Early Years

Pineda’s early years were spent in El Puerto de Santa María, but it was during his time at school in Rota that he first encountered music, with an instrument far removed from those he plays today. He made his stage debut playing the bandurria, a small 12-stringed type of mandolin and a classical instrument that was commonly played in school groups at the time.

According to Pineda himself, “My first heavy metal concert was in 3rd year of middle school, where the nuns – whom I have a fond memory of – allowed us to put on the concert as part of the end of year celebration. It was all very amateur, but the seed was planted there.”

In 1996, Pineda began to teach himself how to play the guitar and bass. He never took formal classes or lessons, instead relying on his own ears and dedication to improve his skills. Despite this unconventional method of learning, Pineda was able to develop a strong musical foundation and honed his craft through consistent practice. This self-taught approach ultimately enabled him to have the capacity to compose his own songs in the future.

It was not until later, after discovering bands like Iron Maiden and Metallica, that Pineda began to seriously consider a career in music. He began playing the guitar and then later switched to bass, forming his first band, “Darkness in Heaven” in 1996. The band played a mix of heavy metal and Jose recorded his first demos with his first studio gear, a cassete 4 tracks recorder called Amstrad Studio 100.

Amstrad Studio 100

Pineda not only formed his first band “Darkness in Heaven” in 1996, but also began making some gigs as a Iron Maiden tribute band during his early days in music. Steve Harris, the bass player for Iron Maiden, was one of Pineda’s favorite musicians and a major influence for him when he switched to playing the bass.

In 1998, Pineda formed another band with Miguel Salvatierra, who later became the guitarist for Ripper Owens‘ tour, called Armageddon, a power metal band, and played at various local festivals and events. That was Pineda’s first band to record something serious producing and mixing a 4 songs EP.

Jose Pineda joined Sphinx as the bassist in 2002. Later that year, the band was invited to participate in a national tour with Furia Animal and Abyss, known as the Diamantes en Bruto Tour. This marked the live debut of the band’s first album and the band itself.

In 2003, their record label, Fonomusic, was absorbed by Warner Music and the band became dependent on the Dro East-West label, under which their second album, “Mar de dioses” was released on September 22. The “Mar de dioses Tour 2003-2004” began in Huelva on September 26 and traveled to over 20 cities, with notable attendances in Sevilla on March 6, 2004, and in Cádiz on September 27, 2003.

In September 2004, the band began recording their third album, “Paraíso en la eternidad” which was completed by mid-December. The album was released on January 25, 2005, and the “Paraíso eterno Tour 2005” was launched on February 17 to promote the new album.

In September 2005, the band released their first DVD, “Tour en la oscuridad” which featured a concert from October 30, 2004 in Sevilla and a behind-the-scenes look at the “Mar de dioses Tour.” The band also did a small tour to promote the DVD until the end of 2005, with their last concert being at the Arena in Madrid with 4 Gatos. This concert marked the first interaction between the band and discography company, Locomotive Music.

In 2005, after the release of their DVD, “Tour en la oscuridad,” Sphinx embarked on a small tour to promote the DVD until the end of the year. The final concert of the tour was a sold out at the Arena club in Madrid with the band 4 Gatos. This concert marked the first interaction between Sphinx and the record label Avispa, which showed interest in signing the band. In March 2006, Sphinx ultimately signed a contract with Avispa for three albums. Around this time, Juan Carlos Gomez, a familiar face from their appearances as guests of Mägo de Oz, offered to become the band’s manager. In 2006, Sphinx began performing at major festivals in Spain, including Metalway, Gineta Rock, and Rockzinante in Alcalá de Henares, alongside some of their idols.

In 2007, Sphinx began recording their fourth album, “Renacer” at their studios in Cádiz, but for the vocals and mixing, Avispa suggested that the band work at their studios in Madrid, M20. The album was completed in June 2007, but the release was delayed until February 7, 2008 due to conflicts with Avispa. During the promotion of the album, the relationship between the band and the record label became permanently strained, as the band refused to allow Avispa complete control over the sale of merchandise and hiring. Despite this, Sphinx embarked on the “RenacimientoTour 2008” performing at festivals and venues across Spain, including the Ondas Metallicas Festival with Stravaganzza, the Skulls of Metal Festival in Las Escuelas, and the Rock Terapia Festival in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Jose Pineda continued to be a member of Sphinx during this time, contributing to the success of the band.

