PUYA
Union (MCA)
Reviewed by Holly Day

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Puya is a guilty, hidden pleasure of mine, something I keep hidden away from my more sophisticated friends that roll their eyes at the mere suggestion of driving down to Ozzfest, or even Wisconsin. Puya's mix of speed metal and Latin grooves resonates well with me, and the band integrates both sounds well into their groove, mixing expertly-rendered flamenco guitar and palm-driven-percussion with throbbing bass lines, feedback, and guttural vocals in both English and Spanish. I do have to say, though, that it seems that the longer Puya is together and recording, the further they seem to be getting away from their Latin sound and more towards traditional speed metal-as especially evidenced in this album-and that kind of depressed me, because there are more than enough bands in that genre that sound exactly like each other, and I'd hate to hear a band with as fresh a sound as this turn into just another face in the crowd.

© 2002 - Holly Day