Tren Loco is an Argentine heavy metal band formed in the suburban town of

Grand Bourg Grand Bourg is a city in Malvinas Argentinas Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It forms part of the Greater Buenos Aires agglomeration. Toponymy Grand Bourg is named after the ''Grand Bourg villa'' in the Paris suburb where the lead ...

, in

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

. Their lyrics relate social issues, like "Clase trabajadora" (Working class), "Fuera de la Ley" (Outlaw) and "Lucila"; others are about political issues, such as "Pampa del Infierno" (Hell's Land) and "Nos vemos en Cutral-Co" (See you at Cutral-Co). They also write about personal matters: "Endemoniado" (Possessed), "No me importa" (I do not care) and "A ultranza" (To the end). The group's name is inspired by the classic

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

song: ''

Crazy Train "Crazy Train" is the debut solo single by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, released in 1980 from his debut album as a solo artist, '' Blizzard of Ozz'' (1980). The song was written by Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, and Bob Daisley. The lyri ...

''.

History

The bass player Gustavo Zavala created a new band in 1990, after the breakup of his previous band,

Apocalipsis Apocalipsis may refer to: *Apocalypse * Apocalipsis (wrestler), Mexican professional wrestler * Apocalipsis (video game), 2018 video game See also *Apocalypse (disambiguation) Apocalypse is a genre of revelatory literature, or, by metonymy, a l ...

. He called the guitarist Rubén ''El Turco'' Atala, the drummer ''El Pollo'' Fuentes and the singer Gabriel Marian. The songs composed by this line-up were published in the album ''Apocalipsis'' in 1985. A month later, the singer Carlos Cabral leaves the band Dhak and joins Tren Loco, at the same time Mauricio Pregler joins as the second guitarist and Sergio Rojas as keyboardist. In early 1991, they recorded their first demo at Sonovision studios, in Buenos Aires, with Álvaro Villagra as the producer. That same year, on June 23, they performed a show at Halley Discothèque and started the competition for the Yamaha Band Explosion. They finally reached to the finals in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, where they played at the

Budokan The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. The Budokan was a popular venue for Japanese professional wres ...

Stadium, competing with bands from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Tren Loco received the Special Jury Prize and signed a contract with the multinational label record company PolyGram, in 1992. Their first album '' Tempestades'' (Storm) was recorded in CD,

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette (format) (or ''cassette tape''), a format that contains magnetic tape for audio, video, and data storage and playback * Compact Cassette, a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ...

and

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

. That same year, the band acts as support of

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

in Buenos Aires. In 1994, the Polygram contact finished and ''El Turco'' Atala and Rojas left the band. As a quartet again their sound changed being more raw and direct. Tren Loco recorded an EP with new songs: "Patrulla bonaerense" (Buenos Aires Patrol), "Al Acecho" (Spying), "Paz de Mentira" (False peace), "Luca no murió" (Luca is not dead), "Vengan Juntos" (Come together) and "O Sole Mio". As an independent band they recorded their second album: ''No me importa!'' at Del Abasto al Pasto Studios, with Álvaro Villagra as the recording engineer again. This album was edited under their own record label: Yugular Records in 1997, after opening the show of

Skid Row A skid row, also called skid road, is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to people who are poor or homeless, considered disre ...

Obras Sanitarias Club Atlético Obras Sanitarias de la Nación (mostly known simply as Obras Sanitarias or Obras) is an Argentina, Argentine professional sports club that is located in the district of Núñez, Buenos Aires. Although originally conceived as a rugb ...

Stadium in Buenos Aires. That year, they performed more than 50 shows, published the CD and released a video home ''Biografía'' (Biography) with songs from both albums and EP. The following year, they released the videos along with photos from the Japan tour. In 2000 Tren Loco released a new record: ''Carne Viva'' (Live Flesh) with arrangements on

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

, and an interactive track. They presented this album for the first time at

Cemento Cemento was an Argentine nightclub, used for rock concerts. It was opened in 1985, and it was closed in 2004. History Omar Chabán had a nightclub named "Café Einstein", which was closed several times. He opened a new one with his wife Katja Ale ...