In 2012, the classic lineup of Sphinx returned to the stage at the Camorock Festival on June 2 in Alameda, followed by performances at the RockArena Festival on July 7 and the Leyendas del Rock Festival on August 18. In November 2012, the band went to Sevilla to begin recording their fifth album, “Chronos” which was produced by the entire group.

Jose Pineda, the bassist of Sphinx, took charge of the band’s record label management and secured a contract with Iron Moon Music to release the album, which marked the band’s return after a five-year hiatus. “Chronos” was premiered exclusively on August 9 and 10, coinciding with the band’s performance at the Leyendas del Rock Festival in 2013. The album was officially released on October 1, 2013. On November 11, 2013, a special edition of the band’s third album, “Paraíso en la eternidad” was released in Mexico by Gravis Records. This edition included three previously unreleased versions recorded specifically for this release, in addition to a new graphic design. Jose Pineda continued to be a member of Sphinx during this time and played a crucial role in the release and promotion of their music.

In 2014, Jose Pineda, Carlos, and Justi joined the band Snakeyes, which was then a new project led by Pineda on bass. Meanwhile, Manuel awaited a miracle that did not come. From February to the end of summer 2014, the band was inactive and essentially dormant. Finally, on September 2, 2014, Manuel announced the indefinite separation of Sphinx, and each member went their separate ways.

In 2013, Jose Pineda formed SnakeyeS, a heavy metal band that quickly made a name for itself in the music scene. The band’s debut album, “Ultimate Sin” showcased their classic yet contemporary style and earned them fans from all over the world.

The band is made up of highly skilled musicians including Pineda on bass, Justi Bala on guitar, Carlos Delgado on drums, and the powerful Romanian singer Cosmin Aionita. Together, they have 20 years of experience from touring and recording with their previous band, SPHINX, making SnakeyeS a powerful force both on stage and in the studio.

In November 2013, SnakeyeS released their first EP, “Welcome to the Snake Pit” which received a great deal of media attention both nationally and internationally. They even appeared in an article on the world’s most important metal website, Babblermouth.com where they presented the first single from the band “Shadow Warriors” receiving thousands of visits during the first weeks of its release.

Following the success of the digital sales of their first EP, the band released a physical edition in January 2014, which included a bonus track as a tribute to one of their main influences: Judas Priest.

In the months following the release, the band began a promotion process, appearing on major metal radio shows in the United States, as well as magazines such as Metal Hammer and La Heavy.

In May 2014, the band started working on their first full-length album.

On October 2014, the band came together in Madrid to shoot promotional photos for the album and to record the video for the lead single of the “Ultimate Sin” album, the direction and production of the video were made by Ricardo Pérez, who have been nominated previously for the well-known Goya films awards in Spain.

In January of 2015, SnakeyeS released a video showcasing the details of their upcoming album and some audio snippets. The band’s fans eagerly awaited the release.

On February 11th, they presented the cover art of the album which was designed by renowned Colombian artist Felipe Machado, well known for his works on covers of groups like Blind Guardian, Iron Savior, Rhapsody of Fire and Iced Earth. Along with the cover art, they also released more audio snippets and announced the dates for their first national tour and festival appearances.

On February 16th, they released the music video for the single “Ultimate Sin” which broke the record for views on YouTube from their previous video.

Finally, on March 19th, the band’s highly anticipated debut album, “Ultimate Sin,” was released and the band celebrated with a free release party, gifting their fans with a full concert at the Madrid venue We Rock. They also held a press conference for the media at the venue.

The week of the album release was a media success, and the band also had an exclusive presentation for the program “El vuelo del Fénix” of Radio 3, as well as a page in the historical Diario de Cádiz both in written and digital format.

On May 15th, they began the first part of their album promotion tour through Spain, playing in cities such as Seville, Cádiz, Madrid, Málaga, Murcia, Toledo, and returning to the capital, performing at the prestigious Acordes de Rock festival.

In December 2015, as a special gift to their fans for their support during the release of their first album, SnakeyeS decided to release an unreleased song and music video, which was premiered on YouTube on Christmas Eve. The video, “Mask of Reality” featured a stunning cover art done by Fernando Nanderas. The release was a success and gained thousands of views in the first few days, as well as positive press reviews from around the world.

