Many popular artists that have rocked the airwaves and stages across the country dabble in more than one musical genre. Besides their already established commercial success, there can still be an untapped reserve of talent that they feel is worthy of an alter ego.

From David Bowie, who took on the alter ego of Ziggy Stardust, to Beyoncé, who transforms into her feisty alter ego Sasha Fierce, to country star Garth Brooks, who took on the fictional alternative rock persona Chris Gaines (a move that proved to be such a hit that the album produced three charting Billboard singles and a Top 5 pop hit), this artistic license is a way for singers and musicians to explore other genres, rhythms and styles that are far removed from their current success.

So when the music-loving crowd in the "live music capital of the world," Austin, Texas, got wind of the Austin-based band, Brownout taking on an alter ego called Brown Sabbath -- a unique tribute to heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath, rock and heavy metal aficionados were on board. Most importantly, they were ready to rock, Ozzy style!

What does a Latin band from the border town of Laredo, Texas have in common with four British rockers from Birmingham, England? Their bad-ass nature and their shared love of rock, heavy metal, of course.

Brownout, an 8-10-piece band brings a "mix of Latin-Funk and Psychedelic Rock with raw soulful vocals." As Brown Sabbath, the band infuses the sounds, rhythms and funky beats of some of the greatest rock n' rollers from their youth along with the sounds of their Latin roots and international influences to create "hardcore Latin funk."

Formed a decade ago by Grammy Award winners Grupo Fantasma, the band has evolved and gained a huge following across the country. While you won't see the crazy antics that Ozzy Osbourne brought to the stage (no biting off of bat heads), you are sure to be entertained.

In May, Brownout, rocked the stage at the Pachanga Latino Music Festival in Austin, Texas and recently released its EP entitled "Brown Sabbath, Brown Impressions of Black Sabbath," featuring special guests singers Alex Maas of the Black Angels and Alex Marrero. Latin Post caught up with Brownout's bass player Greg Gonzalez to discuss the band's musical influences as well as the evolution of Latinos in rock and heavy metal in the U.S.

Several of its members hailing from the border town of Laredo, Texas -- "the most Hispanic town in America by percentage; it's 96 percent Hispanic," Gonzalez points out -- so Brownout's exposure to a multitude of genres was nothing out of the ordinary to them.

"We're all longtime musicians with very diverse interests," Gonzalez told Latin Post. "We grew up in this place that was American, but it was very Latin in every way in culture. It was not uncommon to hear Latin music, whether it was tropical music, Mariachi, Tejano and Ranchera music. We also heard the American music of the day, which I guess for us, our golden era was the late '90s. We all heard the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Beastie Boys, Nirvana -- the grunge kind of thing, and the golden age of hip-hop -- The Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan, and all of this stuff that appealed to us equally."

While all of the American and Latin genres "maintained the same level of importance" to the band, Gonzalez adds that Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin were definitely the most popular in the Laredo area.

"I always thought it had to do with the Catholicism, just kind of like the pomp and circumstance involved there. Everybody is dressed up...and the darkness and the Santos and the semi-mythology that is going on there. This whole melodramatic, kind of ritualistic thing really caught on there ... goth music and heavy metal was big there," he explained. Over twenty years later, Gonzalez says he never expected the Black Sabbath cover tunes would take off like they have.

"We [as Grupo Fantasma] just mixed it all together that we didn't find it to be weird or strange. We got a guitar, and we got a drum and bass and were playing rock and roll music, but we thought 'hey, let's put some horns in there,'" he added. "We always loved funk music so that was kind of the impetus of it as well ... Brownout was born as an attempt to explore the alternate side of this, rather than get in that Latin tradition, but that funk tradition."

Brownout has tried its hand as a James Brown tribute band, as well as interpreting different themes of music from Chica to Turkish funk, but out of all of its spins, Brown Sabbath was selling out all of their shows -- a concept that started out a joke, Gonzalez admits. In less than a year, Brown Sabbath was on tour.

The band took home its third Austin Music Award last year (for Best Latin Rock Group) and continues to create "progressive music" with the "class" influences of WAR, Cymande and Funkadelic. In addition to Pachanga Fest, the band has performed at Bonaroo, High Sierra Music Festival and the Bear Creek Music Festival, among many others.

