Southern Lord
Xibalba are unhappy. You have invaded their space and their response is twelve tracks of letting you know just how much this has aggrieved them. This is music for pissed off, heavy-set men in their late thirties.
Xibalba are massive of riff and tiny of melody. They make bands of a similar ilk, such as
Hatebreed (to pick a name
entirely at random), look like pansies. Xibalba would not have a video that features a put-upon teen who’s misunderstood by his abusive parents and bullied by jocks at school who call him a ‘fag’. Their videos would be akin to the waiting line at a casting session for a film biopic of
Boo-Yaa Tribe.
What they do though, they do extremely well. The riffs are gigantic mid-scooped behemoths, the drums generally mid-tempo and punishing. The vocals are decidedly one-note and tough guy –
I wouldn’t be surprised if the singer died on-stage due to a rage imposed brain haemorrhage; he almost certainly needs a nice sit down after a show. But in the words of
Napalm Death’s
Mick Harris – when you play music this heavy “you couldn’t sing any other way.” Tracks like “Never Kneel” and ”Cold” are tightly written, just when you think a song has reached it’s heaviest peak, they hit you with another ridiculous breakdown. Check out the track “Obituary” for a master class in pit-inducing fury, complete with built-in bits for the heavy-set dudes in the mosh to catch their breath. Awesome.
Xibalba aren’t really bringing anything new to the table, but in Madre Mia Por Los Dias they’ve created a strong and surprisingly consistent set of tracks that deserves to get them a bit more notice.
