Spanish hard rock and heavy metal pioneers Barón Rojo have inspired multiple generations of musicians in both Spain and Latin America. They weren’t the only hard-edged Spanish band making waves in the early eighties, as bands like Obús and Ángeles del Infierno were of equal importance, but Barón Rojo arguably was the biggest of the bunch, appearing on public broadcaster TVE a surprising amount of times for a band in their style. Guitar playing and singing brothers Carlos and Armando de Castro are still active with the band, though they are currently on their farewell tour, however long that takes.

For all their influence on metal bands, Barón Rojo is actually primarily influenced by seventies hard rock. Obviously, that makes sense for a band that started in 1980, but not all bands from the era have those influences so clearly on display. The band certainly got quite heavy at times, and fans of what Judas Priest was doing around 1980 should certainly find something of their liking among Barón Rojo’s discography. But every album contains songs that clearly take inspiration from the likes of Deep Purple, UFO, Thin Lizzy, Ted Nugent, and – especially in later years – AC/DC.

Barón Rojo’s classic line-up consists of the De Castro brothers, singer/bassist José Luis Campuzano “Sherpa” and Uruguayan drummer Hermes Calabria. That also is the line-up with which the band recorded its best work. In fact, Sherpa is in my opinion the greatest singer the band has ever had – it isn’t even close – and he brought some melodic sensibilities with him that I think much of the band’s later output is lacking. Also, purely from a sonic perspective, I really like how his bass and the guitars of the De Castros sound together.

11. 20+ (2001)

There isn’t really anything wrong with ’20+’ in particular. It’s a fine old school rock album, and I hesitate to add “hard” here, because the album seriously lacks energy. Which should come as a bit of a surprise, because energy is the one thing even the least impressive Barón Rojo albums up until this point had no shortage of. Also, the vocal limitations of the band after Sherpa’s departure have really become apparent here. Some of the mellower material on ’20+’, such as the rootsy southern rocker ‘Salvavidas’ or the melodic rocker ‘La Zona Siniestra’, could have worked better with a proper singer. There is potential for these songs working better in the live environment, and the guitar arrangements of the De Castro brothers are generally fantastic, but the band just sounds tired here.

Recommended tracks: ‘Vendiendo el Juicio Final’, ‘Quémo con Tu Piel’, ‘Sigue’

10. Ultimasmentes (2006)

Barón Rojo’s most recent – and, the way it looks now, final – studio album sounds like a culmination of everything they had done up until that point. While the vocal issues from ’20+’ persist – though masked better with excellent harmonies – ‘Ulimasmentes’ is played with a lot more energy, and there fortunately are a couple of faster songs that would have done wonders for the dynamics on ’20+’. There actually is a great opener this time around as well. ‘Ultimasmentes’ carries quite a lot of AC/DC influences, but very few songs sound like you are listening to a Spanish-language AC/DC start-to-finish. Some great guitar work by the De Castros further contributes to making the album a fairly decent farewell album, though I’m not sure if they knew it would be when they recorded it.

Recommended tracks: ‘Al Final, Perderán’, ‘El Porvenir, un Castigo’, ‘Tu Infierno’

9. ¡No Va Mas! (1988)

While its predecessor already hinted at it, ‘¡No Va Mas!’ sees Barón Rojo going all-in on a more polished sound. Fortunately, the band’s idea of a more polished Barón Rojo is mid-eighties Judas Priest rather than trying to be Spain’s answer to the L.A. glam metal scene, so quite a lot of ‘¡No Va Más!’ is actually still quite good. It is a considerable step back from the previous few albums, but the second half of the album sounds considerably more like Barón Rojo would traditionally sound. Fans of the band should still find plenty to enjoy here. Much to my surprise, however, some of the more accessible, poppy songs are the most enjoyable ones here. ‘Mil Años Luz’ is a surprisingly understated ballad – especially by eighties standards – and closes the album in style.

Recommended tracks: ‘El Gladiador’, ‘Mil Años Luz’, ‘Kamikaze’

8. Obstinato (1989)

After two overly polished albums, Barón Rojo went back to sounding like an actual band again on ‘Obstinato’. The album is still quite slickly produced, but the focus shifted back to guitar, drums and vocals, having a production best described as 1989. While I like the more powerful sound, the album is somewhat uneven. There are definitely some great songs on here, and it’s good to finally have a handful of speedy heavy metal tracks again. This is nowhere near the consistent songwriting quality of some of Barón Rojo’s earlier work, though. Part of the problem is likely that the original line-up had simply run its course; only the De Castro brothers would return on the next album. Maybe that’s why Sherpa’s bass is completely buried in the mix.

Recommended tracks: ‘Vampiros y Banqueros’, ‘Herencia Letal’, ‘Seguimos Vivos’

7. Desafio (1992)

The first album without Sherpa and drummer Hermes Calabria sees Barón Rojo returning to their roots. Is that a good thing? That depends on your tolerance for AC/DC-isms. ‘Desafio’ is absolutely chock-full of them. Sure, there is more variation than on the average AC/DC album – hence something as ambitious as closing track ‘Hijos del Blues’ – but there is one very obvious influence running through ‘Desafio’. It is also the only Barón Rojo album with bassist Niko del Hierro, who would go on to establish the excellent heavy/power metal band Saratoga not much later. Carlos de Castro can handle this material vocally, but he lacks the melodic depth and versatility of Sherpa. Be careful with CD versions of ‘Desafio’: several albums from either Avispa Music or a company pretending to be them are floating around that hold CD-R’s.

