Puya

rapcore

1. An alternative metal band from San Juan, Puerto Rico renouned for fusing contemporary metal with salsa, jazz, punk, Rock en Español, rap and traditional Latin influences. Puya was formed in 1988 originally with the name Whisker Biscuit by guitarist Ramón Ortíz (formerly with Mattador) together with bassist Harold Hopkins and drummer Eduardo Paniagua. Originally they devoted themselves to playing instrumental songs, and then covers in the San Juan music scene. In the early 90s, vocalist Sergio Curbelo joined the band and they changed their name to Puya. The band also relocated to Fort Lauderdale, Florida and polished their sound. In 1994 they released a 6-song demo cassette entitled Whisker Biscuit in reference to their former band name. Two years later in 1996 they released their eponymous debut album, Puya featuring 13 tracks, including a collaboration with the James Brown horn section on two songs. There they also met producer Gustavo Santaolalla who signed them to MCA and they released their second album titled 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, one of their songs (Tírale), was included in the soundtrack of the movie Heavy Metal 2000, the only track with lyrics in Spanish from the collection. Breaking out during the numetal scene, they opened for such bands as Sepultura, Fear Factory, Red Hot Chili Pepper...