Notorious radio DJ, artist manager, and hype-man Jose Mangin took the stage – “my favorite band right now, all the way from Guadalajara, get ready for… Ladrones!”
The crowd went insane as the members of the Mexican rap ‘n’ regional metal band amplified the energy to the masses of the venue. In almost a cult-like fashion, the entire audience raised their hands pointed in an L formation (“our fans started doing it, and we decided to adopt it as a signature symbol of the band”), before chanting along every Spanish lyric that was rapped, sang, and growled out by dual vocalists. Without a doubt, I was instantly obsessed.
It’s been a year since my first experience discovering and witnessing Ladrones live, and they’ve seriously blown up – touring across the country and signing to Rise Records for their latest full-length album Arriba La L.
Their previous release, Mexican Pesado (dropped in 2025 via Alzada Records), was actually voted as The Best Metalcore Album of the Year by the community here at Metal Has No Borders.
“We had a much clearer vision this time around. Even though we decided to take more risks by incorporating more regional Mexican songs, the band was already at a more mature stage and we had developed a better workflow,” the band told me, regarding the evolution between Mexican Pesado and the new material on Arriba La L.
It’s impossible to truly capture Ladrones‘ sound into words – there’s certainly heavy similarities to Volumes, Upon a Burning Body, or even Slipknot, but the Latin hip hop infusion is one-of-a-kind and so genuine, drawing in non-metalheads, perhaps of the Bad Bunny sphere.
New singles “Ay Ay Ay,” “Arriba La L,” and “No Que No” show the group doubling down on their distinct identity, but the other twelve tracks off the upcoming album (Arriba La L officially releases on Aug 28, 2026) go deeper. Vocalist Zxmyr shared with me his favorite off the record: “Esto de estar solo” (The Thing About Being Alone) – “it’s a song that everyone can understand and relate to,” while guitarist / producer Macario’s (originally from Arcadia Libre, Here Comes The Kraken, and Resorte) favorite is “Pa llegar a fin de mes” (To Make Ends Meet) – “it reminds me a lot of the Mexican hip-hop group, Control Machete, but with metal.” Personally, I was blown away by the guttural vocals and hardcore style behind “Traición,” easily the band’s heaviest effort. The group revealed that Zxmyr, Macario, and Cirujano have all been learning how to perform growls.
Focusing on the rap aspect of Ladrones‘ metal music, it’s difficult not to also consider Rage Against the Machine, Ando San, or Slay Squad. The band shared their thoughts on each act…
Rage Against the Machine: “They’re a pillar of the fusion between metal and rap, and a powerful voice of protest.”
Ando San: “Without a doubt, he’s a great musician and a strong representative of what’s new in the industry. In fact, Macario has a track with him on YouTube from a few years ago.”
Slay Squad: “They’re badasses. We’re good friends with Ricky P, one of their producers, and they’re one of those projects that, like us, is willing to take risks and do something different.”
I can only imagine how sick a Zach de La Rocha (Rage Against the Machine rapper) feature, Slay Squad collab, or Ladrones with Ando San co-headlining tour would be. When asked about the possibility, Ladrones agreed – “Of course.”
What defines Ladrones in a way that no other artist has captured with such heaviness is a strong pride in their Mexican culture. In the past year, the band has performed their hits like “Así nomas” or “Veneno” live all across the US, while simultaneously, the American government used dehumanizing rhetoric toward Mexican-American immigrants, detained Mexican-American people through ICE, and built more large-scale detention centers to hold Mexican-American men, women, and children, where there have been numerous reports of abuse and deaths.
The band commented, “the world is going through a strange moment right now, and we hope that things will soon get better for our people.” They also confirmed that they personally haven’t experienced any issues. While not outright political, Ladrones is clearly bringing more unity and culture to the modern divisiveness in the country – “many people have come up to us and shared how they first connected with our music. A lot of them discovered it while going through emotional or health struggles, and we’ve also heard many stories of people overcoming difficult situations through our music.”
Ladrones are approaching their tour supporting Polyphia as well as an appearance at the Dia de los Deftones festival – “more than anything, a Ladrones show is a party, and everyone is invited.”
“We are very grateful to have the opportunity to represent our country and culture in different parts of the world. Even people who don’t understand the language have embraced the project with so much energy and support.”