Union
Heirs to the South American headbang spirit ofSepultura, as well as the headstrong social conscience ofRage Against the Machine, the Puerto Rican groove collective Puya combine salsa, rap, and metal like a LatinLimp Bizkit, albeit with more brains and heart. Similar to Brooklyn's harder-edgedCandiria, Puya offer a taste of everything, and, while sometimes the sound is only a collection of disparate influences, tracks such as "Si Aja" successfully combine polyrhythms with thick guitars. Someone smells the commercial potential:Unionoffers up radio-friendly hooks that didn't fit into the mix on the band's debut. The "original fusion" of Puya is a more organic and infectious kind of mish-mosh than the cut-and-paste songwriting of bands such asStatic-X. As these brothers from Borinquen continue to synthesize their blend into a truly new style of aggression, conditions will only improve.--Ian Christe