Héroes del Silencio (Spanish: ''Heroes of Silence'') (well known as Héroes or HDS) was a Spanish rock band from

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

, formed by guitarist

Juan Valdivia Juan Valdivia Navarro (; born December 3, 1965), is a Spanish musician and songwriter. He became famous internationally for being the lead guitarist of Héroes del Silencio. He is known by his fans as "El Maestro" and has a school named after him ...

and singer

Enrique Bunbury Enrique Ortiz de Landázuri Izarduy (born 11 August 1967), best known as Enrique Bunbury, is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He has been described as "by far the most international star of Spanish rock." He was propelled to fame as lead singer ...

. The lineup was completed by bassist Joaquín Cardiel and drummer Pedro Andreu. During the 1980s they experienced success around Spain and

the Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.'' Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sin ...

, and in various European countries including Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, France,

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, and Portugal. They established themselves as one of the major contributors to the ''

Rock en español Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

'' scene and are considered to be one of the all-time best bands in that genre. Their trademarks are their intricate lyrics, complicated arrangements and precise rhythm. After twelve years and numerous albums, the band broke up in 1996. When the lead singer Enrique Bunbury started a solo project, other members of the band also followed a different musical path. In 2007, as part of a 20-year anniversary celebration and 11 years after their break-up, they organized a 10-concert world tour. The band's distinctiveness was a very characteristic image with a very particular iconography and symbology, and a music characterized by ambiguous and transcendental lyrics, complicated

arpeggios An arpeggio () is a type of chord in which the notes that compose a chord are individually sounded in a progressive rising or descending order. Arpeggios on keyboard instruments may be called rolled chords. Arpeggios may include all notes ...

and a solid rhythmic base. Among its influences are

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

, and

The Cult The Cult are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Bradford in 1983. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band had performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead vocalist Ian Astbury ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

described them as "the very definition of rock en español." In 2021 Netflix premiered the documentary "Heroes: Silencio and Rock & Roll" which covers the entire history of the band as told by the members.

History

Overview

Héroes del Silencio started in 1984 as a band named Zumo de Vidrio consisting of

, his brother Pedro Valdivia and their cousin Javier Guajardo Valdivia. Later

joined the line-up. Bunbury was originally a bass player but after Juan Valdivia heard him sing a

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

song, Bunbury became the vocalist. Bunbury believed this to be a better fit as he preferred to roam around instead of being stationary on stage. The band changed their name in 1985 to Héroes del Silencio. At first they played in public places and made demo recordings but their breakthrough came when they participated in a music contest in

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

and won second place. An

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

producer, Gustavo Montesano, saw the band in the contest and at a later concert in Sala En Bruto, he signed the band. Their first EP, '' Héroe de Leyenda'', was released in 1987 and sold 30,000 copies. The following year, the album '' El Mar No Cesa'' was released, featuring the songs "Mar Adentro", "Agosto" and "El Estanque", and sold 100,000 copies. The supporting tour followed in 1989, documented on the limited edition live album '' En Directo''. On 10 December 1990, they released '' Senderos de Traición'', their best-selling album with 2 million copies, including 400,000 copies in the first two weeks in Spain alone. The following year they started the tour ''Senda 91'' and released another live album, '' Senda '91''. In 1993 the band released '' El Espíritu del Vino''. 600,000 copies of this album, which was played throughout America, were sold. They followed this with a tour for ''El Espíritu del Vino''. In 1993, Alan Boguslavsky joined the band. Due to tensions within the band, Héroes del Silencio took a hiatus and went to

Benasque Benasque (; in Benasquese dialect: ''Benás''; ) () is a town in the comarca of Ribagorza, province of Huesca, (Spain). It is the main town in the Benasque Valley, located in the heart of the Pyrenees and surrounded by the highest peaks in tha ...

to take a vacation and heal the rifts within the group. After this break they acquired a new producer,

Bob Ezrin Robert Alan Ezrin (born March 25, 1949) is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, best known for his work with Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, Andrea Bocelli and Phish. As of 2010, Ezri ...

