BRUJERIA's 'Matando Güeros' Is One Of 'Ten Greatest Covers In Roadrunner History'

March 24, 2010

Since 1910 musicians have associated visual arts with their sonic output in the form of the almighty album cover. And since 1987, Roadrunner Records has been a source of some visually stunning and visually disturbing images in the wide world of album art, nevertheless honoring the tradition. Whether using an image to set the tone for what's to follow on your speakers, or as a means of branding in forever associating a picture with a title, there is no question as to the power of the album cover — which is why the label took a look at every album released on Roadrunner Records U.S. to find the greatest covers in its celebrated history.

Voted on by the Roadrunner worldwide staff, showcasing the iconic vs. the blasphemous, the painted vs. the photographed, as well as the found art vs. the commissioned art, we give you the "Ten Greatest Album Covers in Roadrunner History" — one at a time.

Feast your eyes on #2 below, and check back at RoadrunnerRecords.com tomorrow as the label reveals number one.

#10: KING DIAMOND - "Abigail"
#9: MACHINE HEAD - "The Blackening"
#8: TYPE O NEGATIVE - "Slow, Deep And Hard"
#7: SEPULTURA - "Chaos A.D."
#6: KILLSWITCH ENGAGE - "The End Of Heartache"
#5: NAILBOMB - "Point Blank"
#4: FEAR FACTORY - "Demanufacture"
#3: SEPULTURA - "Roots"

#2: BRUJERIA - "Matando Güeros"

Formed in 1989, this notorious Mexican outlaw band showcased some serious grind on their 1993 debut album, "Matando Güeros". Though later revealed to be a super group of sorts featuring members of FEAR FACTORY, FAITH NO MORE, NAPALM DEATH, CARCASS, and more, the band’s sordid identity was perceived for years as consisting of real Mexican narco-satanists wanted by the FBI. Musically, the album showcased blast beats and muddy, speed-infused guitars with throaty vocals spewing Spanish lyrics that boasted hatred, violence, and drugs.

But the disreputable stigma surrounding the band didn't stop at the lyrics or their devious persona. The album cover stirred up outrage and controversy all its own for the gruesome depiction of an actual battered and severed head, said to be taken from the pages of Mexican sensationalist news magazine ¡Alarma!

The album was banned in stores worldwide for its grisly imagery, causing a censored version to be distributed for purchase in the early '90s and causing the band’s career-long notoriety as "Mextremists" to catapult.

Roadrunner Records Senior VP of A&R Monte Conner on BRUJERIA's "Matando Güeros":

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