Brujeria

Brutal Assault - 2009

Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen

The very main reason for us travelling all the way to eastern Europe and trying an (for us) unknown festival out for the first time now stood before us in the dusk of the second night at Brutal Assault.
The mystery-bound men of Brujeria took the stage and all of us hostage for almost an hour to give us a brutal lesson about Mexican drug and freedom warfare.
I say all of us, and in fact the place was so packed already at the very start of the show, I wouldn’t be surprised if every single festival-visitor was here kicking up the dust in time with the heavy music.

Leading us through the mayhem was El Cynico (a.k.a. Jeffrey Walker of Carcass) on bass, Hongo (a.k.a. Shane Embury of Napalm Death) on guitars, and the twin shriek'ers and throat tormentors Fantasma (a.k.a. Pat Hoed) and the ever mythical Juan Brujo. The drummer was a bit hard to see, but I believe it was none other than El Podrido (a.k.a. Adrian Erlandsson of Paradise Lost) who was beating the living daylights out of the skins. Correct me if I’m wrong.

The set started out with the classic track Raza Odiada (Pito Wilson), complete with the speech performed on tape by Jello Biafra as the voice of Pete Wilson, and went through many great songs from all albums, including such highlights as Brujerizmo, Matando Güeros (which came on after a request from the audience) and Consejos Narcos, in which a sixth masked man entered the stage and held up signs saying "Si" and "No". Need I say that the crowds’ response was awe-inspiring?
Other than this time, it was mostly Fantasma who handled the crowd-connection between songs (it can be discussed how much information actually reached the crowd, as everything was in spoken in Spanish), and Juan Brujo, while not singing, mostly wandered round looking wicked with his big machete in hand.

Surprisingly, to me at least, the show was ended in an upbeat and danceable way as the band played their more-or-less cover song Marijuana. As it had for most of the show, the mosh seemed to have no end, and there literally rained with crowd-surfers.
It was soon revealed however that this track was performed playback, as the song continued on even though first the musicians then later the singers left the stage…

My expectations for this show may have been sky-high, but somehow the band still managed to go above and beyond anything I had imagined. This concert alone was worth every penny spent on Brutal Assault.
I sure hope I get a chance to see these guys again someday…

Setlist:

Raza Odiada (Pito Wilson)
El Bajon
Colas De Rata
Marcha De Odio
Anti-Castro
Sida De La Mente
Misas Negras (Sacrificio III)
Hechando Chingasos (Greñudo Locos II)
Vayan Sin Miedo
La Traición
La Ley De Plomo
Consejos Narcos
Brujerizmo
Division Del Norte
Matando Güeros
Marijuana

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