2016 couldn’t have started better for SnakeyeS. After months of hard work, they received well-deserved recognition, appearing on all the best of the year lists created by the best Spanish heavy metal websites. According to www.metalegun.com, Ultimate Sin was considered the 4th best national album, José Pineda was the first place on the best bassist list and SnakeyeS was the 3rd best revelation band with 18% of the votes.

The band continued promoting “Ultimate Sin” in 2016 and were starting to draw the attention of various festivals and promoters. They also began the process of composing their second album, scheduled for release in 2017.

In February, the band returned to performing live and had a memorable performance in Málaga, selling out the Sala Onda Pasadena and giving one of the best concerts in the band’s history. The following day, they did the same at the 4 The Metal Fest in Granada. They continued to present their album in some of the main Spanish festivals like Camorock, Skulls of Metal, Leyendas del Rock and Atalaya Rock.

Already in the middle of recording their new album, the band decided to give away another song as a Christmas gift in 2016, this time paying tribute to Accept, one of the biggest German metal bands, and their classic “Metal Heart“.

In June 2017, SnakeyeS announced the release of their highly-anticipated second album via a first trailer. Since then, the band’s activity, both in the studio and in the press, has been highly noticeable.

The first advance of the new album came in the form of a single. “Sign of Death” was the chosen track and the release was accompanied by a spectacular animation lyric video, created by Leo Traverso.

While the first single had a great reception, the band continued to be immersed in the studio finishing recording the last tracks of the album, while their bassist and producer, José Pineda, began the mixing process. To document the recording sessions, two studio reports were made for drums and guitar, which can be found here and here respectively.

In October, the official announcement of the new album, entitled “Metal Monster“, arrives through a trailer that reveals a colossal cover made by Francisco Garcés, a globally recognized illustrator who perfectly captures the concept of the album.

With the mixing and mastering completed, everything is ready for “Metal Monster” to be officially released on November 25th. Prior to the release, the second video, titled after the album, is launched.

Surprising everyone, with the creature from the cover coming to life and with a high level of graphics and 3D (again courtesy of Leo Traverso), the video sets the expectations for the album to a very high level. And repeating the same formula as the first release, the band goes to Madrid for an event for press and band followers with a free concert, where the first songs of “Metal Monster” will be performed.

Concert reviews don’t take long to arrive, with the press agreeing that the band is ready to make a definitive leap in their career with a stage show and sound worthy of any international band and a collection of heavy metal anthems that will make attendees of each concert a unique experience.
“Metal Monster” is received by critics as one of the best releases of the year, with again surprising reviews arriving from a large number of countries and appearing in the tops of specialized press of the year.

Making special mention of the already known REFEREGUN of the web, Metal Egun, where the best of the year are voted. With a record participation of over 5,000 votes and SnakeyeS taking the top spots in all categories they were nominated for.

The “Metal Monstour 2018” tour focused on venues across the country during the first half of the year with ten initial dates confirmed, continuing throughout the rest of the year playing at festivals.

It was then that SnakeyeS made a turn in terms of their live performances, making each night a memorable one for each of the attendees, with special mention in Madrid where a large number of attendees and media gathered in anticipation.

The tour received positive reviews and coverage from various media outlets and websites, praising the band’s energy and stage presence, as well as the quality of their music and their ability to bring the essence of classic heavy metal to the stage. The tour had over 20 dates all over the country.

The next chapter describes how in 2019 the band returned to the studio to record their next work: Evil Must Die. Despite the pandemic, the album was released in March 2020, but they were not able to go on tour until the following year at the Algarroba Rock festival. They chose “I Am Evil” as the song for the first video and it’s the main theme of the album, representing the sound, lyrics and visual essence throughout the album, delivering a strong message about some of the major evils that humanity has had to face during the last century. They also present a video clip as the second single of the album “Evil Must Die” which is a conceptual work whose cover, made by Leo Traverso, is a total representation of a universe of evil, around which the whole music revolves. The band went on tour playing over 10 dates with other bands like Dark Moor, Ars Amandi, Xtasy, Evil Hunter or Nova Era. They also released a live video of “The Evil Dead” from their performance at the Algarroba Rock festival in September.

In 2022, the band returned to the stages, going through Sevilla, Cordoba, Madrid and Zaragoza, and also played at the Camorock and Bodegarock festivals. At Camorock, it was the first time Sphinx and SnakeyeS shared the stage in a memorable performance where the two singers, Cosmin and Manolo, shared the stage singing The Trooper with Sphinx and Down with the Devil with SnakeyeS.

