Absenta

Absenta formed in Mexico City in the early 2000s with vocalist Elio Projahn, guitarist Lalo Ochoa, bassist Eduardo Bravo, and drummer Dagoberto García. Their first album, 'Circus of the Damned,' came out in 2006, followed by 'The Black Embrace' in 2010 and 'The Nightmare' in 2015.

Projahn's lyrics often draw from mythology and personal experience, giving songs like 'An Angel with a Black Heart' and 'Dark Clouds of War' their particular weight. The band's sound leans on intricate guitar work and haunted vocal melodies.

That 2006 debut established their approach, and they've kept to it through those later records. You can hear it in tracks like 'Battle Until Dawn' and 'Birth of an Antihuman', a consistent, darkly melodic metal that found its audience without much fuss.