, as the main group. At this time, Mauricio Pregler decided to leave the band, and after the tryouts of several guitarists, Cristian ''Zombie'' Gauna joined Tren Loco as the leader guitar. They participated in Raza Metálica and La Cumbre del Metal festivals, and opened the

Paul Di'Anno Paul Andrews (17 May 1958 – 21 October 2024), better known by his stage name Paul Di'Anno, was an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal singer who was the lead vocalist for Iron Maiden from 1978 to 1981. In his post-Maiden career, Di'Anno ...

and

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...

's first show (with singer

Tim "Ripper" Owens Timothy S. "Ripper" Owens (born September 13, 1967) is an American heavy metal singer who currently performs with KK's Priest, Spirits of Fire, the Three Tremors and "The Tim Ripper Monster Energy Big Band". He first gained attention as the ...

) in Argentina at Obras Sanitarias Stadium. In 2001, they performed in the First National Metal Meeting of Argentina, in

La Falda La Falda is a town in the province of Córdoba, Argentina, located from Córdoba and 800 km from Buenos Aires. It had about 15,000 inhabitants at the . La Falda lies at the foot of two small mountains (Cerro El Cuadrado and Cerro La Bande ...

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

. The next year, they released a new album ''Ruta 197'' (Route 197), which it was recorded once again at Del Abasto al Pasto studios with Álvaro Villagra. In 2002, Tren Loco performed for the first time in

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

: in the cities

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

and

Cuenca Cuenca may refer to: People * Cuenca (surname) Places Ecuador * Cuenca Canton, in the Azuay Province ** Cuenca, Ecuador, capital of Cuenca Canton and Azuay Province ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cuenca Peru * Cuenca District, Huarochirí ...

. In 2003 they performed in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, at Teresa Carreño Theatre in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

. The following year, the band recorded the two parts of their live album ''Vivo… en la gran ciudad'' (Live... at the big city) at

Hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

and República Cromañón clubs. Later on, they did the closure of ''La Cumbre del Metal'' festival. In 2005, Tren Loco played for the first time at

Cosquin Rock ''Cosquin may refer to a place * Cosquín, Córdoba, a small town in Argentina a festival * Cosquín Festival a river * Cosquín River a surname * Emmanuel Cosquin (1841 – 1919), French folklorist. {{disambiguation ...

, in front of an audience of 5000 people. On March 26, they performed a show at CBGB in Buenos Aires and then did a live performance at FM Rock & Pop radio, on the program '' Cuál es?''. After this, they toured around the northwest of Argentina. During 2006, the band released their fifth record: ''Sangresur'' (Southern Blood) and the drummer ''Pollo'' Fuentes decided to leave the group. At this time, Daniel ''Dany'' Wolter took his place on the drums. In 2007, they performed for the third time in a row at Cosquin Rock festival and in

, in the city of Ambato. At this point, another change in the formation happened: they added a second guitar, being Facundo Coral the chosen one and for the first time in years Tren Loco played as a quintet in

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

and travelled across Argentina. In September of that year, they performed a show at

Pepsi Music Festival The Pepsi Music Festival was a major Argentine music festival, held annually since 2003. Since 2005, it has been named after its main sponsor, Pepsi; before it was named after its previous sponsor, Quilmes, and it was known as " Quilmes Rock". It ...

in Buenos Aires. In 2008, the band made their fourth appearance at Cosquin Rock festival, in front of 20000 attendees, On May 25, they presented at the ''Vive Latino'' Megafestival, in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. On June, they began the recording of their new CD in La Nave de Osberg studios, in Buenos Aires. ''Venas de Acero'' (Steel Veins) record features guest musicians like

Andre Matos Andre Coelho Matos (; 14 September 1971 – 8 June 2019) was a Brazilian singer and musician. He was involved in the heavy metal bands Viper, Angra, Shaman and Symfonia. Since 2006, Matos had been dedicating his time to his solo career. I ...

from Angra and

Shaaman Shaman was a Brazilian progressive and power metal band assembled in 2000 by three musicians who left the band Angra – Andre Matos, Luis Mariutti and Ricardo Confessori. The band was completed with guitar player Hugo Mariutti (Luis' young ...

