Xibalba
Xibalba signifies the Mayan underworld or “The Place Of Fear” where Maya death gods reign supreme over human suffering. This is also the name of a Hardcore influenced Death Metal band from Pomona, California whose sound is monumentally heavy enough to crush anyone around it. Xibalba will release their fourth full length and first in five years, Años En Infierno on May 29th through Southern Lord.
Before this came Tierra Y Libertad which was hailed as a great success with its killer artwork by Dan Seagrave, a legendary artist known for his work on many metal albums covers throughout his career. The record broke new ground for what hardcore could do by making it heavier than a sack of bricks that’s been thrown into a black hole which are quite heavy so I’ve heard!
So after such an amazing album where could they go next; how can you get heavier than anything else in existence according to Google? Well let me tell ya something pal, out of the ground rises fire demon ‘Años En Infierno’ featuring once again killer artwork from Dan Seagrave depicting a temple ablaze surrounded by rivers of molten lava. Translated loosely as Years In Hell with that artwork, you know what sorta ride you’re in for.
The thing begins with these dark bass notes and 80s style synth like straight outtalk John Carpenter movie; within seconds though all hell breaks loose when Xibalba disembowel you with earth shatteringly heavy opening to La Injusticia. The riffs are thick and lower tuned then my hopes and dreams for any Ridley Scott Alien sequel/prequel (seriously just leave those movies alone man!). Anyway alongside them big ass shaking ya innards riffs there’s also these dense double kicks which hit so hard I can actually feel me thru my headphones.
It’s produced really well too – everything is clear as day; very easy to pick out each member. Then around the halfway point they slow down riffs creating this ugly as sin sound that’s like being repeatedly smacked over head with blunt object until I thought about getting checked for concussion. La Injusticia is everything you want from an opener, it sets mood & it sets tone for record; much slower than Tierra Y Libertad but so much more dense & heavy, killer sound.
Corredor De La Muerte clocks in at around two and a half minutes only. It starts with rolling toms like thunder before an 80s death metal tone blasts through the guitars. The pace is slower than a George ‘A’ Romero zombie and has a killer tone. The vocals are real deep and guttural making this track almost have a death doom feel to it. I say almost as it’s just two minutes rather than your usual 12 minute death doom pummeling.
The pace picks up again with the marauding steam roller, and best track on the album, Santa Muerte. It absolutely flattens you with monstrous riffs and even the occasional blast beat, a full on head banger. The Vocals are a combination ogre like grunts and Xibalba’s trade mark hardcore/death metal cross over shout, which sound hella angry and real nasty. There’s an occasional tempo change that slows the track right down, but it’s a short reprieve before the Xibalba war machine kicks off again and the villagers flee its oncoming path. I love the pick scrapes, it adds just that little something extra to top it off.
Saka entices you in with tribal drumming that takes after their inner Sepultura and pairs it with a monolithic riff, which slowly starts to pick up pace before building into this mid-paced monster of a thing. It’s entirely instrumental too so coupled with the variation from the tribal drumming its just nice change up in sound I think as shows how they like to wear their influences on their sleeves also feels like preparation for what’s coming as keeps building up becoming more of this trudging death metal behemoth.
That preparation is for title track Años En Infierno , where their hardcore/punk influences come out clearer Exploding into seas of blasts/mid paced riffs sounding exactly like envisagement artwork. Again clocking in at just over two minutes, it packs a serious punch. It leads straight into En La Obscuridad which again keeps up the punk influences. The sped up d-beat drums alongside the crunching riff is seriously fun and seriously heavy. It’s hard not to tear my living room up to this one.
The albums closes with a two parter El Abismo which translates as The Abyss. The first part takes the pace thye’d built up from previous two tracks and dampens it with a commanding yet lumbering introduction. Xibalba then completely tear up their whole sound and chuck in a melodic yet mournful passage. It’s a real surprise but a welcome one. Clean vocals are placed behind everything so you can just hear them. They sound eerie yet sombre, perfectly matching music accompanying it. There is quick remission to normal business with vocals at their heaviest yet they sound almost painful . Melodic passage returns and draws you out from part one.
Part II flips the script and adds more of that hardcore influence to the mix. The d-beat drums are back with a power driven riff, which is easily my favorite on the record. It’s so simple but so powerful and reminds me of Doom or any other UK crust pioneer. Like part one it flips itself on its head and ends with a section that wouldn’t be out of place on a Pallbearer record. It’s really drawn out and almost peaceful, a beautiful ending to such a destructive record.
This album is a much heavier and slower version of Xibalba but still has that punk/hardcore attitude from before. On top of all that it is also their most heavily produced album in general; it’s so thick it consumes you compared to Tierra Y Libertad’s crustier production. I think this is by far their best sounding record so far, so huge credit to Arthur Rizik for making it sound killer.
I loved their last record but this just takes things to another level for me, so if you like your music to take your insides and put them on your outsides then give this one a listen.
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