PUYA does have some Latin influence to their music. On "Erizo," which only clocks in at 2:29 but seemed longer than that (and I mean that in a good way) the band is chugging along at 500 mph and just when you think your ears are going to start bleeding they change direction and you get a few minutes of electric Spanish guitar stylings. They do kind of the same thing during "Numbed," with a little break-neck classical guitar interlude at a few thousand decibels. And they make it work. There's all sorts of influences floating around in here; I was reminded (vaguely) of Orange 9 mm one second, then Sepultura (minus the gargled razor blades) the next, then Santana ("Bridge", "Si Aja"); there's enough change-ups here --- changeups that WORK --- that UNION, even after several times through, continues to surprise. I can believe these guys have been together for ten years, their playing is incredibly tight, and they've got energy to burn, and yeah, they burn every bit of it. On "Socialize" there's a guitar solo that gives Eddie Van Halen, circa "Hot for Teacher," a run for his money. Some of the songs are in Spanish, some are not, but you're not really gonna care about the lyrics anyhow, at least not at first. Sticking your head inside the speakers during UNION will give you an idea what a bug feels like when he hits your windshield. And again, I mean that in a good way.

UNION is here just in time for summer. You'll put it on in the car and roll all the windows down and drive on the freeway as fast as the law allows with UNION turned up full blast at 2:45 a.m. and you'll forget about your girlfriend who is screwing around with your head and your dead end job and all your problems. If PUYA comes to your town, go see them, do whatever you have to do to go see them, and yell out requests for "No Interference" and "Si Aja" and watch 'em go crazy. See them now in club because next year they'll be playing arenas. Seriously. This is possibly the best hard rock album I've heard in years.