The Warning: “Rock makes me feel powerful.” Everyone connects in such a significant manner”

A decade after going viral with a version of Enter Sandman, The Warning have emerged as one of rock’n’roll’s most captivating young bands. And yet, they’re only getting started. The Villarreal Vélez sisters reflect on their achievements and the importance of motivating others as they prepare for their fourth album, Keep Me Fed, and a headline show at London’s O2 Academy Brixton in 2025.

The Warning is feeling jet-lagged. When we meet the Villarreal Vélez sisters at their home in Monterrey, Mexico, they apologise for appearing a bit tired after returning from a tour supporting Band-Maid in Japan. However, their growing exhaustion cannot totally damper their enthusiasm, especially given where they’ve recently been. “It was fantastic! ” Beams drummer Pau. “We played three shows out there which were sold out, which is crazy to think about.”

Pau, lead vocalist and guitarist Dany, and bassist Ale are used to going on trips like these. They’re just 22, 24, and 19 years old, yet they’ve already spent half of their lives together performing music. The band’s journey began 10 years ago with a viral version of Metallica’s Enter Sandman, while they were still young. Since then, they’ve gained valuable stage experience and travelled thousands of miles. The band has opened for Muse, Royal Blood, and Halestorm, but they can also perform in front of large crowds on their own. They will headline the O2 Academy Brixton in the UK next year.

So, how did we arrive here? When the sisters were kids, the first instrument they ever touched was a piano, and the second was made of plastic. Indeed, the first time Dany, Pau, and Ale performed together, they were in front of a television, pounding away on counterfeit guitars and drums on the videogame Rock Band. They were not only achieving excellent marks, but also gaining exposure to a diverse range of music, like Paramore and Panic! From At The Disco to Metallica and Guns N’ Roses, the music is timeless.

Rock Band was not the sisters’ sole introduction to music. They were already familiar with classical music from playing the piano when they were barely tall enough to reach the keys, and their upbringing was shaped by their father’s habit of showing concert videos on television, which they’d sit and watch together. They lost themselves in classic gigs by Elton John, Pink Floyd, Muse, Queen, and Billy Joel from the comfort of their sofa, where the dream of following in the footsteps of legends began to blossom.

“Rock is a genre that makes me feel powerful,” Pau says. “When we play it, I feel really strong out there with my sisters. It’s a high-energy genre, yet everyone interacts in a major manner.

It was only a matter of time before the three tried their hand at music.

“We decided to play a song together, and there was no turning back.” “It just felt amazing,” Dany says.

Their debut performance was at a Christmas gathering when they were 13, 11, and eight years old. Perhaps unsurprisingly, some individuals raised their eyebrows at the moment.

“We didn’t feel like we were kids [when we started], but I see pictures of our first shows and we look like toddlers,” Pau tells me. “I can see why everyone around us was like, ‘What the heck are you doing? ‘But once we started working, we had a clear vision of what we wanted to achieve, and we continued to evolve as a band.

“Now that we’ve been doing this for ten years, people are like, ‘That’s so cool, you’re amazing, we’re so proud.’ Back then, [family and friends] were a little concerned, but now that they see the success, tours, and fans, they feel more at ease with what they’re doing. They are certain that it is a legitimate employment, you know? ”

Unquestionably, The Warning’s dynamic has been enriched by the fact that they’ve lived their whole lives together, yet despite their family ties, their differences as humans mean they’ve naturally fallen into distinct positions.

“Ale keeps us in check,” Pau says, turning to her sister, the quietest of the three. “When we’re in rehearsals, you know when to draw the line on something.”

“You’re a creative motor, for sure,” Dany tells Pau. “You just keep the ball rolling creatively all the time.”

“You’re such a great frontwoman and you have a talent for connecting with people,” Pau brings back. “I play the drums from the rear, and I don’t always have that capacity. I believe that, more than anything else, even though we each have our individual duties, [the others] step in when we need them. For example, if Dany is feeling a little under the weather, Ale and I compensate. We’re highly adaptable since we know each other and what we have to accomplish for the band.”