In 2013, I released the album “Chronos” with Sphinx, but the band disbanded shortly after. I then joined another band called Nova Era, which includes renowned musicians such as Jose Rubio and Gustavo Segura. With Nova Era, I co-produced the album “Fight” with Jose Rubio and contributed drums, bass, keyboards, and composition to 5 tracks on the album.

He is a member of the hard rock band Cherokee, which was formed in August 2015 by singer Fran Vázquez. Pineda was brought on board to produce the band’s debut EP, “Empiezo a Latir,” which he co-wrote with guitarist Adolfo Fh and features guest appearances from Manuel Seoane, Javier Mira, and Miguel Araujo. Cherokee’s sound is inspired by American rock and has gained a following in the Spanish music scene.

Legado de una Tragedia is a rock opera project founded by Joaquin Padilla in 2004. The project brings together an all-star group of musicians from the rock scene to perform a concept story combining musical theater and symphonic metal music. For “Legado de Una Tragedia III” (2016), Jose Pineda joins the project as main bass player. He also recorded “El Secreto de los Templarios” (2018), featuring collaborations with members of famous acts such as Mago de Oz, Warcry, Saratoga, Obus, as well as Ronnie Romero, Isra Ramos, Thomas Vikstrom, and Baol Bardot Bulsara. Legado de una Tragedia’s next release, “Aquelarre de Sombras”, is set to be their most ambitious project yet and is scheduled for release on March 10, 2023, through Art Gates Records.

Sphinx reunion

In May of 2019, Jose Pineda, along with his bandmates in Sphinx, fulfilled a long-held dream of re-uniting the band after five years of inactivity. The new lineup of Sphinx featured Justi Bala and Alex Sánchez on guitars, Carlos Delgado on drums, Pepe Pineda on bass, and Manuel Rodríguez on vocals.

As the band’s manager, Pepe spearheaded the effort to bring Sphinx back both to the studio and to the stage. One of the first things the band wanted to do upon announcing their reunion was to film live performances of some of their best-known songs in a closed-door theater setting as a tribute to their fans and friends who had requested their return. They also launched a new website, fully redesigned by Pepe, on the day of the official reunion announcement.

In addition, Sphinx scheduled two special concerts in Seville and Madrid in May 2020 where they would perform classic songs from their first three albums and confirmed their participation in the 15th edition of the Leyendas del Rock festival.

In light of recent events, the band announced Antonio Luis Pérez “Nykly” as the new drummer of the band.

Due to pandemics the tour dates were rescheduled for 2021, the tour will be carried out depending on the situation and restrictions in force at that time.

In 2022, Sphinx continued to gain recognition, playing at several big festivals such as Leyendas del Rock, Camorock, and Zurbaran Rock Burgos. These festivals provided the band with the opportunity to showcase their music to a wider audience and further establish themselves within the heavy metal scene. They received positive reviews from both audiences and critics alike and solidified their status as a well-respected and accomplished band. Their performance also give them more audience and gain new fans, and they felt proud of the achievement.

In addition to their festival appearances, Sphinx has big plans for the future. They have already begun work on their next album, which they have recorded and is currently in the process of mixing. The band is excited about the new material and can’t wait for their fans to hear it. They are putting a lot of effort to make sure that their new album is the best representation of their music and skills, the sound of the band has evolved and it’s more mature. They hope that their fans enjoy the new sound and continue to support them as they continue to make music. The band have not announced the release date yet but they are planning to release it soon and embark on a tour to promote it.

The new album that Sphinx is working on, not only features the band’s musical talents, but also demonstrates the production skills of its members. Specifically, Pepe Pineda, known also as Jose Pineda, is taking on the role of mixing and co-producing the album, working closely with the band’s vocalist, Manuel Rodriguez. With Pineda’s experience and skills, he aims to create a sound that truly represents the band’s evolution and the maturity of their music. The collaboration between Pineda and Rodriguez will bring a fresh perspective and energy to the album’s production and ensure that it reflects the band’s vision for their music.

Pepe is taking this as a chance to develop more his production skills, that he has been learning during the last years with other projects, and he feels that working with his own bandmates is the best scenario to do it. It will be a huge step forward in his career as a musician. The band is looking forward to release their new work and to showcase it to their fans and the music community.