQUISICIÓN brings a different strand of that history. Active since the 1990s, the Chilean heavy metal band has built a body of work including Steel Vengeance and Opus Dei, with guitar work and vocal melodies central to its traditional approach.
Among the more recent releases represented on the bill is CRITICAL DEFIANCE's fourth album, Rivers of Blood (2026), issued by German label Dying Victims Productions. Formed in the Valparaíso Region in 2010, the thrash band combines speed and instrumental precision with social criticism. Its preceding albums are Misconception (2019), No Life Forms (2022) and The Search Won’t Fall… (2024).
MAWIZA connects groove metal with mapuzungun and the Mapuche worldview, addressing territory, nature and the preservation of its roots. Originally known as NUNCA SEREMOS DICHOSOS, the band adopted its current name in 2021. Its Season of Mist album Ül (2025) features GOJIRA vocalist and guitarist Joe Duplantier, while its live history includes Wacken Open Air and Knotfest Chile.
DECESSUS came together in Santiago in 2020, developing progressive death metal built around technical precision, melodic passages and Ignacia Fernández's vocals. The singer drew international attention after performing guttural vocals at the pageant where she was crowned Miss Mundo Chile 2025. The band's activity includes European performances and the singles “The Hollow Descent” and “Dark Flames,” both previews of its first album.
Santiago's TRIDENTE combines groove and thrash metal with social and political lyrics. Its releases include Apocalipsis (2021) and the 2022 singles “Primera línea” and “Vienen por mí.” In 2026, the band undertook another Finnish tour, with stops including Helsinki, Turku and Lahti.
The announcement places these individual careers within a collective record of roughly fifteen studio albums, millions of digital streams and appearances at festivals including Wacken Open Air, Knotfest Chile, Hellsinki Metal Fest and Rock al Parque. The December bill brings that international activity back into a programme devoted to Chilean metal.
Passline lists four ticket categories, all subject to an additional service charge:
- Preventa 1: $12,000
- Preventa 2: $15,000
- General: $20,000
- Palcos: $25,000
