First ever performance in America!

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Baron Rojo from Spain was one of the many heavy metal bands that I thought I'd never get a chance to see live considering they've been around for over 35 years but unlike other bands from Europe and more directly South America, for whatever reason they never came close to breaking into the American market and on the flipside to that I never had a chance to see them in their home country.

While all Baron Rojo albums are in Español (with the exception of "Volumen Brutal", which was re-recorded in English) I could still make out the songs, the lyrics (well the choruses anyway!) thanks to repeated listens because at the end of the day I’m a fan of Heavy Metal no matter what language or country it's from. When I picked up “Larga Vida Al Rock n Roll” back in '81 I was hooked after reading about them in Kerrang! and later Metal Forces magazines.

Fast forward to last year I got word on social media that after all this time they were finally coming to the US in Nov with a handful of dates booked! However, for whatever reason they all ended up being postponed till 2017.

Having the opportunity to see bands live that are still around ( Satan, Raven, Tygers Of Pan Tang, Diamond Head, Girlschool,etc.) from what I call the NWOBHM "sweet spot" ‘79-‘84 era was a rare occasion as most have either long disbanded, no longer tour or didn’t last past their initial debut albums. In this instance, the DeCastro Brothers; Oscar and Armando along with bassist Gorka Alegre and Drummer Rafael Diaz make up the current lineup of Baron Rojo.

Their first performance was to take place here at Xalos Nightclub in Anaheim, California (technically its further East and closer to the city called Placentia for the non-local/MapQuest challenged) inside it had an amazing light and sound system and was crowded throughout the night which was a good sign.

I was a bit out of my element having never been here before and didn’t know what to expect from the turnout to how to conduct my scheduled interview with the band, as we've never met before (obviously) and my Español was rusty but all in all ended up being better than I had hoped for (thanks "Villian")

There was one opening group who was formidable, but my focus was Baron, who took the stage around 11:30p and played for 2 hours straight! Very solid set, great energy and great crowd response! My highlights were “El Malo”, “Resistire”, “Casi Me Mato” and “Tierra De Vandalos” Hopefully they’ll return but if not it was well worth the 37 wait!

My thanks to Christain Martinez Garcia @PRHC and to Adrian Villianueva.