Heroes del Silencio started in 1984 as a band named Zumo de Vidrio. The original members were Enrique Bunbury, Juan Valdivia and his brother, and Pedro Andreu. Bunbury was originally a bass player but after Juan Valdivia heard him singing a David Bowie song and told him that he had a great voice, Bunbury became the vocalist. Later on, Joaquin Cardiel joins the line-up.
The band changed their name to Heroes del Silencio in 1986. At first they played in public places and made demos but their break came when they participated in a music contest in Salamanca and won second place - an EMI producer, Gustavo Montesano, saw the band in the contest and some time later, at a concert in Sala En Bruto, he signed the band.
Their first EP, Héroe de Leyenda, was released in in 1987 and sold 30,000 copies. The following year, the album El Mar No Cesa was released, featuring the songs "Mar Adentro", "Agosto" and "El Estanque", and sold 100,000 copies. The supporting tour followed in 1989, documented on the limited edition live album En Directo.
In 1990 they released Senderos de Traicion, their best-selling album with 2 million copies, including 400,000 copies in the first two weeks in Spain alone. The following year they started the tour "Senda 91" and released another live album, Senda 91. 1992 saw the most important CD in their career, El Espiritu del Vino. They sold 600,000 copies of this album which was played throughout America. They followed this with a tour for El Espiritu del Vino. In 1993, Alan Bogulavsky joined the band.
Due to tensions within the band, they took a hiatus and went to Benasque to take a vacation and heal the rifts within the group. After this break they gained a new producer, Bob Ezrin (Lou Reed, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Alice Cooper, Kiss, etc.) and in 1995 released Avalancha, widely considered their best album. Avalancha was more hard rock than previous albums, with songs like "Avalancha", "Deshacer El Mundo" and "Iberia Sumergida". The album was followed by the "Avalancha" tour in 1995 and 1996, which produced the live album Para Siempre.
The band split in 1996 though this did not prevent the release of the Rarezas album in 1998.
2007 Reunion tour
20 years after their first album, and 10 years after they split up, the band announced a ten concerts reunion tour, taking in Guatemala City, Buenos Aires, Monterrey, Ciudad de México, Los Ángeles, Sevilla, Zaragoza and Valencia. For this tour, guitarist Gonzalo Valdivia (Juan Valdivia's brother) replaced former band member Alan Bogulavsky. More than 10,000 people attended each concert. The tour was followed by another live album, Tour 2007.
After the tour, singer-songwriter Enrique Bunbury announced the definitive split of the band and that he would be focusing in his solo career.
Con Nombre De Guerra
Héroes del Silencio Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Que nadie oiga tus pasos
Mientras tanto
Si los nervios no traicionan, todo irá bien
Y dejemos los besos para los enamorados
Y pensemos en lo nuestro
Que por eso te he pagado
Aunque esta noche
Dejo en tus manos
Lo que hemos acordado
La lluvia de hace un rato
Ahora sólo necesito descansar
Y dejemos que los sueños
Se apoderen del deseo
Recordemos que lo nuestro
Se me olvidará al momento
Aunque esta noche
Sea sólo unos billetes para ti
Pienso en los años
Que llevas guerreando
Con un nombre por bandera
Ahora sólo quiero oírlo una vez más
Y dejemos que lo cierto
Sea lo que imaginamos
Recordemos que lo nuestro
Todavía no ha acabado
Aunque, por esta noche,
Por esta noche
Nos podemos despedir
In Héroes del Silencio's song Con Nombre De Guerra, the lyrics tell the story of two people engaging in a transactional, emotionless encounter. The first verse sets the scene, with the singer telling their partner to enter quietly to avoid being heard. The nervous atmosphere is palpable as they hope that their nerves don't give them away. The singer makes it clear that this is a business transaction rather than a romantic encounter, asking their partner to leave the kissing for lovers and to focus on what they have agreed on. They remind their partner that they are "only merchandise" for the singer tonight.
In the second verse, the singer makes it clear that they respect their partner's experience and dedication to their line of work. They acknowledge the hardships and struggles their partner may face in their profession, possibly as a soldier or a mercenary. The singer doesn't want anything more from the encounter except to hear their partner's name once more, a symbol of the life that they are leading. They suggest that they indulge their desires in their dreams, as what they have tonight will be forgotten instantly. They end the song by stating that though they may say goodbye tonight, what they have is not yet finished.
Overall, the lyrics convey a sense of detachment, emptiness, and a lack of humanity, with each person's motivations for being there coming from a place of need rather than connection.
Line by Line Meaning
Entra despacio
Enter slowly and carefully
Que nadie oiga tus pasos
So that nobody hears your steps
Mientras tanto
In the meantime
Si los nervios no traicionan, todo irá bien
If you don't get nervous, everything will be okay
Y dejemos los besos para los enamorados
Let's leave the kisses for lovers
Y pensemos en lo nuestro
And let's focus on our deal
Que por eso te he pagado
That's why I paid you
Aunque esta noche
Even though tonight
Seas sólo mercancía para mí
You're just merchandise to me
Dejo en tus manos
I leave it in your hands
Lo que hemos acordado
What we've agreed upon
La lluvia de hace un rato
The rain from earlier
Ahora sólo necesito descansar
Now I just need to rest
Y dejemos que los sueños
And let's allow dreams
Se apoderen del deseo
To take over desire
Recordemos que lo nuestro
Let's remember that what we have
Se me olvidará al momento
I'll forget about it immediately
Aunque esta noche
Even though tonight
Sea sólo unos billetes para ti
It's only money for you
Pienso en los años
I'm thinking about the years
Que llevas guerreando
You've been fighting
Con un nombre por bandera
With a name as your banner
Ahora sólo quiero oírlo una vez más
Now I just want to hear it one more time
Y dejemos que lo cierto
And let's allow what's true
Sea lo que imaginamos
To become what we imagine
Recordemos que lo nuestro
Let's remember that what we have
Todavía no ha acabado
Has not yet ended
Aunque, por esta noche,
Although, for tonight,
Por esta noche
For this night
Nos podemos despedir
We can say goodbye
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: E. ORTIZ DE LANDAZURY, J. CARDIEL, J. VALDIVIA, P. ANDREU
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind