Doomed Confessionary: Val, Edu, Wagner & Ale (Desert Witch)
Photos by @nikolebaezph
Desert Witch is a four-piece doom/stoner metal band with dark psychedelic influences from Santiago, Chile. Formed in 2021, Desert Witch consists of VAL on vocals, Edu on bass, Wagner on guitar, and Ale on drums.
With the aim of making heavy music, creating dense atmospheres filled with melancholy, they seek to unite a dark instrumental base with a melodic voice that moves in and out of the light.
The witch in the “desert” symbolizes the invocation of the spirits of light and darkness, that duality we all possess within.
Desert Witch just released their debut album »La Otra Razón« on May 25th, 2025.
Can you please say a few words about your band?
Desert Witch is a band from Santiago, Chile, playing occult doom/stoner, founded in 2021. Our sound seeks to blend a dark instrumental foundation with melodic vocals. The band moves through the dense passages of doom, the ritualistic feel of occult rock, and the hypnotic vibrations of stoner. Our lyrics are existential mantras that speak of impermanence, emptiness, and death as a transformation in the search for a different universe. The desert is not a geographic place, but a metaphor for a mental state: arid, vast, and full of secrets.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
The first major challenge for the band was finding a stable lineup. Since its early days, various musicians have come and gone, but now the members’ energies have aligned to create the right atmosphere for recording the album. That leads to the second challenge: entering the studio without sacrificing the soul of their sound, and managing to capture the essence of their live performance. Because it’s not about sounding pretty, it’s about sounding true.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Listening to the finished album after all the production and recording work is what fills us with the most pride, along with feeling truly satisfied with what we’ve created. We’re also proud of the reach the album has had so far, receiving great feedback from both audiences and media in Chile and abroad, including, for example, having the opportunity to be having this conversation with you.
What was your biggest regret?
Honestly, we have nothing to regret lately, everything has been running smoothly.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
The most memorable show we’ve had so far was the release concert for our album, held at a well-known venue in Santiago’s rock scene. It was a special night that also marked the departure of the band’s founder and guitarist, who chose to pursue a new path. Looking ahead, we’re preparing for an important milestone next month: our participation in Children of Doom, a key event in Chile’s doom scene.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
We’re pleasantly surprised that, despite being a fully independent band, meaning everything is done through our own effort and all costs come out of our own pockets, we’ve managed to achieve significant media impact with the promotion of our material, both nationally and internationally.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Each member of the band has very diverse musical tastes. VAL is more drawn to dark wave and dream pop, Eduardo has been listening to a lot of ’70s Chilean rock like Aguaturbia and Los Jaivas, and Alejandro explores a wide range of genres, but lately he’s been listening a lot to the latest Witchcraft album. Wagner, on the other hand, is listening to lesser-known stoner bands in South America, like Kal-El (Norway), The Necromancers (France), and Spiritual Beggars (Sweden). He’s also listening to a lot of modern metal like Periphery, and progressive rock like Karnivool.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
VAL: The best advice I’ve received in music is to never betray your own essence, neither for money, nor for the industry, nor for anything else. As an actress, it’s been challenging to discover myself in music. I’m always used to embodying other people on stage; however, after these 11 years of singing, I think only now I am bringing my true essence to light, and it’s precious to take care of this treasure.
Edu: The best advice as a musician is that you have to play with the best, always look up. You always have to raise the level, and I feel like with Desert Witch we’ve achieved that.
Wagner: The best advice you’ve been given as a musician? By far, the pizza joke that my dear veterans told me.
Ale: More than any advice from someone else, I value self learning gained from experience, being consistent with rehearsals, and not letting the challenges along the way affect you.
What are your guilty pleasures?
VAL: My guilty pleasure is eating in large amounts. It’s very cruel being a woman and an actress/singer, you have to take great care of your body and how you look on stage or on camera. It’s really cruel to always have to look beautiful and young. Women don’t get much allowance in that regard.
Edu: I believe no pleasure is guilty. If I like something, it’s for a reason, and I don’t feel any shame about it. I just like it, period.
Wagner: As a musician, my biggest guilty pleasure is jazz.
Ale: I don’t believe in guilty pleasures. If I like something, I enjoy it without shame. Everything that makes me feel good and represents me, is valid and respectable.
Can you say something more about the current music scene in Santiago?
Here in Santiago, there’s a wide variety of live music events every week. You can find everything from metal to pop, there’s something for every taste. There are good venues to perform at. From the perspective of our particular style, Chile has a large number of bands. A great example of this is the recent Trip to Chile compilation released by Weedian, featuring over 60 bands.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We’ve been actively playing live here in Santiago (the capital of Chile), and we hope to soon tour more of our country, and of course, the dream of taking our music abroad is always present.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
We’re fully focused on promoting our album. We want to play it live in as many places as possible, and we want to begin to work on new compositions.
How can people best support your band?
You can support us in many ways: attending our shows, buying our available merchandise, downloading our album on Bandcamp, or simply listening to our music on any digital platform.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Listen to, support, and attend the concerts of your local bands!
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well