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.
Opio
Héroes del Silencio Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hasta que llego a ser sólo existencia
El humo de leche muge lento
Extendiendo el sabor del universo
El que nada hace nada teme
Y de terrenal sabrás lo celeste
Un oscuro derecho a la delicia
Las cosas más triviales se
Vuelven fundamentales
Eliminando los moldes del azar
Como se agita el viento sin alimento
Escucha mi canto abierto de par en par
Es el opio la flor de la pereza
Hasta que llego a ser sólo existencia
El humo de leche muge lento
Extendiendo el sabor del universo
Replegado en la madriguera
Como un animal acosado
Bajo el efecto de la adormidera
Y el peso de mis pestañas
Las cosas más triviales se
Vuelven fundamentales
Eliminando los moldes del azar
Como se agita el viento sin alimento
Escucha mi canto abierto de par en par
Esquirlas de aire
Arcano indescifrable
En el jardín de mis delicias
Pertenezco a la brisa
Inhalo la niebla
Que flota en el Ganges
El aceite de incienso
Nos servirá de consuelo
Las cosas más triviales se
Vuelven fundamentales
Eliminando los moldes del azar
Como se agita el viento sin alimento
Escucha mi canto abierto de par en par
Las cosas más triviales se
Vuelven fundamentales
Eliminando los moldes del azar
Como se agita el viento sin alimento
Escucha mi canto abierto de par en par
The lyrics to Héroes Del Silencio's song Opio depict the effects and sensations associated with consuming the drug opium. The opening lines, "Es el opio la flor de la pereza / Hasta que llego a ser sólo existencia" (Opium is the flower of laziness / Until it becomes only existence), describe how opium, like a flower, can be enticing and pleasant but ultimately leads to a state of being where existence is only possible with the drug's influence. The following lines, "El humo de leche muge lento / Extendiendo el sabor del universo" (The milk smoke mooing slowly / Extending the flavor of the universe), paint a vivid image of the smoke from the drug and how it can alter one's perception of the world around them.
The lyrics continue to explore the effects of opium, with lines such as "Un oscuro derecho a la delicia / Será un sueño o será mentira" (A dark right to pleasure / Will it be a dream or will it be a lie) alluding to the temporary pleasure and escape from reality the drug can provide. The repeated line "Las cosas más triviales se / Vuelven fundamentales" (The most trivial things become fundamental) emphasizes how the drug can distort one's perception of what is important in life.
The final lines, "Inhalo la niebla / Que flota en el Ganges / El aceite de incienso / Nos servirá de consuelo" (I inhale the mist / That floats in the Ganges / The oil of incense / Will serve us as comfort), suggest a reference to the spiritual and religious associations with opium use in some parts of the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Es el opio la flor de la pereza
Opium is the flower of laziness
Hasta que llego a ser sólo existencia
Until it becomes only existence
El humo de leche muge lento
The slow mooing of milky smoke
Extendiendo el sabor del universo
Expanding the taste of the universe
El que nada hace nada teme
He who does nothing fears nothing
Y de terrenal sabrás lo celeste
And by earthly means you will know the heavenly
Un oscuro derecho a la delicia
A dark entitlement to pleasure
Será un sueño o será mentira
Will it be a dream or will it be a lie
Las cosas más triviales se
The most trivial things
Vuelven fundamentales
Become fundamental
Eliminando los moldes del azar
Eliminating the molds of chance
Como se agita el viento sin alimento
Like the wind stirred without food
Escucha mi canto abierto de par en par
Listen to my song wide open
Replegado en la madriguera
Folded in the burrow
Como un animal acosado
Like a hunted animal
Bajo el efecto de la adormidera
Under the influence of the poppy
Y el peso de mis pestañas
And the weight of my eyelashes
Esquirlas de aire
Splinters of air
Arcano indescifrable
Unfathomable mystery
En el jardín de mis delicias
In the garden of my delights
Pertenezco a la brisa
I belong to the breeze
Inhalo la niebla
I inhale the mist
Que flota en el Ganges
That floats in the Ganges
El aceite de incienso
The oil of incense
Nos servirá de consuelo
Will serve as consolation for us
Las cosas más triviales se
The most trivial things
Vuelven fundamentales
Become fundamental
Eliminando los moldes del azar
Eliminating the molds of chance
Como se agita el viento sin alimento
Like the wind stirred without food
Escucha mi canto abierto de par en par
Listen to my song wide open
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Enrique Ortiz Di Landazury, Joaquin Cardiel Jerico, Juan Valdivia Navarro, Pedro Andreu Lapiedra
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind