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One one level,
Brujeria are a brutally powerful rock band whose music walks along the border of grindcore and death metal. On another,
Brujeria are a street-level exercise in performance art. To take them at their word, the members of
Brujeria are leaders of a Mexican cartel of drug smugglers, ruthless men who use mutilation and murder to protect their interests. The members of
Brujeria perform in disguise, and their music is a reflection of their sociopathic embrace of violence, drugs, and satanism. However, it's an open secret that
Brujeria aren't really members of a drug cartel any more than
GWAR are alien warriors who crash-landed in Antarctica. The band began as the side project of several noted metal and punk musicians, and while their contribution to the group is well known, officially
Brujeria still insist they're from Tijuana, Mexico, using their collective persona for dramatic effect as well as dark satire.
Brujeria (Spanish for witchcraft) were formed in 1989 in Los Angeles, California. The original lineup featured vocalist
Juan Brujo (aka
John Lepe), guitarist
Asesino (aka
Dino Cazares, best known as guitarist with
Fear Factory), bassist
Güero Sin Fe (aka
Billy Gould of
Faith No More), and drummer Fantasma (aka Pat Hoed, who is a pro-wrestling commentator and radio host).
Dead Kennedys founder
Jello Biafra also participated in
Brujeria's early shows as vocalist
Pito Wilson; he soon dropped out of the lineup, but released several
Brujeria singles through his Alternative Tentacles Records label. In 1990,
Brujeria released their debut single, "¡Demoniaco!" A second single, "Machetazos," appeared in 1992; by this time, Pinche Peach had joined the group, taking over the second vocalist role left by
Biafra's departure, and Greñudo (aka
Raymond Herrera, like
Cazares a member of
Fear Factory) became the band's new drummer as Fantasma became an additional vocalist. In 1993,
Brujeria released their first full-length,
Matando Güeros. The cover featured a gruesome and authentic photo of a severed head, confirming the band intended to create an image as extreme as their music. The album also marked the debut of guitarist Hongo (aka
Shane Embury of
Napalm Death). With 1995's
Raza Odiada,
Brujeria upped the political commentary in their music, with the title song taking aim at California Governor Pete Wilson, who was widely seen as racist in the Mexican-American community for his policies on immigration. (The album featured a vocal cameo from
Biafra, impersonating Wilson.) The album also featured the song "La Ley de Plomo," which remarkably managed to score some late-night play on MTV. Up until this time,
Brujeria had been exclusively a studio project, in part because the other commitments of the musicians made scheduling difficult. As the group's notoriety grew, there was an increased demand for live shows, and in January 1997,
Brujeria took the stage for the first time at the Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles; three songs from the show would later appear on the EP
Marijuana, released in 2000.
In 2000, the group dropped their third album,
Brujerizmo, which added new characters to the lineup, including female vocalist and guitarist Pititis (aka Gaby Dominguez), guitarist Cristo de Pisto (aka Jesse Pintado of
Terrorizer and
Napalm Death), and second drummer
Hongo Jr. (aka
Nicholas Barker, of
Cradle of Filth and
Dimmu Borgir). The album received positive reviews in the metal press, and became their biggest commercial success to date. In 2001, the group released a collection of B-sides, rare tracks, and fan favorites titled Mextremist! Greatest Hits, but a follow-up to
Brujerizmo failed to appear. Instead, the group launched their first proper tour in late 2003, beginning in Chicago, Illinois and ending in Guadalajara, Mexico. (2003 also saw the release of another "greatest-hits" collection,
The Mexicutioner! The Best of Brujeria.) A second tour in 2004 took the band to South America for the first time, but the group was struggling with internal strife, and
Asesino and
Güero Sin Fe both left the group, with Fantasma becoming the band's new bassist. The group went on hiatus, and while they resumed touring in 2007, work on a new album progressed slowly, with a few tracks appearing on independent singles.
In 2016,
Brujeria made a splash in the music press with the release of "Viva Presidente Trump!" a tongue-in-cheek "tribute" to the Republican presidential candidate whose outrageous statements about illegal immigrants made him a pariah in Mexico. In September 2016,
Brujeria finally released their long-awaited fourth album,
Pocho Aztlan. The lineup for the album featured
Juan Brujo, Fantasma, Hongo, Pinche Peach,
Hongo Jr., and Pititis, along with new members El Cynico (bass and guitar; aka Jeffrey Walker of
Carcass), and A. Kuerno (guitar; aka Chris Paccou, a onetime sound engineer for
Napalm Death and
Carcass). ~ Mark Deming