Recommended tracks: ‘El Enemigo a Abatir’, ‘Te Espero en el Infierno’, ‘Rock Stimulacion’

6. Tierra de Nadie (1987)

‘Tierra de Nadie’ is a bit of a mixed bag. The heavy tracks and the ballads are great overall, the more melodic hardrockers lack power and are generally quite repetitive. Also, the good songs and the less impressive songs alternate for most of the album, making ‘Tierra de Nadie’ quite difficult to get into as a cohesive listening experience. Some of the productional choices are a bit odd as well; I don’t think the semi-epic title track needed keyboards that were so prominent. All of this is a shame, because there is plenty of great stuff on ‘Tierra de Nadie’. As it stands now, you’re probably better off getting the highlights on a compilation album, though surprisingly, the anthemic ‘Pobre Madrid’ isn’t on any of them.

Recommended tracks: ‘La Voz de Su Amo’, ‘Pobre Madrid’, ‘El Precio del Futuro’

5. Arma Secreta (1997)

While ‘Arma Secreta’ isn’t quite as consistent as ‘Desafio’, it is the much better album of the two. For starters, it’s far more varied, even delving into the poppier side of rock en español and southern rock. Most of the album is the tried and true Barón Rojo style, however, with some of the heavier moments hitting significantly harder than on its predecessor. Ultimately, the variety on ‘Arma Secreta’ is what makes me enjoy it so much. There is just something about the band moving between bluesy rock, heavy metal power, and the more melodic side of seventies rock that makes the album work. One thing not as impressive is the production. The guitars pack the punch they should, but the drums don’t sound very human. José Martos is credited as drummer, but they sound suspiciously programmed.

Recommended tracks: ‘Todo de Me Igual’, ‘Fugitivo’, ‘Bajo Tierra’

4. Larga Vida al Rock and Roll (1981)

Barón Rojo’s debut album is solid, occasionally great, but if you are mostly into heavy metal and trying to get into the band’s music, ‘Larga Vida al Rock and Roll’ is not the best place to start. There is heavy metal on the album. ‘El Pobre’ might actually be the earliest Spanish heavy metal classic, but quite a large portion of the album has a discinctly loose seventies hard rock ‘n’ roll feel. Most of it is quite good hard rock ‘n’ roll, but it helps to know what you’re getting into with ‘Larga Vida al Rock and Roll’. Having said that, two distorted guitars and a bass playing in unison hardly ever sounds as good as it does here, and the songwriting is more varied and overall accomplished than what most bands offer on their first album.

Recommended tracks: ‘El Pobre’, ‘Larga Vida al Rock and Roll’, ‘Con Botas Sucias’

3. Metalmorfosis (1983)

‘Metalmorfosis’ may just be Barón Rojo’s best-produced album. Especially the guitars of the De Castro brothers pack a great punch without them losing that organic seventies hard rock feel, but Hermes Calabria’s drums sound absolutely thunderous as well. Overall, the songwriting is really good as well, but if you take the ballad ‘Siempre Estás Allí’ as the act break, the second act of the album is so much better than the first, which is mostly dominated by heavy rock ‘n’ roll. Those songs are good, and that style basically characterizes Barón Rojo, but songs like ‘Hiroshima’ and especially ‘El Malo’, which might be my favorite Barón Rojo song of all time, just highlight that the band could do even greater things. As a whole, though, ‘Metalmorfosis’ is a highly enjoyable hard rock and heavy metal album.

Recommended tracks: ‘El Malo’, ‘¿Qué Puedo Hacer?’, ‘Hiroshima’

2. Volumen Brutal (1982)

Some bands just give their albums titles that imply that they knew they were destined for greatness. ‘Volumen Brutal’ is just wall-to-wall great traditional heavy metal. There are some more rock ‘n’ roll-inclined songs, and while those are generally the lesser tracks, they work better within the context of the album than on the average Barón Rojo release. For instance: ‘Los Rockeros Van al Infierno’ is a seventies rocker, but with a heavy bottom end and a fantastic vocal performance by Sherpa. The amount of variation shown here is fantastic too. No two songs sound the same, most of the songs Sherpa contributed to even sound unlike anything Barón Rojo did before or since, everyone’s playing is extremely tight, the sound is thunderous, and ‘Resistiré’ predates multiple speed metal classics from more northern regions of Europe. A must-hear, but one Barón Rojo album tops it.

Recommended tracks: ‘Resistiré’, ‘Las Flores del Mal’, ‘Dame la Oportunidad’

1. En un Lugar de la Marcha (1985)

While the rest of Europe was polishing its metal to the point that it started lacking its hungry energy or moving towards more aggressive pastures, ‘En un Lugar de la Marcha’ is a rock-solid slab of seventies-inpired hard rock and heavy metal. Apart from maybe ‘Tras de Tí’, which almost feels like a sixties throwback song with the way its vocal harmonies are arranged, every song on the album is a powerful, catchy stomper with a strong chorus. ‘En un Lugar de la Marcha’ is more varied than that description may imply, though. There are aggressive tracks like ‘El Baile de los Malditos’, speed metal monsters like ‘Cuerdos de Acero’, heavy stompers like ‘Breakthoven’, more accessible rockers like ‘Chicos del Rock’, and closing track ‘Hijos de Caín’ may just be the best power ballad Barón Rojo ever released. While it may not necessarily be heralded as such, ‘En un Lugar de la Marcha’ is Barón Rojo’s most consistently strong album, and one of the best of its era.

Recommended tracks: ‘No Ver, No Hablar, No Oír’, ‘El Baile de los Malditos’, ‘Cuerdos de Acero’, ‘Hijos de Caín’