(

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

, etc.) and in 1995 released '' Avalancha''. ''Avalancha'' was more

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

than the previous albums, with songs like "Avalancha", "Deshacer el Mundo" and "Iberia Sumergida". The album was followed by the Avalancha tour in 1995 and 1996, which produced the live album "

Para siempre ''Para Siempre'' (English: ''Forever'') is the 79th studio album released by Mexican singer Vicente Fernández on September 18, 2007, by Sony BMG Norte. Written and produced by Joan Sebastian, and co-produced by Jesús Rincón, the album was m ...

". The band split in 1996, though this did not stop the release of the album '' Rarezas'' in 1998 and '' El Ruido y la Furia'' in 2005.

Albums and tours

In 1988 Héroes recorded their first full-length album. '' El Mar No Cesa'' was a limited edition and all copies (30,000) were sold. The album was more pop-oriented than the band had originally wished, which made them perform live in a slightly more aggressive way so as to show the real potential of the band. A limited live album ''En Directo'' was later released capturing the energy of their concerts. In 1990 they went into the studio once again to work with producer

Phil Manzanera Phillip Geoffrey Targett-Adams (born 31 January 1951), known professionally as Phil Manzanera, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music, and was the lead guitarist with 801 and Quiet Sun. ...

on their second album, '' Senderos de Traición''. In 1990 ''Senderos de Traición'' was a successful second release for Heroes, "combining Celtic guitars ndmetal rhythms." The songs "Entre Dos Tierras" and "Maldito Duende" are still among the most popular of the band. The album was recorded in London, including English versions of "Entre Dos Tierras" and "Maldito Duende". It was decided though to not publish them. The tour for this album was called ''Senda'' like the song of the same name. It took the band to America and to various European countries including Germany and Belgium; winning several gold discs on their way. According to Bunbury, the tour represented the golden times of the band. The live album '' Senda '91'' was produced on this tour. When the band gave a concert in Mexico, they met Alan Boguslavsky who would later join the band. ''Senderos de Traición'' stayed in the album charts of countries like Spain, Switzerland and Germany. In 1993, after the success of ''Senderos de Traición'', the band recorded their third album called ''El Espíritu del Vino'' which was produced by

. The singles from the release were "Nuestros Nombres", "Flor de Loto", "Los Placeres De La Pobreza", "La Sirena Varada" and "La Herida" The album features hard rock and has a style similar to rock bands like

, The Mission,

Fields of the Nephilim Fields of the Nephilim are an English gothic rock band formed in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, in 1984. The band's name refers to a biblical race of angel-human hybrids known as the Nephilim. Career Early years (1984–1991) The band's debut 1 ...

and

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

. The songs "Nuestros Nombres" and "La Herida" reached position one in several European charts. Alan Boguslavsky joined the band in the tour named ''El Camino Del Exceso'', during which they played in countries including Germany, Austria, Portugal, Italy, Mexico, Argentina, U.S.A., Chile, Finland and Hungary. The song "Nuestros Nombres" reached the first place in the " 40 Principales", being the first song of the band in a number one position. "La Sirena Varada" was the second song of Héroes del Silencio in "Los 40 Principales". The rest of the songs on the album got in the Top 10 of "Los 40 Principales" and on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. "El Camino Del Exceso" meant in many ways the loss of compatibility between Bunbury and Valdivia. In 1995 Héroes met

, who produced the album '' Avalancha''. This album was a new commercial success for the Héroes. Alan Boguslavsky, baptized "el Azteca de oro" (), entered the band officially, being credited as co-composer of several songs although he did not appear in the promotional photos for the album. The album has a stronger rock style than any others before. Songs like "Iberia Sumergida" and "La Chispa Adecuada" came into the first position of the lists. The title track, "Avalancha", came in the first positions of charts like MTV. The tour was the most extensive one of the band. The final concert of Héroes del Silencio was meant to take place in Los Angeles but it was canceled because the crowd was angry at the band after rumors of their split. Héroes said goodbye in Spain with the mythical phrase: "''Nos vemos en la gira del proximo milenio. Hasta Siempre'' ee you on tour in the next millennium. Farewell".