These three women are not only a dominant trio, but are also making significant progress in their nation.

How many Mexican rock bands do you know? Mariachi El Bronx does not count. Perhaps The Warning is the only one you’ve heard of, and meeting with the sisters today, they’re well aware that Latino rock groups aren’t exactly dominating on a worldwide scale. However, just because there are few breakthrough global success stories does not indicate that people do not enjoy music.

It has undoubtedly aided The Warning that they grew up in Monterrey. Located in the north of the nation, it is one of Mexico’s most economically affluent metropolitan areas, but it is also the country’s spiritual music centre, both in terms of the passion for live music and the infrastructure available to assist budding singers. Growing up, the Villarreal Vélez sisters had easy access to music stores and instruction, which allowed them to thrive as a group and break out from their country’s limits. Even as they grew, they stayed connected to the city. While others in a comparable situation may have relocated to a larger city, such as Los Angeles, the trio has no plans to leave.

“There’s nothing more special than going on tour and seeing the whole world then coming back to your language, to your culture, to your food,” according to Pau.

At the same time, when they win, their comrades in other Mexican bands triumph. The rising tide lifts all ships.

“It’s very exciting that when we take these steps internationally, more people start looking at the music that comes out of Mexico because we have such incredible musicians and a big music culture in our country,” she tells us.

“The mainstream music being played is similar to Western music, but rock is not mainstream at all.” It does, however, attract the largest and most enthusiastic crowds. Every time we meet a band, they say, ‘We love travelling to Mexico; the crowds are insane, the venues are always filled, and all the tickets sell out!’ ‘”

“It’s very special to see your music is connecting with people all over the world”

Hear Pau discuss The Warning’s ever-growing multigenerational following.

Flying the flag for Mexican music remains a source of pride for the sisters; to emphasise this point, Dany points to the bright teal Mexico football jersey she is wearing.

“Some people like that we’re representing them, some people don’t like that we’re representing them,” according to her. “We’re very proud to be Mexican and we do what we do very proudly.”

However, it is not without pressure. “Every time we meet someone or work with someone, we’re cognisant that we’re representing our culture as a whole because people don’t always have a positive view of our culture; they expect it to be what they see on TV all the time. Every time we tour with other bands, they say, ‘You’re the nicest and friendliest individuals we’ve ever worked with. That’s our culture; that’s simply us being normal.”

Given that they have been tasked with combating Mexican misconceptions, what do they wish more people understood about their culture?

“People will go out of their way to get the job done,” Ale adds.

“Everything revolves around passion,” explains Pau. “If you want to achieve something in our society, you have to give your all. I’ve never worked with a more hard-working group of people than in Mexico.”

When it comes to native music, Ale believes that certain lesser bands are developing a “distinctive sound” that is unique to their homeland, but The Warning does not agree. Indeed, there are other inspirations tossed into the mix that will sound instantly familiar to Western ears – there’s something in the buzz of their riffs, for example, that quickly indicates that they grew up listening to Muse’s repertoire. Instead, their cultural heritage emerges in more subtle ways.

“I don’t feel like we need to consciously show our roots through our music,” Pau shares. “It reflects through who we are as individuals, since it comes from the heart, and our culture is entrenched in us, as well as how we feel and express ourselves. We experience English through a different lens since it is not our native language. In some way, I believe this is how we demonstrate our roots.”

The Warning understands that dreams are not static. They are not objects to mark off a list, but rather experiences to live through. Touring the world with a band may seem like a dizzying thought, but it’s a strange, exhausting way of life that travels quicker than your brain can keep up with. It’s a lifestyle that has greatly influenced the creation of their fourth album, Keep Me Fed.

The record was put together within brief periods of time between tours; the band’s continual demand meant there was never a long enough stretch to buckle down and concentrate. While not ideal, it proved to be rather useful, and maybe fittingly for an album title about eating, it represents the band’s desire to halt and digest.

