Juan Brujo, Frontman and Leader of Brujeria, Has Died

Juan Brujo, frontman and leader of the Mexican-American grindcore band Brujeria, has died at the age of 61.

Juan Brujo – aka John Lepe – passed away on September 16, 2024, from a heart attack!

Below you can check out the band’s original statement about the tragedy, posted on social media.

It was Juan Brujo who founded Brujeria in 1989 in Los Angeles, together with Dino Cazares of Fear Factory (guitar), Shane Embury of Napalm Death (guitar), Billy Gould of Faith No More (bass), former Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra (vocals) and Raymond Herrera of Fear Factory. The band originally performed masked up in bandanas and balaclavas and under pseudonyms, putting on a cheeky act as hunted ‘narco-barons’.

Their debut “Matando Güeros” came out in 1993 on Roadrunner Records. The band’s fifth and latest album, “Esto Es Brujeria”, dropped in 2023 on Nuclear Blast.

Brujo’s death is the second tragedy to hit Brujeria in recent months. Vocalist/songwriter Ciriaco ‘Pinche Peach’ Quezada, who had been with Brujeria since 1992, died on July 17 from severe heart complications.

In the photo: Juan Brujo during Brujeria’s set at last year’s Tolminator festival (RockLine photo archive 2006-2024, photo: SEBASTIJAN VIDEC, all rights reserved). You can read the full RockLine review of that festival day HERE.

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