After taking the world by storm last year with their new album ÃL, Mawiza are beating the drum for indigenous metal even louder in 2026. The modern day Mapuche warriors paid a visit to Gojira frontman Joe Duplantierâs Silver Chord Studio and performed to a packed house in Santiago before taking the stage alongside Mr. Bungle and Avenged Sevenfold.
â[â¦]they use heavy music as a megaphone to scream about their pride in their customs and their hatred of colonialismâ, Metal Hammer wrote in naming Mawiza the most important new metal band of 2025.
Today, Mawiza are releasing a new video for the most fierce and combative song off ÃL. While at one with the forces of groove metal, âNgulutuâ (The Western Storm) declares war on encroaching urban decay.
âIn Mapuzugun, ‘Ngulutuâ comes from Ngulu, which means Westâ, Mawizaâs vocalist and guitarist Awka says. âThe song refers to an abysmal storm born in the turbulent Pacific Ocean that reaches the land in the form of bursting, shattered clouds. Itâs a declaration of war on the so-called progress of large cities, merging ourselves as a single entity with natureâ.
Watch the video for âNgulutuâ on the Season of Mist YouTube channel.
https://youtu.be/4YKRpCSpH5k?si=YoPyKabBhxH4J0fH
ÃL is available now on  Season of Mist. Â
Order & Stream
Available Formats
Digital Download
CD Digipack
12″ Vinyl Gatefold (Black)
12″ Vinyl Gatefold (Red with Black Splatters)â
Mawiza wrote âNgulutuâ six years ago in response to a social uprising in Chile, but the source material that inspired the latest single from ÃL dates as far back as the 16th century. âBoth historical records and our oral tradition remember the ancient Mapuche war toki Michimolongko, who, together with his kona and weychafe, managed to destroy Santiago in 1541â, Awka recalls. âThis song is a tribute to those ancient warriors and to the power of the natural territory that lies beneath the cityâ.
While the torrential groove of âNgulutuâ is bound to churn the pit when Mawiza storm the stage at Midgardsblot this summer, the band draws its strength from their ancestral land. The songâs chorus calls on the spirits of the Mapocho and Maipo Rivers with surging, shark-like riffs and drums that beat with the unrelenting force of a tidal wave. âMüley taiñ amuleal / Fewla, fey llemay (We must keep moving forward / Now it shall be done!)â, Awka chants, summoning a breakdown that brings the most towering cities crumbling into ruin.
âThe two rivers named in the chorus of âNgulutuâ are both vital for life in the territory and even for the lives of city dwellersâ, Awka explains. âYet when it rains enough, the rivers overflow, causing the collapse of the urban order. It reminds us that nature is an active entity that cannot be tamed, one that sets the path we must follow as Mapuche peopleâ.
The video for âNgulutuâ was directed by AndreÌs Hetzler.
Additional video credits
Producers – Awka Mondaka, AndreÌs Hetzler
Cinematography – Soledad Gatica
Lighting – Pedro Salgado
Gaffer – Simón Jorquera
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