Brownout has backed an array of artists including Prince, Daniel Johnston, GZA, Raekwon, Masta Killa, and Bernie Worrell. As Brown Sabbath, the band has released three albums "filled with B-boy breaks, Latin-Funk, Afrobeat and Chicano-Soul."

"I think it's inevitable that the Latin music is going to get a stronger hold on society, as Latin people continue to become more populous in growth...I find that music is becoming more cross-pollinated especially with the accessibility of getting your message out there on the Internet and such," Gonzalez explained.

He also adds that musicians are no longer at the mercy radio airplay or the occasional MTV performance, saying that "there is no longer anyone there to dictate in that sort of way," especially if you can build up a "grassroots audience."

"It's just a matter of time that people will recognize there is a thirst for this," he added. "At a certain point it will become undeniably popular where you will either have to catch on, or get left behind."

Latinos and Rock & Heavy Metal in the U.S.

While Brownout's Brown Sabbath is putting their spin on rock and heavy metal, there has been a Latino connection and history to rock and heavy metal in the U.S. for decades. Fans have witnessed the emergence of Latinos in this genre from Robert Trujillo, bassist for Metallica, Quiet Riot's Rudy Sarzo who also played with Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Blue Öyster Cult, Quiet Riot's guitarist Carlos Cavazo, and former Rage Against the Machine's vocalist Zack de la Rocha.

My Latin Post colleague, Edwin Molina, who is an avid "metal-head" and a die-hard fan of rock and heavy metal genres, shared his take on the evolution of these genres in the U.S. and its appeal to Latinos.

"Metal goes back to the Delta Blues, so its evolution is pretty extensive if you go back to Black Sabbath and Led Zepplin. Metal's popularity goes in cycles," Molina said. "You had acts like Guns N' Roses, Van Halen and Ozzy Osbourne as well as hair bands in the 1980s. You had thrash metal in the early '90s and nu-metal later in the decade that did well, and such interest, when the genre is popular in the mainstream, not only attracts new audiences to the genre but opens the door to listen for other bands. 'Oh you like Pantera, you should check out Lamb of God.'"

"But eventually mainstream marketers either run a good thing into the ground -- as happened with thrash and nu-metal, or they're trying to make a buck out of the next Rihanna or Maroon 5 and lose interest in the metal genre."

Molina also points out that "metal-heads" are "fiercely loyal to their bands" and continue to attend shows and purchase merchandise regardless of outside, mainstream influences.

"You can't find a single radio station in New York that plays even the classics like Black Sabbath -- the godfathers and creators of this genre," he adds. "Sabbath just dropped a new album this year and no radio station in the media capital of the world that is New York City plays it on the radio. I can find five bachata stations, several reggae stations, two hip-hop stations and tons of Miley Cyrus junk cotton candy music but no Sabbath -- not even the classics like "Paranoid" on the classic rock station.

"But I bet you Sabbath plays Madison Square Garden it sells out without any help from radio or music video stations, which also show zero love to the genre, preferring to air Lil Wayne or Lady Gaga than metal. Metal breeds that kind of loyalty from their die-hard fans, it's very tribal. It's almost like 'this is our thing and we love it no matter how much you hate or clown it and you can't take this from us.'"

Molina goes on to explain that the fans who are attracted to metal "perceive themselves to be outsiders," and that it's a community that accepts their taste in music sans judgment. "I think that sense of tribalism and community appeals to some Latinos that don't feel like they are part of this mainstream."

Do Latinos feel welcomed in the rock and heavy metal scenes in the U.S.?

"Hell yea...At the end of the day, what unites metal fans, regardless of race, is the music and the love for the genre. It's a communal, tribal, 'us against the world' mentality that goes beyond race," Molina explained.

"People call metal music 'noise' -- of course these are the same type of people that listen to Rihanna or Pharrell's 'Happy' song -- and that's uniting factor. Because at the end of the day, it's the love of the music that brought us together and going nuts in the mosh-pit.

According to Molina, rock and metal festivals, such as Mexico's Heaven & Hell Festival (featuring acts such as Brujeria, Motorhead, Exodus, Anthrax, and In Flames) and "the insanely popular" annual Rock in Rio (featuring acts like Metallica, Slipknot, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Guns N' Roses and Sepultura) "are examples of how there is a market in Latin America as well as among Latinos in the U.S. for metal to continue to grow its fan-base and thrive despite being ignored by radio, MTV, and other mainstream outlets."

Check out a performance of Brownout Presents Brown Sabbath.