Brujeria emerged, shrouded in mystery and infamy, in 1989. Forcefully introducing phrases like Matando Gueros, La Migra, and Marijuana y Brujerizmo into the lexicon of extreme subcultures from hardcore punk to death metal, the brutal death-grind band from Mexico came to represent the notoriously violent world of illegal drug trafficking, vicious retaliation, and a sinister syncretism between Afro-Caribbean sorcery like Palo Mayombe and Santeria with outright demonic possession. Conjured like a cabal whenever society reaches a new tipping point between order and chaos, Brujeria sacrifice songs to full-length albums and singles by their own calendar, as decidedly apocalyptic as the Mayans. Records like 'Raza Odiada' (1995) and 'Brujerizmo' (2000) are undeniable classics. Ripping excoriations of headlines like 'Amaricon Czar' (2019) and 'COVID-666' (2020) are bitingly topical. Coco Loco (a metal mascot as iconic to many metalheads as Iron Maiden's Eddie or Megadeth's Vic Rattlehead) returns in 2023, emblazoned on a ferocious fifth full-length album dubbed simply 'Esto Es Brujeria'.
