So what happens when a couple of Mexican metal-heads pick up acoustic classical guitars and wed the heart of traditional Mexican folk music with the spirit of heavy metal? Rodrigo y Gabriela happens. Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero met while playing in a heavy metal band in Mexico City, and soon found themselves busking in Dublin, Ireland, forming and perfecting a unique, powerful, and accomplished folk sound.

Sanchez has the rare ability to flawlessly play complicated technical passages while still maintaining spontaneity and heart. Quintero, meanwhile, gives new meaning to the term “rhythm guitarist.” She flails wildly, yet purposely, at her guitar, weaving a rich and deep rhythmic tapestry while simultaneously providing percussion and time.   

Their 2006 self titled debut sounds nothing like a debut. It is a fully realized and expertly performed synthesis of Mexican flamenco style folk with a metal attitude. The original composition, “Tamacun” opens the album with a great deal of color, passion, and technical flair. Perhaps more than any of the other songs on the album, “Tamacun" sounds as if it were an old Mexican folk song, albeit one played with a ferocity more at home in metal than in traditional folk. “Diablo Rojo” and “Satori” are other highlights that follow the same powerful and dynamic acoustic folk as “Tamacun.” “Ixtapa” is hypnotic and haunted. It features a lovely middle passage that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Metallica album.  

And speaking of Metallica, there is a staggeringly exquisite and lovely cover of “Orion” from the “Master of Puppets” album. The other cover on the album gave me pause however: Led Zepplin’s “Stairway to Heaven.” Not that I don’t like “Stairway.” It’s a classic, sure, but it has been overplayed over the past 38 years. That being said, Rodrigo y Gabriela inject enough Latin flair into the old war-horse to make it seem fresh, as though the battered and used up song were lovingly photographed in soft focus.  

Rodrigo y Gabriela’s self titled album is simply outstanding and highly recommended. Having seen them live, I also encourage you to see them in concert if you can. Rarely does folk music rock this hard.

"Tamacun":