from

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and Oscar Sanchez from Lujuria, the Spanish band. On October 11, Tren Loco once again presented at

, with

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...

and at the end of that year, they presented at ''Metal para todos'' (Metal for all) festival, which it took place at Colegiales Theatre. On December 13 ''Venas de Acero'' album was released under the label company ''Icarus Music''. In 2009, they shot the ''Pueblo Motoquero'' (Biker People) video and toured across Argentina. Then, the band performed for the fifth time at Cosquin Rock on the heavy metal stage. On May, they presented their latest record in Venezuela and continued for the rest of the year with the ''Venas de Acero Tour'', performing more than 50 shows, including a motorcycle meeting: ''Motoencuentro Diamante''. Tren Loco celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2010 and performed again at Cosquin Rock, on a pouring day in front of 7000 people becoming an epic concert, powered by the audience. On March, they announced the publishing of their biographical book as part of the celebration; that it was released on September 18. The book is called ''Tren Loco. 20 años, Pogo en el andén'' (Tren Loco. 20 years, moshing on the train platform) and it also included the ''20th Anniversary'' Cd with unreleased acoustic versions of their songs, and an interactive track with a documentary, photos, videos and audio files never published before. The Cd was edited once again by Yugular Records. On November 6, Tren Loco played at Colegiales Theatre in Buenos Aires and shot a DVD as a closure for the celebration. In January 2011, they began their tour in Catamarca, in Tinogasta city and then performed one more time at Cosquin Rock. From March until July the band played in

Paraná Paraná, Paranã or Parana may refer to: Geology * Paraná Basin, a sedimentary basin in South America Places In Argentina *Paraná, Entre Ríos, a city * Paraná Department, a part of Entre Ríos Province In Brazil *Paraná (state), a state ...

, Santa Fé (Argentina),

(Uruguay),

and Ambato (

Bariloche San Carlos de Bariloche (from the Mapuche name ''Vuriloche'', meaning "people from the other side of the mountain"), commonly known simply as Bariloche (), is the largest city in the Argentine province of Río Negro and the seat of the departm ...

Tandil Tandil is the main city of the homonymous partido (department), located in Argentina, in the southeast of Buenos Aires Province, just north-northwest of Tandilia hills. The city was founded in 1823, and its name originates from the '' Piedra M ...

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the ...

Río Gallegos Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...

and

Pico Truncado Pico Truncado is a town and municipality in Santa Cruz Province in southern Argentina. In 1921, the village's railway station was the site of one of the few open engagements between the Argentine Army and anarchist strikers at the time of the e ...

(Argentina). On September, Tren Loco was invited to perform in the

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1978. The group were originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their ow ...

and

's show at Presidente Perón Racing Club Stadium and the DVD ''Hoy es mejor que ayer'' (Today's better than yesterday) was released. In 2012, they performed once again at Cosquin Rock with

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

and later, they began their ''Hoy es Mejor que Ayer tour'' all around Chaco,

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...

and Buenos Aires with

Iced Earth Iced Earth is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band currently composed of only Jon Schaffer, formed in Tampa, Florida, and based in Columbus, Indiana. They were formed in 1984 under the name the Rose, then Purgatory, by guitarist, ma ...

. In March, the Latin American tour started in

. Then, they continued in Córdoba, Santa Fé, the city of

Bahía Blanca Bahía Blanca (; English: ''White Bay''), colloquially referred to by its own local inhabitants as simply Bahía, is a city in the Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires province of Argentina, centered on the northwestern end of the eponymous Blanc ...

Chubut Chubut may refer to: * Chubut Province Chubut ( from Tehuelche language, Tehuelche 'transparent'; ) is a provinces of Argentina, province in southern Argentina, situated between the 42nd parallel south (the border with Río Negro Province), ...

