Formation and early releases (1989–1992) Brujeria was formed at a party in 1989 in the spirit of creating a
grindcore and
death metal band representative of the Latino/
Chicano community. Its members, the guitarist
Dino Cazares,
Jello Biafra, drummer
Pat Hoed, bass guitarist
Billy Gould and vocalist Juan Brujo, used pseudonyms as most were in other known bands. Their first single, "¡Demoniaco!", was released in 1990. In 1992, "Machetazos" was released and with it came the band's first line-up change. Jello Biafra departed the group, Pinche Peach< was introduced as an additional vocalist and
Raymond Herrera took on the drums;
Pat Hoed, the band's former drummer, became a second vocalist. "Machetazos" and "
El Patrón" (1994) were produced and distributed through Jello Biafra's
record label Alternative Tentacles. The band was criticized from its inception for its lyrics about drugs, sex and
Satanism. These topics, while the subjects of many other death metal acts, were inspired by the actions of
Adolfo Constanzo, Cuban-American-born Mexican drug smuggler, practitioner of
Palo Mayombe and serial killer.
Matando Güeros and controversy (1993–1994) Controversy was created by the cover of their first album
Matando Güeros (1993), which featured a severed head being held by a hand. Subsequently, the image of the head would become an emblem of the band, transforming into their mascot known as
Coco Loco ("mad/crazy bogeyman" or "mad/crazy head" in Mexican slang), and is seen frequently on album covers and merchandise. The severed head is of a drug dealer in a photo taken from a Mexican publication. This album saw the addition of
Shane Embury on guitar and bass guitar.
Raza Odiada, Marijuana and Spanglish 101 (1995–1999) In 1995, they released their second full-length
Raza Odiada, with the usual themes but with significant changes in their music and for many critics and fans their best work to date.
Raza Odiada featured the single "La Ley De Plomo", whose music video proved successful on music channels such as
MTV, featuring late at night on heavy metal shows. The group started to become increasingly popular, but nevertheless, decided to remain anonymous and declined all offers to organize concerts (except on rare occasions), confounding supporters, who were eager to see them live. Two years later came the EP
Marijuana, featuring a
cover-
parody of the popular song "
The Macarena" and four live songs from its first official concert. 1999 saw the release of
Spanglish 101, a compilation of label Kool Arrow Records' artists, protesting against the dominance of English. On this album, the band released a couple of new tracks: "Marcha de Odio" which would later be included in their next album,
Brujerizmo and "Don Quijote Marijuana", cover of Magazine 60's hit song Don Quixote, an issue that attracted attention for its techno-dance style, completely different from the band's heavy metal sound.
Commercial success with Brujerizmo and Mextremist Hits! (2000–2001) In 2000, 5 years after the last LP, Brujerizmo was released, which incorporated
Nick Barker as a second drummer, Jesse Pintado on the guitar and Gaby Dominguez, as "Pititis", who represents a female demon as the female vocalist. The next release was a compilation, called
Mextremist! Greatest Hits, released in 2001, which included classic tracks, alternate versions, remixes, a multimedia track with video, and some new themes, such as the collaboration with Mucho Muchacho on "Narco-Peda" and "Asesino" which featured Tony Campos of
Static-X. The record, rather than being a compilation, was more like a disc of rarities and
B-sides, since most of the songs were not the album versions, but the versions on the EPs and singles. The disc also included a video cover for the
Magazine 60 song "Don Quichotte" named "Don Quijote Marihuana".
