Héroes del Silencio (sometimes referred to as just Héroes) were a Spanish r… Read Full Bio ↴Héroes del Silencio (sometimes referred to as just Héroes) were a Spanish rock band from Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain formed by Juan Valdivia in 1987. In the 1990s they experienced success around Spain and the Americas, and various European countries including Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, France and Portugal becoming a successful Spanish group and icons in the history of the Rock en Español scene. After ten years and numerous albums, the band broke up in 1997. Then later on, the artist Enrique Bunbury went solo. In 2007, as part of a 20 year anniversary celebration and 11 years after their break-up, they participated in a 10 concert world tour.

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.

Culpable
Héroes del Silencio Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Silencioso como una sombra,
No hay experiencias vetadas
Por las salas de los consejos
Que habitan las alimañas,

Y aquel rasguño se me abría
Y ya tardaba en cicatrizar
Te quedarás, mi pesadilla,

Rondándome al oscurecer?

Ir más allá de lo permitido
Por los fluidos que recorren el cuerpo
Renunciarás a las costumbres
Y, sometidos, la procesión irá por dentro

¿querrán las glándulas lascivas
Declararme culpable?
Si me ofrecí a tus rodillas
Y no quería quedarme

Extrañas tretas mentales
En desfiladeros y precipicios
Esparciendo alrededor
El ocre más corrompido

Ir más allá de lo permitido
Por los fluidos que recorren el cuerpo
Renunciarás a las costumbres
Y, sometidos, la procesión irá por dentro

Y las palabras necias
Me dejaron sordo,
Y a lo aprendido en la escuela
Me negaré del todo

Y aquel rasguño se me abría
Y ya tardaba en cicatrizar
¿te quedarás, mi pesadilla,
Rondándome al oscurecer?

Ir más allá de lo permitido
Por los fluidos que recorren el cuerpo

Renunciarás a las costumbres
Y, sometidos, la procesión irá por dentro

Overall Meaning

The song "Culpable" by Héroes del Silencio explores the forbidden nature of desire and the internal struggle that arises when faced with societal norms and expectations. The lyrics utilize metaphorical language to depict the singer's inner turmoil, which is akin to walking down a dangerous path while trying to resist the temptation of giving in completely. 'Silencioso como una sombra' (Silent as a shadow) introduces the singer as someone who operates in secrecy and beyond the reach of societal norms. The following lines, 'No hay experiencias vetadas. Por las salas de los consejos que habitan las alimañas', suggest a desire to break free from constraints and embrace a life that is not bound by authority.

The lyrics also reference physical desires, with the lines '¿querrán las glándulas lascivas declararme culpable?' (Will the lascivious glands declare me guilty?). The singer recognizes that these desires are viewed as taboo, but they persist nonetheless. The chorus serves as a call to challenge normative thinking and to break away from societal expectations, with the lyrics 'Ir más allá de lo permitido por los fluidos que recorren el cuerpo, renunciarás a las costumbres y sometidos la procesión irá por dentro' (Go beyond what is allowed by the fluids that flow through the body, renounce the customs and the procession will go inside).

The lyrics convey an internal battle between temptation and societal norms. The singer is plagued by 'extrañas tretas mentales' (strange mental tricks) and the fear that their desires will consume them entirely. The song ultimately calls for the listener to challenge societal expectations and to embrace their desires, even if they contradict conventional thinking.

Line by Line Meaning

Silencioso como una sombra,
Moving quietly like an elusive shadow

No hay experiencias vetadas
No experience is off-limits

Por las salas de los consejos
Through the halls of the councils

Que habitan las alimañas,
Inhabited by vermin

Y aquel rasguño se me abría
And that scratch reopened

Y ya tardaba en cicatrizar
And it was taking too long to heal

Te quedarás, mi pesadilla,
Will you stay, my nightmare,

Rondándome al oscurecer?
Lurking around me at dusk?

Ir más allá de lo permitido
Going beyond what's allowed

Por los fluidos que recorren el cuerpo
Through the fluids flowing in the body

Renunciarás a las costumbres
You'll give up customs