9 of the Best Latin American Metal Singers, Ranked
The best Latin American metal singers often represent the best that side of the world has to offer. It’s through their voices that several bands have become iconic and influential. Furthermore, they are the ones who have managed to make the genre transcend in those countries.
Therefore, it makes sense that there are a lot of candidates for the best Latin American metal singers. There are bands like Rata Blanca, Kraken, Resistencia, and many more that have defined the genre in those nations. That is why their singers are usually among the faces of Latin American metal.
1. Adrian Barilari (Argentina)
The Argentine is internationally known for being the vocalist of Rata Blanca. His first decade as a singer took him through several bands such as Topos Urano, Rompecambios, Cobalto, and more in the 80s.
In 1989, Saul Blanch left Rata Blanca and there his colleagues from Dias de Gloria encouraged him to audition, and he was selected. The union of Rata Blanca and Barilari meant a surge in popularity for the band and the singer’s definitive rise to fame.
In 1994, he left the band due to differences with Walter Giardino, guitarist and leader of Rata Blanca, and formed Alianza. In 2000, he reunited with Rata Blanca while developing his solo project called Barilari. Barilari‘s style as a singer stands out for her melodic voice that he mixes with some noticeable high notes.
The native of Buenos Aires is the first and most important vocalist that Argentine metal has had to date. Along with his bandmate, guitarist Walter Giardino, they are the faces of that country when it comes to the genre.
2. Andre Matos (Brazil)
Matos was one of the main faces of Brazilian metal for a long time. His career began at a very young age since at the age of 14 he joined Viper, a Brazilian heavy metal band. In 1991, he left the band to focus on his classical music studies, showing his versatility of one of the best Latin American metal singers.
He would later form Angra with Rafael Bittencourt which would be the turning point of his career since with Angra he would achieve world fame. After almost a decade with Angra, he left the band to form Shaman and work on his solo project. His versatility as a singer allowed him to be part of several projects of different styles such as Avantasia, Virgo, Symfonia or Avalanch.
Matos passed away in June 2019, at only 47 years old, due to cardiac arrest. It was a major loss for the genre but his legacy is timeless.
3. Cesar Somoza (Venezuela)
Cesar Somoza is known for being a founding member and singer of one of the most influential bands in Venezuelan and Latin American metal, Resistencia. Somoza has a powerful voice with an important range, ideal for singing heavy metal, and with a strong personality.
His beginnings in that world date back to the 1980s, when at only 18 years old as a university student. There he would meet Ricardo Escobar, Víctor López Inaudi, Rodrigo Yoma and Marco Ciargo and together they would form Resistencia. This would turn out to be the most important musical project in his career.
Despite the passing of the years, Somoza still retains much of his vocal power today. He has a very deep voice but also manages to reach high notes a la Rob Halford from Judas Priest.
4. Elkin Ramirez (Colombia)
Elkin Ramirez is, possibly, the face of Colombian metal and that is why he could not be missing from the list of best Latin American metal singers.
The Colombian began his journey into the world of rock and metal thanks to a friend. Said friend shared with him some of the works of artist such as Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath when he was still a teenager. Ramirez joined Kripzy and then Ferrotrack, projects in which he did not stay long. Later, in 1984, he decided to form his own band and that is how Kraken was born, a project in which he would remain until 2017 when he died from a brain tumor.
Elkin Ramirez had a voice that allowed him to reach very high notes, which is why he was considered a countertenor. That range was a key part of Kraken’s sound, and why he continues to be remembered to this day.
5. Nico Borie (Chile)
Borie is an example of the effect of social media as a way to promote talent. The Chilean became famous for his YouTube videos where he covers metal classics. His content focuses on translating said songs into Spanish and in others with the voice of another artist.
Borie has 1.75 million followers on YouTube. Versatility is a hallmark of the former Parasyche singer, a band he tried to promote through his videos. He has currently dedicated himself to professionalizing both his singing and the care he must take with it. However, his origins as a self-taught singer are worthy of praise.
He is one of the youngest on the list but that does not prevent him from being one of the best Latin American metal singers.
6. Edu Falaschi (Brazil)
The Brazilian is one of the best-known voices in Latin American rock and metal as well as in international power metal. Like what happened with Andre Matos, Falaschi became known throughout the world thanks to his time with Angra.
In fact, Falaschi arrived at Angra in 2000 to take the place that Matos had left in 1999. Falaschi, despite being a baritone, has a very good vocal range. He proved his mettle by singing both the songs that he recorded with Angra and from the Matos era. In 2012, he left Angra to focus on his own project, Almah.
Falaschi has been a successful solo artist these days and tours regularly in Latin American. He often plays songs from Angra and his solo career.
7. Raphael Mendes (Brazil)
As with Nico Borie, Raphael Mendes is another example of the power of social media these days. The Brazilian has a YouTube channel where he initially covered Iron Maiden because his voice was so similar to Bruce Dickinson‘s.
In fact, the thing evolved to the point that he sang songs by other bands with Dickinson‘s voice. Mendes has his own band called Icon of Sin focused on classic heavy metal and has been part of other projects. His biggest achievement was Legend Of Valley Doom Part 2 where he collaborated with Michael Kiske of Helloween, for example.
8. Joad Jimenez (Venezuela)
Joad Jimenez is, possibly, the best metal singer in Venezuelan history. That is enough to have him as a part of the list of best Latin American metal singers.
The Venezuelan has an impressive vocal range that adapts to different styles. That is something that is seen in the variety of bands in which he has participated throughout his career. Arkangel, Sexto Sonar and Torre de Marfil are some of the names that are part of that list and in turn part of the history of Venezuelan rock.
9. Marcos Rodriguez (Venezuela)
This list has featured several singers who are very versatile due to their ease of reaching different ranges or being able to sing different styles. However, now we are going to talk about someone who, in addition to being a good singer, is also a good guitarist. Marcos Rodriguez is known for having recently been the guitarist for Rage, the German power metal band. Although his career is much more extensive than that.
He started in one of the most important bands in Venezuela, Torre de Marfil, where he was a singer and the main composer. He then moved to Tenerife, Spain, where he was playing in different places with orchestras while forming Soundchaser, his own project that would be followed by Diolegacy, a tribute to Ronnie James Dio. Marcos would then spend 5 years in Rage before joining Induction, another German progressive power metal band.
