The Warning is a Mexican rock band from Monterrey, formed in 2013 by the Villarreal Vélez sisters: Daniela (guitar, vocals, piano), Paulina (drums, vocals, piano), and Alejandra (bass guitar, backing vocals, piano). They have released four studio albums, two EPs, and 18 music videos. Their most recent studio album, Keep Me Fed, was released on June 28, 2024.
History
2013–2014: Early years
The Villarreal Vélez sisters were raised in Monterrey, and all received training on piano and various instruments at an early age. Their parents' passion and their playing the video game Rock Band led the sisters to rock music. Following the first Rock Band jams, Daniela and Paulina selected guitar and drums as their primary instruments, respectively. After the youngest of the three, Alejandra, selected bass guitar as her primary instrument at about age 7, the sisters decided to form a power trio in 2013.[1][2][3] They learned to play rock songs and posted videos of their performances to YouTube.[4]
In 2014, 12-year-old Paulina was profiled in the women's drumming publication Tom Tom Magazine.[5] The band first gained widespread notice later in 2014 when, at ages 9 through 14,[6] their YouTube video in which they performed Metallica's "Enter Sandman" went viral among rock fans, eventually earning more than 26 million views.[7][8][9] The video received attention from Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, who offered particular praise for Paulina, saying, "The drummer kicks maximum ass!"[10]
2015–2020: As independent artists
Due to the recognition gained from their "Enter Sandman" video and due to the encouragement of Alejandra's bass teacher (Pablo González Sarre, bassist for Los Claxons),[11] The Warning decided to seek a record deal and develop their own songs.[12] They raised money through a GoFundMe appeal to record the six-song EP Escape the Mind,[13] released in 2015.[14] During production of the EP, the band met producer Jake Carmona, who went on to contribute to Escape the Mind and their next two albums.[15][16]
They also gave two presentations at the TEDx conference at the University of Nevada, one in 2016 and one in 2017.[20][21] The band was known for practicing with the Rock Band video game series early in their history; so the game's designers returned the favor by including two songs by The Warning in Rock Band 4.[22][23]
The Warning's first full-length album, XXI Century Blood, was released in 2017.[24] The music video for the title track won several awards at film festivals.[25][26][27] During this period they were invited to perform at the Mother of All Rock Festival in Monterrey,[28] and also opened a show for The Killers in that city.[29]
Their second album Queen of the Murder Scene was released in 2018.[30] In 2019 The Warning performed on Rock al Parque[31], the biggest rock festival in Latin America. At the end of 2019, they announced an extensive upcoming tour throughout North America, though it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[32]
They released the single "Money" in March 2022,[40] and the song reached no. 31 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.[41] The full-length album Error, comprising the six tracks from the Mayday EP plus "Money" and seven new songs, was released in June 2022.[42][43] In July they embarked on a U.S. tour supporting Halestorm and The Pretty Reckless and appearing at festivals like Burlington's Sound of Music Festival, Iceberg Alley, Summerfest, and Upheaval, before resuming their headlining tour in August.[44][45][39] Later that year they toured Canada while supporting Three Days Grace and opened a show for Guns N' Roses in their home city of Monterrey, Mexico.[46]
The Warning, opening for Muse in 2023, were the first act to perform at the Milton Keynes Bowl, UK, since 2016.[47]
In the first half of 2023, the band supported Muse during several dates on the Will of the People World Tour in both Mexico and Europe. It was The Warning's first visit to Europe. In September 2023, they performed at the MTV Video Music Awards[48][49] and, in the same month, they opened for Guns N' Roses again one show of the We're F'N' Back! Tour.[50] They were scheduled to open two shows but had to cancel one because of the VMA's.
In May of 2023, they released the first new single, "More," from their upcoming album. In Spring 2024, they released five more new singles from the upcoming album: "S!CK", "Hell You Call a Dream", "Qué Más Quieres", "Automatic Sun" and "Burnout". The official music video for "Qué Más Quieres" debuted on MTV Live.[51] The release of "Automatic Sun" was timed to coincide with the 2024 solar eclipse.[52] In April 2024, they gave a second concert tour in Europe, this time as the main performer; all 19 stops of the tour were sold out.[53] In June 2024 The Warning completed a Japanese tour at the invitation of Band-Maid.[54]
The band's fourth studio album Keep Me Fed, including the six singles and six new tracks, was released on June 28, 2024.[55] Promoting their album release, The Warning appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live.[56] The parent company of Lava, Republic, took over doing most of the promotion for this 4th album, they sell the album and merchandise on their website. In July The Warning were featured as artists of the month on MTV Push[57]– a promotional event that includes exclusive videos of them performing songs and also interviews.
During the Summer, the band toured Europe with the new album, on 19 stops, including Wacken Open Air[58] and Pol'and'Rock.[59] The song "Show Them", a collaboration with Band-Maid recorded during the Japanese tour, was released as a joint single in August 2024 and included on the Band-Maid album Epic Narratives, released the following month.[60] In September and October they went on an extensive North American tour to support Keep Me Fed.[61][62] In November 2024, The Warning performed at the MTV Europe Music Awards[63] and a few days later, at the 25th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards.[64]
On 12 December 2024, The Warning released the single Hurt, a collaboration with Dead Poet Society. This came about after Paulina joined the Massachusetts-based band on stage for a performance of the song at the Aftershock Festival in California earlier in the year.[65][66]
Influences and musical style
The Warning pre-show at the Sound of Music festival in Burlington, Ontario, 2022
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