On Wednesday, Sept. 18, John Lepe, better known as Juan Brujo, died at the age of 61. Lepe was a founding member of the extreme metal band Brujería, one of the most influential and notorious heavy bands en español.
The band shared the tragic news on their Instagram account. The cause of death is cited as a “heart attack.” Previously, on Tuesday, Sept. 17, the band announced that they were canceling the remaining shows of their tour with Gwar, citing “severe health problems.” The band was on a day off in Ohio when Lepe was hospitalized on Sept. 16. Sadly, Lepe is the second Brujería member to die in 2024. The band’s co-vocalist and sampler, Ciriaco “Pinche Peach” Quezada, also passed from heart problems back in July.
Formed in 1989, Brujería started as an anonymous studio project, with members concealing their identities with bandanas, balaclavas, and, most famously for Juan Brujo, a Mexican flag fashioned into a bandana around his face. Brujo was one of the founding members along with Faith No More’s Billy Gould and former Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra, with subsequent lineups including members of bands such as Fear Factory, Napalm Death, Carcass, Static-X, and others, many of them Latines. Brujo was the longest-running member of the band, both on and offstage. According to an interview with Brujo, the band was inspired by the pioneering grindcore band Terrorizer playing at backyard parties in Los Angeles, CA, for Mexican audiences. Soon, they became a flagship for Latine heavy music.
They came up with their own lore, ripped from Mexican sensationalist papers like ¡Alarma!, which was the source for the cover image of their debut full-length album, Matando Güeros. Continuing the gore and Satan obsession of the then-nascent death metal scene, Brujería upped the ante by bringing Santa Muerte and narco imagery to their lyrics and cover art. However, their pitch-black humor was complemented with actual socio-political commentary. Many songs dealt with migration, repression, and racism. In later years, the band tackled misogyny when the first female members of the band joined. First, Gaby “Pititis” Dominguez, and later, Jessica “La Bruja Encabronada” Pimentel, best known for her acting career, most notably in Orange Is The New Black.
In addition to his role in Brujería, Lepe was integral to Gould’s label Koolarrow Records, an outlet that had many releases of Latine outfits like Chilean band Como Asesinar A Felipes, San Francisco’s La Plebe, Spain’s 7 Notas 7 Colores, and Mexico’s Grito and Mexican Dubwiser, among others. It also released the influential 1999 compilation Spanglish 101 featuring Control Machete, Resorte, Puya, and Todos Tus Muertos.
To celebrate the life of Juan Brujo, we assembled a list of five tracks that best define the sonic and lyrical reach of Brujería. Their albums are packed with scary, raging, often funny, and mostly thought-provoking music, and the pride of being Mexican and Latines facing adversity.
“Matando Gueros”
After arriving at the scene, it didn’t take long for Brujería to turn heads. Their debut album was released by one of the biggest metal record labels ever (Roadrunner, then home to Sepultura and Fear Factory, and later on, to Slipknot and Nickelback, to name a few), with one of the goriest album covers to hit record shelves, and a no-fucking-around title, translating to “killing white people.” The title track is probably one of the most accessible songs in the whole album. There’s an almost singalong quality to the track, but the lyrics about Mexicans seeking revenge on how “güeros” treat them (“like pig shit”) and plan to act “Pancho Villa style,” makes it an early entry in their catalog about Mexicans crossing the border to find a better life and finding the opposite.
“La Migra (Cruza La Frontera II)”
Released in 1995, Raza Odiada might have seemed like a step toward presenting a tamer version of Brujería. The production is better than on Matando Güeros, songs have standard verse-chorus structures, and there are no severed heads to be found on the album cover. Having said that, it’s by no means a softer affair. The artwork features a photo of Subcomandante Marcos of EZLN, representing a figure of Mexican unrest, and the lyrics in the album double down on this theme. “La Migra” might be one of their firmest manifestos, lashing out against “coyotes” exploiting people paying a lot of money to cross the border only to be caught by U.S. authorities. The song retains the band’s excitement while keeping things at a reasonable tempo and even sneaks some humor into the lyrics, with references to “tu abuela” throughout.
“División Del Norte”
This slow-churning song goes deep into one of the biggest icons in Brujería’s imagery, penning a tribute to Pancho Villa, one of the only people to invade the U.S. without ever getting caught for it. The lyrics to “División Del Norte” — named after Villa’s army — celebrate the life of this historical figure, compare him to the Zapatistas, and celebrate Mexico in general. There’s no winking irony found anywhere here, and the production and musicianship are probably the closest Brujería ever got to becoming commercial. Keep in mind that the whole song is “sung” with Brujo’s death growls, though.
“Culpa La Mujer”
2016’s Pocho Aztlán saw the band return to their Matando Güeros roots, pushing everything to the extreme. However, some evolution happened in the process, as heard in “Culpa La Mujer.” Here, the band deals with misogyny, with Brujo dueting with then-new co-vocalist Gaby Dominguez, known in the Brujería lore as Pititis. “Culpa La Mujer” traces women’s hate to biblical times, blaming religion as much as society for their plight. Musically, the track is all fast drumming and growling from both vocalists, demonstrating brutality as catharsis in less than three minutes. This track proves that Brujería was willing to speak against any kind of injustice.
“Viva Presidente Trump!”
It was natural for Brujería to address one of the most racist presidents the U.S. has ever had. With an intro featuring a sample of a speech 45 saying, “Mexico is not our friend,” the band is off to the races. While it would be fitting to make a pointed attack toward Trump, they celebrate the one thing they have in common — wanting war against each other. The track is savage and menacing, with Brujo proclaiming that if the then-president starts the war, they will finish it. This is perhaps the quintessential Brujería song, featuring everything from scream-alongs, chugging guitar riffing, and even fast-as-hell parts. There’s also the outro we won’t spoil for you if you haven’t heard it.