Lujuria

Lujuria formed in Segovia, within Spain’s Castile and Leon region, as a boisterous heavy-metal outfit whose moniker means “lust.” Their songs frequently tackle sexual themes, alternating between satirical humor and pointed political commentary, while the members also maintain an active role in assorted social causes. Lead singer Óscar Sancho and lead guitarist Jesus “El Chepas” Sanz remain the sole constants across decades of lineup changes. Their sprawling sound draws heavily from classic Spanish hard rock of the 1970s and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal that followed in the 1980s.

The band’s first demo, Un Poquito de Rock & Roll, appeared in 1993 and quickly gained regional traction, opening doors to live work. A second demo, Estrellas del Porno, surfaced the next year. Their proper debut album, 1996’s Cuentos Para Mayores, contained a cover of TYC’s hit “La Gorda” and established a longstanding custom of placing one Spanish hard-rock or metal cover on each subsequent record. Regional touring led to festival slots and a contract with Locomotive Records, whose first release from the group, 1998’s Republica Popular del Coito, attracted national press attention for its explicit lyrical content. Between 1999 and 2004 the band delivered several more Locomotive albums—Enemigos de la Castidad (2001) and El Poder del Deseo (2004) among them—plus the 2003 documentary video 10 Anos por el Puto Rock 'n' Roll. During those years their irreverent, combative stance and extravagant stage shows also endeared them to audiences throughout Latin America. Without warning they issued the single “Espinas del Corazon,” directing all proceeds to Spain’s Asociacion de Asistencia de Agresiones Sexuales y Malos Tratos.

In 2006 Lujuria unveiled their independent studio debut, ...Y la Yesca Arderá, on Via Lactea. This ambitious concept album chronicled the 1520–1521 War of the Comunidades de Castilla and closed with “Canto de Esperanza,” the anthem of the Castilian comunero movement. The following year the double live set ¡¡¡Sudamérica Únete al Escuadrón!!! was captured in South America and issued on Hurling Metal. Two years later Maldito released Licantrofilia, recorded in Madrid and mastered in Argentina, which found strong favor among metal listeners across the continent. Their 2010 tribute collection Llama Eterna revisited classic tracks by Spanish heavy-metal and hard-rock acts including Barricada, Goliath, and Bruque. Footage from that tour and earlier shows was compiled for the 2011 twentieth-anniversary DVD XX Anos de Lujuria Para el Mundo. The advance single from 2012’s Sexurrección became an unexpected success, mirrored by the album itself, which kept the band on the road for another two years. Maldito issued the EP Esta Noche Manda Mi Polla in 2015, after which the group mounted a twenty-fifth-anniversary tour in 2016.