Album Type:
Full Length
Date
Released: 27/01/2015
Label:
Southern Lord Recordings
‘Tierra
Y Libertad’ CD//LP//DD track listing:
1. Enemigo
2. Guerrilla
3. Invierno
4. Pausa
5. En Paz
Descanse
6. Tierra Y
Libertad
7. Si Dios
Quiere
8. El Vacío
Xibalba
is:
Nate
Rebolledo | Vocals
Brian Ortiz
| Guitar
Jason Brunes
| Drums
Miguel
Salazar | Guitar
Jensen Hucle
| Guitar, Bass
Review:
With so much of the death and black metal
subgenres being focused around influence, not all that far removed from that
dismal era where deathcore was the “hot new thing” only a couple of years ago;
it’s been nice to have some bands working in hardcore influences that aren’t
born out of Meshuggah’s one-note staccato stuttering and bargain bin death
metal riffs. Xibalba hardcore influences go back much earlier and from a place
I find a lot more interesting.
The death metal half of Xibalba’s sound often
take its cues from ‘Blessed Are The Sick’ era Morbid Angel, especially its
molten sludge guitar tone, bowling shoe-ugly chord choices, and slower
palm-muted riffs, which sets them apart from a large number of Morbid Angel
devotees who’d rather cull from their speedier fare. While Xibalba uses
hardcore for a lot of its rhythmic influence, it warrants emphasizing that they
are not a deathcore band by any
stretch. Deathcore has a tendency towards cold, clinical production and the
aforementioned monotone staccato riffs emulating the kick drum. It makes for a
boring if not outright infuriating listening experience. With ‘Tierra Y
Libertad’, you might find similar influences in a band like Internal Bleeding,
where things are a bit more agile and lively.
Vocalist Nate Rebolledo’s full-throated yell
makes his lyrics easier to understand than most, and I’m not going to pretend
here that I know enough about the subjects addressed to form a real opinion. A
sizeable chunk of the lyrics speak to issues of race, and growing up in
southern California I can assure you there’s plenty to be angry about with
regards to race, even in a place that fancies itself as progressive on these
kinds of issues. You’d have to be in denial to honestly believe that there
aren’t serious problems left to fix, or that Rebolledo’s anger is unwarranted
or misguided.
Focusing on what I can speak to; ‘Tierra Y
Libertad’ mines its influences from some pretty rich veins, between its
hardcore leanings, Morbid Angel, Bolt Thrower, and perhaps most interestingly
Morgion circa ‘Solinari’ on album closer ‘El Vacío’; they’ve claimed a plot of
land on the metal landscape that’s sure to yield plenty more gold in the
future, and while this album might not be quite at the level of an album of the
year, they’ve planted seeds with this album that are likely going to yield even
sweeter fruit in the future.
Words by:
Daniel Jackson
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more information:
