Héroes del Silencio

Infobox musical artist
Name = Héroes del Silencio
Img_capt = Héroes del Silencio
Img_size =
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain
Genre = Gothic rock Hard rock Alternative rock
Years_active = 1984-1996, 2007
Label = EMI
Associated_acts = EXPO Zaragoza 2008
URL = http://www.heroesdelsilencio.es
Current_members = Enrique Bunbury Joaquin Cardiel Juan Valdivia Pedro Andreu
Other_members = Alan Boguslavsky Gonzalo Valdivia

Héroes del Silencio (sometimes referred to as just Héroes) is a Spanish rock band from Zaragoza (Aragon, Spain) formed by Juan Valdivia. In the 1990s they experienced success around Spain and the Americas, and various European countries including Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, France and Portugal becoming a successful Spanish group and a fact in the history of the "Rock en Español" scene. After ten years and numerous albums, the band broke up in 1997. In 2007, as part of a 20-year anniversary celebration and 10 years after their break-up, they participated in a 10-concert world tour.

History

Heroes del Silencio started in 1984 as a band named "Zumo de Vidrio". The original members were Enrique Bunbury, Juan Valdivia and his brother Pedro. Bunbury was originally a bass player but after Juan Valdivia heard him singing a David Bowie song and told him that he had a great voice, Bunbury became the vocalist.

The band changed their name to Heroes del Silencio in 1986. At first they played in public places and made demos but their break came when they participated in a music contest in Salamanca and won second place - an EMI producer, Gustavo Montesano, saw the band in the contest and some time later, at a concert in Sala En Bruto, he signed the band.

Their first album, "Heroe de Leyenda", was released in 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".

In 1990 they released "Senderos de Traicion", 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". 1992 saw the most important CD in their career, "El Espiritu del Vino". They sold 600,000 copies of this album which was played throughout America. They followed this with a tour for "El Espiritu del Vino". In 1993, Alan Bogulavsky joined the band.

Due to tensions within the band, they took a hiatus and went to Benasque to take a vacation and heal the rifts within the group. After this break they gained a new producer, Bob Ezrin (Lou Reed, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Alice Cooper, Kiss, etc.) and in 1995 released "Avalancha", widely considered their best album. Avalancha was more hard rock than 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 "Parasiempre".

The band split in 1996 though this did not prevent the release of the "Rarezas" album in 1998.

2007 Reunion tour

20 years after their first album, and 11 years after they split up, the band announced a ten day reunion tour, taking in Guatemala City, Buenos Aires, Monterrey, Ciudad de México, Los Ángeles, Sevilla, Zaragoza and Valencia. The tour was followed by another live album, "Tour 2007"

Discography

tudio albums

* "Héroe de Leyenda" (EP) (1987)
* "El Mar No Cesa" (1988)
* "Senderos de Traición" (1990)
* "El Espíritu del Vino" (1993)
* "Avalancha" (1995)

Live recordings

* "En Directo" (1989)
* "Senda '91" (Las Rozas (Madrid), September 26, 1991)
* "Parasiempre" (Disc one: Zaragoza, June 8, 1996; Disc two: Madrid, June 7, 1996)
* "Tour 2007" (2007)

Compilations

* "Rarezas" (outtakes and rare versions) (1998)
* "Edición del Milenio" (4-CD boxset) (1999)
* "Canciones 1984-1996" (2-CD set) (2000)
* "Antología Audiovisual" (2004)
* "El Ruido y la Furia" (2005)
* "" (3 CD, 2 DVD) (2006)

In video games

*The song "Avalancha" is a bonus song in the video game .

See also

*Enrique Bunbury
*Spanish rock

External links

* [http://www.heroesdelsilencio.es Heroes del Silencio] (official website)
* [http://www.enriquebunbury.com Enrique Bunbury] (official website)
*myspace|hdstour2007
* [http://www.bunburyjuarez.com Bunburyjuarez.com] (fan site)
* [http://www.universoheroes.com Universoheroes.com] (fan site)
* [http://www.europopmusic.eu/Spain_pages/Heroes_del_Silencio.html Héroes del Silencio on Europopmusic.eu] (English)
* [http://www.bunburyymas.com Bunburyymas.com] (Mexican official fan club)