Saratoga in Mallorca: Thirty Years of Spanish Heavy Metal, Live in Three Acts
Saratoga have been one of the cornerstones of Spanish-language heavy metal since their founding in Madrid in 1992. On June 20, 2026, they play Es Gremi in Palma de Mallorca as part of the En Estado Puro 2026 Tour — and in a format they have never used before: for the first time in their history, the show is structured as three distinct acts, making the evening both a live album presentation and a journey through three decades of the band’s catalogue.
Saratoga was founded by bassist Niko del Hierro, a veteran of Obús — one of the pioneer bands of heavy metal sung in Spanish in the 1980s. Over thirty years, the band has navigated lineup changes and long gaps between albums while maintaining the core of their sound: powerful, melodic metal in Castilian Spanish. The turning point came with the arrival of vocalist Tete Novoa, whose combination of aggression and emotional range gave the band a new identity without abandoning its roots. The current lineup completes the picture with guitarist Charlie Parra del Riego — a Peruvian guitar virtuoso with a substantial international profile — and drummer Arnau Martí.
En Estado Puro was released on April 24, 2026 via Maldito Records, the band’s first studio album in eight years since Aeternus (2018). Ten songs recorded at New Life Studios in autumn 2025, produced by Daniel Sabugal and José Garrido alongside the band. The album opens with Inteligencia Artificial (I.A.), a direct and energetic track about the mental noise of the AI era, moves through classic power metal riffing and arrives at Alma de Cristal, a ballad by Novoa about a child born with a rare illness — featuring guest appearances by Erik Cruz and Yeray López — before closing with Somos Fuego, a celebratory anthem about the band’s own endurance. The artwork, designed by Javi Reaktiu and María Cortés in a Japanese aesthetic featuring a katana-wielding samurai, has drawn comparisons to Iron Maiden’s Senjutsu cover.
The Mallorca Saratoga concert unfolds in three parts: Act I (Joyas Rescatadas) brings back rarely played songs from the archives; Act II is a full live performance of En Estado Puro; Act III (La Gran Tormenta) unleashes the classic anthems that multiple generations of Spanish metal fans know by heart. Tickets are available at movingtickets.com for €22. Tickets on sale now.
