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Puya (band)

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Puya
OriginSan Juan, Puerto Rico
GenresLatin metal,[1] alternative metal
Years active1988–2005, 2009–present
Websitepuyapr.com

Puya is a Puerto Rican Latin metal band from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

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 studio. They adopted the name Puya in 1994 with the release of a demo tape. Puya was the first Puerto Rican rock band to achieve a high level of international success.[2]

In 1995, Puya released their eponymous debut album under the Noiz Boiz label. There they also met producer Gustavo Santaolalla who signed them to MCA and in 1999 released their second album, Fundamental, which received critical praise. This propelled the band to stardom even landing them in the second stage of Ozzfest where they shared the opening slot with Slipknot in 1999. In 2000, their song "Tírale" was included in the soundtrack of the movie Heavy Metal 2000, and was the collection's only track with Spanish lyrics. The band opened for Sepultura, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pantera and KISS. They also recorded a cover of The Police's "Spirits in the Material World" in Spanish, with the title "Almas en un mundo material". Because sales of the band's 2001 album Union did not meet MCA's expectations, the label did not renew the band's contract after it had expired in 2002.[2]

Puya reunited in 2009 for two music festivals in Puerto Rico. Puya's most recent performance was on July 4, 2010 at the Rock al Parque festival in Bogota, Colombia and recently in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 25, 2010. Puya released the digital EP Areyto on iTunes on August 27, 2010.

Musical style and influences

Puya's musical style incorporates elements of salsa,[3][4] hard rock,[5] heavy metal[5] and rap metal.[6] Puya's influences include the Fania All-Stars, Journey, Foreigner, Kiss, REO Speedwagon, Slayer, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Van Halen and Sepultura.[2] Much of Fundamental is based on punk and heavy metal with salsa-influenced sections.[2] Union fuses rap metal, Rock en Español, salsa and jazz.[2]

Band members

Discography

See also

References

  1. ^ "Puya, Armored Saint Lead Latin Metal Surge On "Metalo"". June 25, 1999.
  2. ^ a b c d e Mateus, Jorge Arévalo (2004). "Boricua Rock". In Hernandez, Deborah Pacini (ed.). Rockin' las Américas: the global politics of rock in Latin/o America. D. Fernández, Héctor l'Hoeste; Zolov, Eric. University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 94–98. ISBN 0-8229-5841-4.
  3. ^ Flicky, Brad (August 2001). "Review of Union". CMJ New Music (95): 87. ISSN 1074-6978.
  4. ^ R. Bouley II, Charles (January 9, 1999). "MCA's Puya Gets 'Fundamental' With Mix Of Rock, Salsa". Billboard. 111 (2): 12. ISSN 0006-2510.
  5. ^ a b Cobo, Leila (June 16, 2001). "Puya: Rocking Harder Than Ever". Billboard. 113 (24): LM-10. ISSN 0006-2510.
  6. ^ Lannert, John (Dec 11, 1999). "New Faces Spice Up A Record Year". Billboard. 111 (50): LM-1. ISSN 0006-2510.