Latin metal
Encyclopedia
Latin metal is a genre of metal
music with Latin origins, influences, and instrumentation, such as Spanish
vocals, Latin percussion
and rhythm such as Salsa rhythm
, who referred to Carlos Santana
's music from the 1970s as "Latin-metal pop," making it a possible forerunner in the genre. But in practice no such thing exists.
Latin metal started in the 1970s and 1980s, originating in many countries of Latin America, thanks to the increasing worldwide popularity of heavy metal and heavy rock from Europe and United States. It may also have profited from the "Latin explosion" in the United States of the 1990s, though some critics contend that the gap between Ricky Martin
-style pop
and metal is too great for Latin metal to have profited greatly. Still, record companies in the 1990s sought to profit from the rise of Latin pop, as evidenced from the Metalo compilation of Latin metal bands by the Grita! Records label, which included songs by Ill Niño
and Puya
, and bands from the 1990s such as Sepultura
and Soulfly
are cited as predecessors in the genre. In the United States, Ill Niño is probably the best-known exponent of the genre; their first two albums (with "philosophical and bilingual lyrics" about such topics as growing up fatherless) were commercially successful and got them strong radio play in for instance the San Antonio area.
Latin Metal has managed to enter the mainstream world, with bands like Ill Nino, Puya, Non Point, landing Top 10 and 20 singles,on the Active Rock charts.
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
music with Latin origins, influences, and instrumentation, such as Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
vocals, Latin percussion
Latin percussion
The term Latin percussion refers to any number of a large family of musical percussion instruments used in Latin music, which in turn is a very loosely related group of musical styles, mainly from the Latin American region, and ultimately having roots or influences in African tribal...
and rhythm such as Salsa rhythm
History
An early mention of the term comes from critic Robert ChristgauRobert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
, who referred to Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
's music from the 1970s as "Latin-metal pop," making it a possible forerunner in the genre. But in practice no such thing exists.
Latin metal started in the 1970s and 1980s, originating in many countries of Latin America, thanks to the increasing worldwide popularity of heavy metal and heavy rock from Europe and United States. It may also have profited from the "Latin explosion" in the United States of the 1990s, though some critics contend that the gap between Ricky Martin
Ricky Martin
Enrique "Ricky" Martín Morales , better known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican and Spanish pop singer and actor who achieved prominence, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist since 1991.During his career he has sold more than 60 million album copies worldwide...
-style pop
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
and metal is too great for Latin metal to have profited greatly. Still, record companies in the 1990s sought to profit from the rise of Latin pop, as evidenced from the Metalo compilation of Latin metal bands by the Grita! Records label, which included songs by Ill Niño
Ill Niño
Ill Niño is an American six-piece metal band from New Jersey founded in 1998. The band has sold over 3.3 million units worldwide; they have 5 studio albums and 10 music videos.-History:...
and Puya
Puya (band)
-History:Formed under the name Whisker Biscuit in 1988 and originally playing only instrumentals, the band added vocalist Sergio Curbelo in 1992 and moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where they created a mix of salsa and heavy metal with the assistance of Jeff Renza and the Noiz Boiz production...
, and bands from the 1990s such as Sepultura
Sepultura
Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, formed in 1984. The band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and ultimately groove metal realms during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments melding nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial.Sepultura...
and Soulfly
Soulfly
Soulfly is a heavy metal band formed in 1997 based in Phoenix, Arizona. The original lyrical content revolved around spirituality and religious themes, with later albums encompassing other themes including war, violence, aggression, hatred and anger. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max...
are cited as predecessors in the genre. In the United States, Ill Niño is probably the best-known exponent of the genre; their first two albums (with "philosophical and bilingual lyrics" about such topics as growing up fatherless) were commercially successful and got them strong radio play in for instance the San Antonio area.
Latin Metal has managed to enter the mainstream world, with bands like Ill Nino, Puya, Non Point, landing Top 10 and 20 singles,on the Active Rock charts.
Latin metal bands
Chile
- Alejandro SilvaAlejandro SilvaFor the Chilean long-distance runner with the same name see Alejandro Silva Alejandro Silva is a Chilean instrumental heavy metal guitarist, best known as the founder and lead guitarist of his band, Alejandro Silva Power Cuarteto....
- Instrumental heavy metal guitarist of the Alejandro Silva Power Cuarteto.
Puerto Rico
- PuyaPuya (band)-History:Formed under the name Whisker Biscuit in 1988 and originally playing only instrumentals, the band added vocalist Sergio Curbelo in 1992 and moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where they created a mix of salsa and heavy metal with the assistance of Jeff Renza and the Noiz Boiz production...
- In 2000, one of their songs, "Tírale", was included in the soundtrack of the movie Heavy Metal 2000Heavy Metal 2000Heavy Metal 2000 is the 2000 follow-up to the 1981 animated cult film Heavy Metal, based on the fantasy magazine of the same name. The story itself is based on the graphic novel, The Melting Pot, written by Kevin Eastman, Simon Bisley and Eric Talbot...
, the only track with lyrics in Spanish from the collection.
United States
- Ill NiñoIll NiñoIll Niño is an American six-piece metal band from New Jersey founded in 1998. The band has sold over 3.3 million units worldwide; they have 5 studio albums and 10 music videos.-History:...
- A metal band from New Jersey whose 2001 debut album Revolution RevoluciónRevolution RevoluciónRevolution Revolución is the debut album by Ill Niño. It has sold over 375,000 copies in the United States. The majority of Ill Niño's live setlist is from this album, even today...
was seminal in the development of the genre. - NonpointNonpointNonpoint is an American nu metal band formed in 1997. The band consists of Elias Soriano and Rob Rivera . Currently they are signed to Razor & Tie and working on new a record which is expected to be released in Spring 2012....
- An alternative metalAlternative metalAlternative metal is a genre of alternative rock and heavy metal that gained popularity in the early 1990s. Most notably, alternative metal bands are characterized by heavy guitar riffs and experimental approaches to heavy music.-Origins:...
band from Fort Lauderdale, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.theirlyrics often use spanish as well as latin themes in their music. - AtheistAtheist (band)Atheist is a technical death metal band from Florida, founded in 1984, whose music combines metal riffs with subtle Latin music arrangements and jazz fusion.- History :...
- A technical death metalTechnical death metalTechnical death metal is a musical subgenre of death metal that focuses on complex rhythms, riffs and song structures. Technical experimentation in death metal began in the late '80s and early '90s by bands such as Death, Atheist and Cynic...
band from Sarasota, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Their death/thrash metal music style is influenced by latin music, as well as jazz (The former being shown especially in the song 'Samba Briza' from the 1993 album Elements).