ALBUM REVIEW: Años En Infierno – Xibalba
Despite the incredibly welcomed resurgence of throwback death metal making massive waves, there have been some bands that have always been plugging the gap. With GATECREEPER and TOMB MOLD quite rightly getting high praise for not only their recent musical releases but also with the sheer colossal guitar tone that both forges onward into the void whilst holding close what made death metal great in the first place. The fearsome and cavernous production is something few achieve the best results with, but XIBALBA have always had a penchant for a thick HM2 sound that, when combined with their hardcore influences, has made them one of the most uniquely brilliant acts of the past decade.
With their latest release, Años En Infierno, the Californians continue to deepen their legacy of not only writing consistently excellent records, not just in sound but in general musical quality, but also getting better with each release. If Hasta La Muerte proved that the band were onto a winning formula, then each release up until this point has been training and building XIBALBA into the prime of their career.
Kicking the album with a thick riff that rumbles through La Injustica you begin to feel the sheer power flowing through the record immediately. The guitar tone is mightier than ever and XIBALBA are coming out of the speakers with more ferocity than ever. There is more of a doom and sludge influence bleeding into the bands sound now, as they ride single riffs for long passages before either violently speeding up or slowing down with a thunderous breakdown. Towards the end of the opening track some really effective atmospheric guitars come through and gives the album some tangibly intense feelings that show another element of the band’s sound amped up even further.
The record continues in a ritualistic fashion, carrying the intense atmospheres and doom influences over with slow and sluggish riffs before everything picks up in frantic fashion thanks to Santa Muerte. This also represents the band’s first official breakdown, as the song grinds to a halt and the panning guitars start to make your fist clench involuntarily. The song is white knuckle intense, and along with the title track and En La Oscuridad show just how brutally intense XIBALBA are throughout Años En Infierno. The title track rocks with a two step worthy drum beat and oozes intimidating hardcore machismo better than anyone else this year. If there is one thing XIBALBA have perfected on this record it is giving the listener a confident swagger, with some of the riffs being so dense and heavy you feel like your gaining muscle mass just by listening to the damn thing.
The record flows perfectly, shifting its weight to best land the heaviest hits in the band’s career whilst also proving them to be efficiently dynamic. Breaking apart longer offerings with smaller, explosive, segments allows the record to breathe and progress naturally. Every song feels connected and it makes the record feel like a complete package as it takes you throughout its decent run time. When you tag Años En Infierno‘s flow to the wider influences of sound the band are taking from, as well as the sheer quality of songs on offer throughout Años En Infierno, it should become easy to understand just why this record needs to experienced by any and all death metal and hardcore fans.
But of course it is not just the usual listener base that XIBALBA have carved for themselves this time round. There is enough doom and sludge present throughout this record to welcome any fan of heavy music, and when they get hit with that jaw dropping guitar tone they are unlikely to leave dissatisfied. The cherry on top of the cake is the fact the band close Años En Infierno off in such experimental and captivating fashion, with a 12 minute near funeral doom piece that is broken into two parts and remains as intense and atmospheric and enjoyable as the rest of the album whilst also providing some welcome reprieve, even if it is brief.
XIBALBA truly feel like they have hit their apex with Años En Infierno; they feel almost untouchable in their current musical format. Having already been some of the finest purveyors of hardcore tinged death metal, the introduction of more influences into their blueprint has yielded such incredible results. No one does this quite as well as as XIBALBA. If you are a fan of any of the recent death metal success stories, but also enjoy a little more flavour to your darkness then you need to be listening to this record.
Rating: 9/10
Años En Infierno is set for release May 29th via Southern Lord.
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