Driven by a deep love of music

 

The three Mexican sisters of The Warning are on their way to rock stardom

Reading time: 5 minutes | Listening time: You decide!

Guest article from musician and psychologist Ben Sollberger from Berne / Switzerland

Once more, love wins– How it all started

Some weeks ago, while browsing YouTube, I came across a short video in which a young female bassist with long black hair delivered a sinister and incredibly powerful bass line right at the beginning of a concert. She commanded the stage like a true rock star. She immediately grabbed my full attention. Just a few minutes later, I discovered that this bassist — Alejandra Villarreal — and her two older sisters, Daniela (guitar) and Paulina (drums), are in fact rock stars. That was the moment my love affair with the Mexican band The Warning began.

But maybe the more interesting question is: How did their love affair with music start?

Luis Villarreal and his wife Mónica from Monterrey, Mexico, never learned to play an instrument themselves. Yet they passed on their profound love of music to their three daughters by exposing them to an incredibly wide range of genres: Classic Rock and Arena Rock, Modern Alternative Rock, Pop, Piano-Driven Legends, Classical Music, and everything in between.

From Cover Versions to Original Songs and Back

“Infected” by this passion at a very early age, all three sisters began learning piano. A few years later, when Daniela (then 11) took up the guitar and Paulina (then 9) the drums, Alejandra (at age 7) decided to learn bass. Not long after, the three realized they already had everything they needed to form a rock trio. They started practicing cover versions in their rehearsal room and uploading them to YouTube — for example “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister or “Resistance” by Muse.

Their electrifying version of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” recorded when they were 9, 12, and 14 years old, quickly went viral. To this day, the video has over 27 million views. It remains a powerful testament to both their remarkable talent and the deep love of music their parents had instilled in them.

Not much later The Warning began writing their own original songs. In 2017 they got the chance to present some of them on the prestigious TED Talks series. Besides delivering stunning performances of three songs from their first full-length album XXI Century Blood, they also spoke about their experiences in the music business.

Their advice — which can be seen as excellent general life advice — can be summarized as follows: Do what you love, believe in yourself, work hard, and don’t believe every crap others tell you — especially adults.

As a psychologist who has been interested in happiness and mental health for two decades, I really couldn’t agree more.

As you can see in the video, they already had it all back then: They were masters of their instruments, could all sing beautifully, had great stage presence, and wrote really strong songs rooted not only in (hard) rock, but also in musical theatre and classical elements. The level of love, passion, and skill that drummer Paulina brings to the first song “Unmendable” still gets me choked up every time.

That The Warning were able to grab the full attention of audiences at such a young age had a lot to do with how hard-working and focused they were. This very raw yet stunningly virtuosic rehearsal-room version of “Dull Knives (Cut Better)” perfectly illustrates their breathtaking determination — they already acted like rock stars long before the world knew what was coming. That’s the power of manifestation!

In 2021, six years after their childhood “Enter Sandman” cover, Metallica personally invited The Warning to record a new version of the song for the official tribute album The Metallica Blacklist — marking the 30th anniversary of The Black Album.

Together with Canadian singer Alessia Cara, they created a markedly different, more somber and reflective interpretation. While they kept the original vocal melody lines, they changed the chords underneath in a very elegant way.

In the past few years, The Warning have become a highly sought-after support act for major bands such as Guns N’ Roses, Foo Fighters, Halestorm and others. In 2023 they were invited by Muse as support for several European dates. Matt Bellamy, singer and guitarist of Muse, was so impressed that he gave Daniela one of his signature guitars as a gift. She could even choose the colour of it, she once said with a smile in an interview.

(Not too) Deep Dive into the harmonic recipe for greatness

Nearly 20 years ago, I wrote my doctoral dissertation on the relationship between music and emotion. One central finding was why certain pieces of music move us so deeply. The music of The Warning is a perfect example of this.

Although it is mostly based on minor scales, it rarely sounds sad. When you combine minor keys with high energy and mid-to-high tempo, you get music that touches the heart through beautiful melodies and vocal harmonies while the drive makes your blood boil. Think of “The Trooper” or “The Evil That Men Do” by Iron Maiden, “Love Gun” or “Detroit Rock City” by Kiss, “Metalingus” or “Ties That Bind” by Alter Bridge, or “Beat It” by Michael Jackson — same story, folks.

Great examples of this “ass-kicking minor” formula in The Warning’s music are:

They also like to throw in single notes and intervals that don’t belong in pure minor scales, such as the dark, sinister-sounding Phrygian half-tone interval. Good examples are the intros and main riffs of:

Can you hear the sinisterness? If not, think of the guitar riff during the intro and verses of Megadeth’s “Symphony of Destruction” — there you go!

Where from here? A final Warning.

Currently, The Warning are touring the the U.S., supporting the English musician Yungblud. On June 25th, they will play their first European show in Norway. If you are lucky, they are coming to a town near you, see: Tour - The Warning Official Store. I advise you not to miss them!

Lovers of the band use the slogan “You have been warned!” whenever their music catches someone’s soul. As I wrote in the beginning, this happened to me just some weeks ago.

Will you be warned, too?