Hiatus and projects (2002–2006) 2002 came with many plans for the band, first they went to record new material for their eagerly awaited fourth album. However, this seems to have been put on hold due to altercations between Cazares and Herrera related to the temporary breakup of Fear Factory. Herrera departed Brujeria in 2002, shortly before Fear Factory reformed without Cazares. The band then announced the launch of various side-projects for each of the band members, starting with
Asesino who launched that same year,
Corridos de Muerte with the band featuring
Tony Campos and
Emilio Marquez. There is a DVD compilation of the band called "Permission of Satan". This DVD was produced by Juan Brujo and Henry about the recording period of the
Asesino album and videos of his first three presentations of the official tour of Brujeria, The Mexecutioner Tour. Also includes images of the addition of
Wee Man Jason Acuña of
Jackass, Satanico Army Band, Mariachi Terror, and others. The DVD was homemade and distributed by Juan Brujo. Brujeria declined to do live performances in its early years, however, on June 11, 1997, they played at the
Whisky a Go Go club in Hollywood. The short concert itself was incorporated into the EP "Marijuana" as a side B. On October 2, 2003, the band played its first official concert in Chicago, USA, and began its first tour known as The Mexecutioner Tour, which concluded on January 24, 2004 in
Guadalajara, Mexico. Also in 2003, Roadrunner Records released a compilation of tracks from the studio albums, the band titled
The Mexecutioner! - The Best of Brujeria. The band, now with
Nick Barker on drums, decided to promote the work as the band had never done before, which included interviews, concerts and more. Starting with a second tour called "Tour II", which began on February 7, 2004, in
Mexicali and the first appearance of Pititis the female voice of the band, their first visit to Brazil and Argentina, concluding the tour on August 8, 2004 in
Buenos Aires. After that, the band was absent from the stage and uncertainty about the group's future arose, it was speculated that the reason for this was that they were working on a new album but none materialized. Also during this period of time, several vital members of the group such as
Dino Cazares, departed after alleged differences with frontman Juan Brujo. In an interview conducted to Fantasma in 2011, he revealed that Cazares departure was owed to his decision to participate in the Roadrunner United project in 2005, forcing the rest of the band to cancel their show at the annual Rock Al Parque Festival in Colombia, damaging the band's reputation. In 2006, there was news from the band with the release of
The Singles which is a revival of the
EP and singles of the band and the beginning of a new global concert tour known as "No Seas Pendejo Tour" that began in Buenos Aires, Argentina on January 28 and also included the presentation in Vive Latino 2006 in Mexico featuring two new members:
Tony Laureano on drums and
Jeff Walker on bass.
Shane Embury left bass and switched to guitar. At their first appearance in Europe Viña Rock, Spain, the tour concluded on 6 August of that year in
Houston, Texas. Later, in September of that year, they returned to do a small tour in Spain known as "Don Quijote Marijuana Tour" now with
Patrik Jensen on guitar and
Adrian Erlandsson on drums.
Reunion, Pocho Aztlan, Esto Es Brujeria and deaths (2007–present) After several years on hiatus, and internal problems, Brujeria reformed in 2007 and decided it was time to return to the scene. Juan Brujo (vocals),
Pat Hoed (second vocals),
Jeff Walker (bass),
Shane Embury (guitar) and
Adrian Erlandsson (drums) started a new tour called "Weapon of Change Tour". Lasting from February 21 to December 15, the band performed in England, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and Ecuador. Between April and June 2008, Brujeria returned to Europe to play some concerts as an extension of the "Weapon of Change Tour", including dates at SWR MetalFest XI in Barroselas (Portugal), again Viña Rock (
Albacete, Spain) and in Kobetasonik, a rock festival that takes place in the
Basque Country (Spain). In November and December of that year, the band began another tour called "Accept No Imitations Tour". Brujeria played at the 10th annual Maryland Death Fest in May 2012. They performed a world tour between 2007 and 2008. In an interview in June 2009, bassist Shane Embury stated that the band's fourth studio album was going to be released that year, and that it could be released by the band itself. In October 2014, they signed with indie giant Nuclear Blast for an album in 2015. On July 1, 2016, the band announced that they would finally release their fourth studio album
Pocho Aztlan on September 16. The album is their first in sixteen years, and their first to feature
Hongo Jr.,
El Cynico, El Sangron and Cuernito. Since the release of
Pocho Aztlan, Brujeria has continued to tour regularly and released a series of one-off singles, including two
anti-Trump songs "Viva Presidente Trump!" and "Amaricon Czar" (in 2016 and 2019 respectively), and "Covid-666" in 2020. The band had been working on new material by February 2022. On July 14, 2023, the band released their first single from their new album
Esto Es Brujeria called "Mochado". The album was released on September 15. Pinche Peach died of heart failure on July 17, 2024, at the age of 57. On September 18, 2024, it was announced in a post from the band's
Instagram account that Juan Brujo died that morning, at the age of 61, due to a heart attack he had experienced on September 16, 2024, while taking a day off from their tour with
Gwar. The band has since continued without Lepe. ==Band members==