Column

Sunday Old School: Baron Rojo

We're back! After a long hiatus, save only for a very welcome contribution from xFiruath, Sunday Old School has returned. I could bore you with the details of the red tape that's caused such a long delay and the hassles that emigrating can bring, or I could tell you all about one of my new homeland's most revered bands in their contribution to heavy metal. A band that took their name from one of the most legendary figures of the first world war, Manfred von Richthofen. A band by the name of Baron Rojo.

Baron Rojo were formed in the Spanish capital of Madrid in 1980 by brothers Carlos and Armando de Castro, originally going by the name of Coz, though an internal split led to two versions of the band going at the same time for a period, before CBS Records, who owned the rights to the name demanded the version with the de Castro brothers change their name, with the siblings picking the more familiar, and frankly better, moniker.

It wasn't long before Baron Rojo, now with vocalist Sherpa and Uruguayan drummer Hermes Calabria, entered the studio to record their first full length album, "Larga Vida al Rock’n’Roll," which hit the shelves in 1981. The record was quite a successful one, going Gold in Spain and allowing them to tour the country, which was also helped by the release of the single, "Con Bustas Sucias," as well as the title track.

Their emerging popularity led them to London, where they recorded their second full length album, "Volumen Brutal" in Kingsway Studios, which was owned by Deep Purple vocalist, Ian Gillan. The result was perhaps their most well received release to date, being ciited as the favourite record of many Baron Rojo fans and garnering many positive reviews, as well as a growing fan base in Britain, thanks to the English language version of the album, on which they were helped on by Iron Maiden vocalist, Bruce Dickinson and went on to sell over two million copies worldwide.

Following on from this, the group were booked to perform at the Reading Festival in 1982 alongside the likes of Twisted Sister, Budgie and the Michael Schenker Group, as well as several New Wave of British Heavy Metal groups such as Tank, Diamond Head, Tygers of Pan Tang and headliners Iron Maiden. With momentum on their side, the band quickly recorded a third album, "Metalmorfosis," which featured a minor hit in the form of the ballad, ""Siempre estás allí." It continued their streak of moderate success and was followed in 1985 by "En un Lugar de la Marcha," which also featured some standout tracks such as "Hijos de Caín" and "Cuerdas de Acero."

"En un Lugar de la Marcha" marked something of an end for the band, as they then began to experiment a lot more with their sound, leading their brand of classic heavy metal to be shuffled away a little. The first noticable change could be heard on their 1987 album, "Tierra de Nadie," which utilised many orchestral elements which followed on to their next two albums, "¡No va Más!" and "Obstinato." This was to mark another change for the group, as Sherpa and drummer Hermes Calabria decided to leave the band, which caused the de Castro brothers to be the only ever present members from then on, as a revolving door of drummers and bassists were to follow, while Carlos de Castro took over the position of lead vocalist.

Their first album since the change was 1992's, "Desafío," which was notable for it's closing track, a cover of AC/DC's, "Girl's Got Rhythm," and also for being their last studio album for five years. Two compilation albums followed before 1997's, "Arma Secreta," which was a little darker than previous releases. After a legal battle with BMG over rights and royalties, the band released another compilation record, "Cueste lo que Cueste," a double disc album which also included four new songs. Four years after their last album of original material, Baron Rojo released, "20+," as well as a covers album entitled, "Perversiones," which saw the band cover the likes of Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix and Rainbow.

After the album, "Ultimasmentes," in 2006 and the live package, "Desde Barón a Bilbao," Baron Rojo pleased long time fans with a reunion with Sherpa and Hermes Calabria, which resulted in another live album, "En Clave de Rock." Strangely, the reunion didn't mean the end of the later incarnation of the band, as they toured with both the original lineup and the latest, resulting in the latter recording a new studio album, "Tommy Baron," which was released in 2012. Since then, the latter version of the band has continued to perform live, performing at many festivals, especially in Spain, where they will be performing at both Resurrection Fest and Leyendas del Rock later this year.

Baron Rojo - "Larga vida al Rock and Roll"

Baron Rojo - "Satánico Plan"

Baron Rojo - "Siempre estás allí"

Baron Rojo - "Hijos de Cain"

Baron Rojo - "Tierra De Nadie"

Baron Rojo - "Travesía Urbana"

Baron Rojo - "Herencia Letal"

Ollie Hynes has been a writer for Metal Underground.com since 2007 and a metal fan since 2001, going as far as to travel to other countries and continents for metal gigs.