, Río Negro, Mendoza and

. On October 6 they performed in front of 8000 people at ''Metal para todos'' festival at Malvinas Argentinas Stadium, in Buenos Aires. In 2013, Tren Loco started to record a new album: ''Vieja Escuela'' (Old School) with Icarus Music. On February, and for the 10th time on a row, they played at Cosquin Rock Mega Festival. In April 2014 Facundo Coral leaves the band for professional reasons. In July 2014 Pablo G. Soler is announced as new member of Tren Loco.

Band members

Current * Daniel Medina – lead vocals (2022–present) * Cristian "Zombie" Gauna – guitars (2001–present) * Pablo G. Soler – guitars (2014–present) * Sergio "Isopo" Rodríguez Wilson – bass (2022–present) * Dany Wolter – drums (2007–present) Past * Carlos Cabral – lead vocals (1990–2021) * Mauricio Pregler – guitars (1990–2000) * Turco Atala – guitar (1990–1993) * Facundo Coral – guitars (2007–2014) * Gustavo Zavala – bass (1990–2022; his death) * Pollo Fuentes – drums (1990–2006)

Timeline

Discography

* '' Tempestades'' - 1992 * '' No Me Importa!'' - 1996 * '' Carne Viva'' - 2000 * '' Ruta 197'' - 2002 * '' Vivo... En la gran ciudad'' - 2004 * '' Vivo... En la gran ciudad 2'' - 2005 * '' Sangresur'' - 2006 * '' Venas de Acero'' - 2008 * '' 20 Aniversario'' - 2010 (Acoustic CD, edited with the book ''Pogo en el Andén'') * '' Hoy es mejor que ayer'' - 2011 (Live DVD/CD) * '' Vieja Escuela'' - 2013

Compilations and reissues

* ''Biografía'' - 1998 * ''Toda la historia'' - 2001 * ''Pampa del infierno'' - 2004 * ''Carne Viva '04'' - 2004 (remastered reissue of ''Carne Viva'') * ''No Me Importa 2005'' - 2005 (reissue of ''No Me Importa!'') * ''Colección Metal for Babies: Metal For Babies'' (2006, selected song: "Ella se mueve en silencio") y Metal For Babies II (2008, selected song: "Rostro Oscuro")Metal for Babies

Participation in other albums

* Las mejores voces del metal - 1997 * Nuevos Guerreros 1998 * Nuevos Guerreros II - 1999 * Hermandad Metálica III - 2000 * Hermandad Metálica V - 2001 * Homenaje - 2002 (

Hermética Hermética was an Argentine thrash metal band from San Martín, Buenos Aires. It was formed by bassist Ricardo Iorio in 1987 after his previous band, V8, disbanded. Hermética was signed to the independent record label Radio Trípoli Discos t ...

tribute disc, song:''Gil Trabajador'') * Demolición de

Bloke ''Bloke'' is a slang term for a common man in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The earliest known usage is from the early 19th century, when it was recorded as a London slang term. The word's origin is un ...

- 2002 (reissue and tribute, song: ''Identidad Real'') * Tributo a los reyes del metal - 2002 (several bands tribute disc, song: ''Crazy Train'' of

) * Mátenlos a todos - 2003 (

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

tribute disc, song: ''For Whom The Bells Toll'' with Spanish lyrics) * Hangar de Almas - 2005 (

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...

tribute disc, song: ''Train Of Consequences'' with Spanish lyrics) * Acero argentino - 2006 (

tribute disc, song: ''The hellion-Electric eyes'' with Spanish lyrics) * Que sea Rocka! - 2006 (

Riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

Pappo Norberto Aníbal Napolitano (10 March 1950 – 25 February 2005), popularly known as Pappo, was an Argentine rock musician, guitarist, singer and songwriter. One of the most influential figures in Argentine music, he was a forerunner of Argent ...

tribute disc, song: ''Días buenos y días malos'') * Tributo internacional Kraken - 2007 (

Kraken The kraken (, from , "the crookie") is a legendary sea monster of enormous size, per its etymology something akin to a cephalopod, said to appear in the Norwegian Sea off the coast of Norway. It is believed that the legend of the Kraken may h ...

tribute disc, song: ''America'')

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

Official siteYugular Records Facebook
{{Authority control Argentine heavy metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1990 People from Malvinas Argentinas Partido