Brujeria — Matando Güeros

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

30 years ago today, Brujeria unleashed their controversial debut release!

On this day (July 6) in 1993, Brujeria released their debut full-length studio album “Matando Güeros" (Killing Güeros) via Roadrunner Records.

Background:

"Güero" is a Mexican-Spanish slang term for a blonde or light skinned/haired person. The album talks mostly about controversial topics in Mexico like drug trafficking, satanic rituals, sexuality, migration, illegal border crossing, and Anti-Americanism (like the title song, that talks about a racist revenge killing-spree against the White Americans that mistreated the indigenous Mexican narrator).

Brujeria alumni for “Matando Güeros” includes vocalist Juan Brujo (aka Juan Lepe), Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares (aka Asesino) and drummer Raymond Herrera (aka Greñudo), as well as Faith No More bassist Billy Gould (aka Güero Sin Fe) and Napalm Death’s Shane Embury (aka Hongo) on guitar/additional bass, with additional bass by Pat Hoed (aka Fantasma), with samples & backing vocals by Pinche Peach.

Brujeria performed under pseudonyms and portrayed themselves as a Latino band consisting of drug lords, concealing their identities due to being wanted by the FBI. In videos and photographs of the band, they are shown wearing bandanas, balaclavas, serapes, and are often shown wielding machetes.

The front cover of the album depicts a person out of shot holding up a severed head, which was taken from Mexican Shocking and Sensationalistic/Yellow journalistic newspaper ¡Alarma! The album was banned in many places due to its cover and content. This head, nicknamed "Coco Loco", has been taken by the band as a mascot and logo. Track 16 to 19 are taken from the “Machetazos” single; "Matando Güeros" was on the Gummo soundtrack.

Critical Reception:

Heavy Metal: The Music And Its Culture placed the album on its "100 Definitive Metal Albums" list.

While, in his retrospective review for AllMusic, Jason Birchmeier states;

“Brujeria made their undoubtedly colorful debut with “Matando Güeros”, one of the more curious Grindcore albums of its era. This band of Latin American narco-satanists could be the most deadly group out there, at least judging by sonic assaults like "Molestando Niños Muertos" and "Narcos-Satánicos" -- or they could just be a bunch of Death Metal professionals reveling in a lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek side project. Either way, “Matando Güeros” makes for a fun listen, assuming you're into exploitative stuff like this. The music?

Well, it's nothing to really get overly excited about, but it is well-performed Napalm Death-style Grindcore and sounds pretty damn intense, for sure, especially given the Spanish growling. And it's indeed that whole Latin American narco-satanist angle that's by far the most interesting aspect of this debut, which spawned quite a few similarly deadpan follow-ups.”

30th Anniversary Tour:

In early 2023, Brujeria embarked on the "Matando Güeros – 30 Aniversário Tour". The 19-date Southwest trek kicked off on February 24 in Yuma, Arizona and made its way across the southwest coast, with performances in Houston, Albuquerque, and Bakersfield, before concluding in San Diego on March 19. Joining the band for select dates were TOTAL CHAOS (February 24 to March 12) and DWARVES (March 15 to March 19) while ART OF SHOCK opened the show through the whole tour.

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

Click this link to listen to “Matando Güeros” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/mantando-gueros/215211258

Click this link to listen to “Matando Güeros” via Spotify: Mantando Gueros https://open.spotify.com/album/6ljMqIyil2pDBcZlsysK76

Click this link to follow Brujeria on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brujeria

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells

Brujeria — Matando Güeros

Background:

Critical Reception:

30th Anniversary Tour:

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

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