Molotov

Contrary to popular belief, the Spanish word putodoesn't mean "fag." Only a homosexual who also happens to be an asshole is a puto. But putois anything that's bad, wrong. For example if you accused Molotov of homophobia for its 1997 hit "Puto" (which repeated a "Puuuuuto-Puuuuuto" chorus dozens of times), well, that automatically qualifies you as a puto-- the song was a favorite in gay discos in Mexico City. See, according to Molotov -- the Mexican bilingual hardcore rap and metal quartet that sold over a million copies of its debut album, Donde Jugaran Las Niñas?-- Bush and Saddam are putos, the Border Patrol gringosare a bunch of putos,and those who hold suspected terrorists with no charges and no lawyers are putosas well. But the biggest putosof them all are those who can't see that, beyond the shock value and the curses and the musical differences, Molotov is Mexico's answer to Divididos, the Argentine aplanadora, the most powerful machine in all of Spanish-language rock (Divididos is not known in the U.S. because here in America we're still in the pre-lactancy/idiocy state of that hungry beast named "rock en español").

Dance and Dense Denso, Molotov's third album, marks the return of ace producer Gustavo Santaolalla, who did the first one but only produced a few of the songs for the second, Apocalypshit. Santaolalla is an expert at balancing fierce metal with organic Latin fusion, without dropping the ball in either case. Musically and lyrically, the band members seem to be saying "Let's fuck" and "Don't you touch me fucking immigration police bastard," but ultimately ask their American friends, "What would you do if you were in our shoes?" One rule, though: Listen to the album nonstop, from beginning to end. Treat it as a scientific marvel. You may not understand all of what it's saying, but Molotov will ultimately knock your socks off.