Breakup and reunion

At the ''Avalancha'' tour, the band participated in the

Monsters of Rock Monsters of Rock was a hard rock and heavy metal music festival. It was originally held annually in Castle Donington, England, from 1980 to 1996, taking place every year except 1989 and 1993. It later branched into other locations such as th ...

of Brasil in 1996 as headliners. The concert was not recorded. The Héroes also got a special in MTV, like Unplugged and Gustock. The "Tour macrogira Avalancha" from July 1995 to October 1996 led them to give 152 concerts in Europe and America. The coexistence during that time was difficult, and fatigue lead to increased internal conflicts. During this development, Bunbury started his own compositions and recorded new songs, hinting that his future was already far from Héroes del Silencio. Their last concert was in Los Angeles on 6 October 1996. Before concluding the tour, and in a press conference in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, Peru, Héroes del Silencio reported their temporary separation. Apart from its environment, the news was surprising, but eventually came to transcend some of the reasons that had led to such a situation. The musical differences, especially between Juan and Enrique, became personal. The deaths of two persons very close to the group as well influenced the band's morale: their road manager Martin Druille in 1993, and Enrique's brother, Rafael, in 1994. As remarked by Bunbury, the last months of the tour were an ordeal for him.

2007 reunion tour

Twenty years after their first album, and eleven years after they split up, the band announced a ten-day reunion tour that would take them to

Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

, Ciudad de México,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

and

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. For this tour guitarist Gonzalo Valdivia (Juan Valdivia's brother) replaced former band member Alan Boguslavsky. More than 20,000 people attended each concert and some of the concerts saw as many as 90,000 fans (e.g. in Valencia, Ricardo Tormo's Stadium). The tour was followed by another live album, '' Tour 2007''. The album came with two DVD's that showed the concert at

Ciudad de Mexico Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

as well as showing some songs from other concerts like "Bendecida" in Los Angeles and "Flor Venenosa" in Monterrey. The other DVD contained a documentary of the group as they traveled through every city during the tour. The deluxe box set included both DVD and CD as well as a backstage pass, some drumsticks, a t-shirt, and two posters. After the tour, singer-songwriter Enrique Bunbury announced his new album, focusing in his solo career.

Band members

– lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica (1984–1996; 2007) bass (1984) *

– guitars (1984–1996; 2007) * Joaquin Cardiel – bass, backing vocals (1984–1996; 2007) * Pedro Andreu – drums, percussion (1984–1996; 2007) * Alan Boguslavsky – guitar, backing vocals (1993–1996)

Touring members

* Gonzalo Valdivia – guitar, backing vocals (2007)

Discography

Studio albums

* '' El Mar No Cesa'' (1988) * '' Senderos de traición'' (1990) * '' El Espíritu del Vino'' (1993) * '' Avalancha'' (1995) A special edition of each album was released in 2006 by ''

''. Each album includes an additional disc that includes remixes, live versions, and unreleased material

Live recordings

* '' En Directo'' (1989) * '' Senda '91'' ( Las Rozas (

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

), 26 September 1991) * '' Parasiempre'' (Disc one:

, 8 June 1996; Disc two:

, 7 June 1996) * '' El Ruido y la Furia'' La Riviera

Madrid, Spain Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, 20 November 1996 (2005) * '' Tour 2007'' (2007) * '' Live in Germany'' (2011)

Compilations

* '' Rarezas'' (outtakes and rare versions) (1998) * ''Edición del Milenio'' (4-CD boxset) (1999) * ''Canciones 1984–1996'' (2-CD set) (2000) * ''Antología Audiovisual'' (2004) * '' The Platinum Collection'' (3 CD, 2 DVD) (2006) * '' Héroes: Silence and Rock & Roll'' (2 CD) (2021)

Singles

*''La Lluvia Gris'' (1988) From El Mar No Cesa *''Flor Venenosa" (1988) From El Mar No Cesa *''Mar Adentro'' (1989) From El Mar No Cesa *''No Mas Lagrimas'' (1989) From El Mar No Cesa *''Fuente Esperanza'' (1989) From El Mar No Cesa *''Agosto'' (1989) From El Mar No Cesa *''Entre Dos Tierras'' (1990) From Senderos de traición *''Maldito Duende'' (1990) From Senderos de traición *''Oración'' (1991) From Senderos de tración *''Despertar'' (1991) From Senderos de traición *''Con Nombre De Guerra'' (1991) From Senderos de traición *''La Sirena Varada'' (1993) From El Espíritu del Vino *''La Herida'' (1993) From El Espíritu del Vino *''Nuestros Nombres'' (1993) From El Espíritu del Vino *''Sangre Hirviendo'' (1993) From El Espíritu del Vino *''Flor De Loto'' (1993) From El Espíritu del Vino *''Iberia Sumergida'' (1995) From Avalancha *''Deshacer El Mundo'' (1995) From Avalancha *''La Chispa Adecuada'' (1995) From Avalancha *''Apuesta Por El Rock'n'Roll'' (1998) From Rarezas(Cover of ''Más Birras'') *''Morir Todavia'' (1998) From Rarezas and Avalancha

Extended plays

* ''Héroe de Leyenda'' (EP) (1987)

Unreleased albums

Many of the unreleased albums were live performances *''MTV Unplugged'' (1993) *''La Primera Avalancha'' (1996) *''Rock am Ring MTV'' (1996) *''Acoustic'' (1996) *''Tour 2007 – Estadio De la Romareda'' (2007)

In other media

*The song " Avalancha" is a bonus song in the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. *The song "Hechizo" is featured in the 2017 Netflix horror film, Verónica, and has since gained the band recognition and new fans as a result.

Films

Music Videos Mar Adentro – Music Video (1988) Entre dos Tierras – Music Video (1991) Maldito Duende – Music Video (1991) Con nombre de guerra – Music Video (1991) Nuestros nombres – Music Video (1993) La Herida – Music Video (1993) Los placeres de la pobreza – Music Video (1993) La Sirena Varada – Music Video (1993) Flor de Loto – Music Video (1993) Iberia Sumergida – Music Video (1995) Avalancha – Music Video (1995) La chispa adecuada – Music Video (1995) Maldito Duende (Live) – Music Video (1996) Maldito Duende (Live 1996) is from Parasiempre album * All the music videos are also included in the compilation album "Antologia Audiovisual" Documental Gira 96' * The documentary in "Antologia Audiovisual" Tour 2007 (2007) (2 DVD) *Mexico D.F concert including encores from other shows, 2nd DVD is documentary Heroes del Silencio: Estadio de la Romareda (2007) *Zaragoza Day 1 Show from 2007 World Tour – LIMITED EDITION Tesoro: El ultimo silencio (2007) * Recorded during the last concert in Valencia as part of the 2007 World Tour – LIMITED EDITION Documental El Espiritu del Vino 20th anniversary (2013) *Recorded in 1993 and released along 20th anniversary remixed album Heroes: Silencio and Rock & Roll (2021) *Netflix Documentary and Released along the 2 CD & 2 Vinyl Album

References

External links

Héroes del Silencio
official website)
Enrique Bunbury
(official website)
NadaBueno – Héroes del Silencio: Spanish Review
*

(English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Heroes Del Silencio Spanish hard rock musical groups Spanish gothic rock groups Rock en español music groups Musical groups established in 1984 Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Musical groups reestablished in 2007