Brujeria
October 20, 2017
Glass House – Pomona, CA
Brujeria is a Mexican-American death metal band. Their name means Witchcraft in Spanish. In 2015, they released their fourth album, Pocho Aztlan, their first album in sixteen years. Although their image primarily depicts the members as being Mexican, only singer Juan Brujo is of Mexican descent. The rest of the band members are members from various bands including bassist Shane Embury (Napalm Death/Lock Up) and drummer Nicholas Barker (ex-Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir). Their songs, which are sung in Spanish, are focused on Satanism, anti-Christianity, sex, immigration, narcotics smuggling, and politics. Still touring for the release of the newest album, Brujeria embarked on a headlining tour across the USA which was for sure to be filled with lots of energy and crazy times. The first stop on the tour was the Glasshouse in Pomona, California and was a nice setting to kick things off.
Piñata Protest was the opening band and not too many people had heard of them. They were out to make sure people were there to have a good time and they did not disappoint fans that were there early. Piñata Protest is an accordion powered Tex-Mex punk rock band from San Antonio, TX. Piñata Protest combines the lively sounds and traditional rhythms of the Mexican button accordion with the upbeat tempos and attitude of punk rock to produce a unique and wildly eclectic mix of aggressive yet melodic songs that are sung in both Spanish and English. Adding to their sonic performances that ignite crowds to mosh, skank, and twirl their dance partners around is their energetic and impassioned live show. They recently released their newest album Necio Nights which proves how unique their sound is. Piñata Protest came out and started the show with Vato Perron (Cool Man) and right away you could tell how unique their sound is with their accordion Tex-Mex music. Fans react with a mosh pit as well as some couples would dance to the music. Other fun-filled dancing songs that Piñata Protest played were Que Pedo (What’s Up), Life on the Border, D.U.I, and even a cover of the classic Mexican song, La Cucaracha (The Cockroach). Possibly the funnest song played during the show was a cover of Tragos Amargos done originally by Mexican accordion legend, Ramón Ayala. The song fit perfectly with their style and caused a mosh pit and more couples were seen dancing to another classic Mexican song. Piñata Protest finished the show with Cantina (Bar) then left the stage. They are a very fun band regardless of whether you speak Spanish or not so if you see them come to your area, they are worth checking out.
Brujeria headlined the show and plenty of fans were obviously there sporting their merch and were shouting the band’s name as the lights went out. Brujeria came out and started the show with the opening title track song from the newest album, Pocho Aztlan. Right away you’ll notice how the band members come out wearing their attire which revolves around them wearing bandanas that cover their faces as if they’re drug lords hiding from the FBI and wield machetes on their belts. You could feel the speed and heaviness of the band’s music as singer Juan Brujo laid down his death metal vocals. Without hesitation, a mosh pit formed which was expected for a show like this. The next song performed was La Ley Del Plomo (The Law of Lead) followed by La Migra (Cruzando la Frontera II) (La Migra [Border Crossing II]). Brujo would regularly take breaks in between songs to talk to the audience in Spanish or to annoy his bandmates which always made the audience laugh. Brujo also had no problem showing his hate for President Trump as they next played their single titled, Viva Presidente Trump! (Long live President Trump!). Even tho the song sounds like Brujo is praising Trump, he’s actually ripping into him about how Trump hates Mexicans and how Trump wants war. The audience stayed energetic the whole night as moshers and crowd surfers let loose as Brujeria performed heavy tracks such as Colas de Rata (Rat Tails), Leyes Narcos (Narco Laws), Anti-Castro, and the fan favorite, Brujerizmo (Witchcraft). Nearing the end of the show, Brujeria played their most famous song which also caused them controversy due to the nature of the song. The song was called, Matando Güeros (Killing White People). Even tho plenty of non-Hispanics were in attendance, they took no offense to the song and happily moshed and even sang along to the song’s catchy chorus which is easy to follow even if you don’t speak Spanish. To end the show, Brujeria played one of their most comical songs titled, Marijuana. The song is merely a parody of the popular song, Macarena, but the lyrics are changed to talk about smoking Marijuana. Even a conga line started which fit the song perfectly and ensured that fans were having a good time. Brujeria thanked the audience for coming out and left the stage. Brujeria is a great band to see live and the tour just started so if you’re looking for an energetic and crazy crowd, Brujeria is perfect.
Review by: Misael Ruiz
Brujeria
Piñata Protest