“We lived through a lot of things [on tour] that we weren’t able to process at the moment and writing the record was an open space for us to let that all out,” Dany tells me. “We didn’t have a lot of time to sit and revise the music and check every little detail.”

“That completely transformed the game for us. When you’re an artist and don’t have enough room or time, you have to locate the art in the assignment,” says Pau. “You have to really express what you want to express in the limited amount of time that you have and that really forces you to work a muscle.”

When you press play on Keep Me Fed, you are immediately transported to one of The Warning’s large halls or arenas. It’s inherently formed by the live experience, designed to come to life in the environment where they shine best. It’s raw, unadulterated rock’n’roll, but with a road-worn wisdom that has come from their expanded experience – and every now and then, the revs of its guitar may have you sitting a little higher.

If anything unites its songs, it’s the realisation that they’re on a hamster wheel greater than the band, supporting themselves but simultaneously moving a wider system.

“It sounds really dramatic, but we feed the masses, but we also feed on what other people feed the masses,” Pau tells me. “But, while we were touring and composing, we were also fuelling ourselves emotionally by doing what we enjoyed. It is consumed in all areas.

“We wanted to show the growth that we’ve had over the past few years”

Listen to Pau outline the vision behind Keep Me Fed.

Keep Me Fed’s lyrics are broad in scope. At times, it’s rebellious – Burnout’s sassy stride has them fighting back against someone sucking others’ vitality, while early tracks SICK and MORE convey the idea of wanting more from life. Perhaps the bravest of all in terms of subject matter is Hell You Call A Dream, which addresses the challenges of the musician’s lifestyle that musicians may be hesitant to voice. Sure, it looks more interesting on paper than working behind a computer for 40 hours a week, but there’s a constant temptation to be appreciative, even when things are bad.

“Onstage, during the 60 – 90 minutes when you’re performing, that’s heaven,” Pau shares. “You’re interacting with people and sharing music, but you’re also on a bus for two months, sharing with 13 others. You sleep in a coffin and are worried you will die every day since the bus goes so slowly. You’re like an athlete: concerts are physical, you get weary, and when you can’t rest properly, it’s quite tiresome. People believe that once you get onstage, you only play. We’re glad for what we do and the opportunity to do it together, but there’s no sugarcoating the rest of what you have to [go through].

For a long time, The Warning struggled with impostor syndrome when it came to writing in English. Creating is challenging enough, but doing it in a second language introduces new norms and risks.

“We worked with a lot of native English songwriters and we realised we’d try so hard to find complicated English words to try and prove ourselves,” Dany tells me. Occasionally, not even their colleagues would understand the implications of the terms they attempted to employ. “We’ve realised now we don’t have to overdo it because it’s our second language.”

They have, however, always made a point of acknowledging their origins by incorporating tracks written in Spanish. This time, it’s the amusing Que Mas Quieres (which translates into ‘What else do you want?’), a furious satire of the ‘gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss’ cliche. Starting off in English, they found the word phrasing lent very nicely to their home tongue, so they tore it up and started again.

However, writing in their original tongue is not always the most convenient option. The syntax is intricate, and stretching syllables over numerous notes like in English risks altering the meaning of a word. “It’s a complicated language, but it’s a beautiful one,” Pau emphasises.

Looking back on their journey, these young women have a lot of accomplishments to be proud of. They’ve been in the game for ten years, breaking down barriers for artists from their home country and rapidly conquering larger and larger venues. Frankly, there’s a lot to strive for, especially for those who can relate to them. They’re almost too preoccupied with what they’re doing to pause and consider that concept, but when it’s suggested that they’re heroes to others, it feels strange.

“I’m aware that when I return from tours, I can’t function. “I can’t even do my laundry,” Pau admits. “I’m a human being, and the idea that people look up to me when I don’t look up to myself is bizarre. But if I know anything about the three of us, it’s that we are really hard-working. If it encourages people, we’d be delighted to be dubbed role models.”

Despite their fame and expectations, the band remains committed to doing what they love and inspiring others. As Dany finishes, “We love that.”

Keep Me Fed is published on June 28 via Lava / Republic.