Okay, so it seems I have overlooked black metal on here somewhat. The reasons are many, however now is the time to bore a new hole in your mind courtesy of Mexico’s Xibalba.

In Mayan mythology, Xibalba kind of translates to “place of fear”. This was the name of the Mayan underworld, which was ruled by the spirits of disease and death. The entrance to Xibalba was to be found in a cave in Guatemala or Belize or somewhere, however the physical realm of Xibabla is actually the Orion Nebula. Anyways, all of this cannot be a bad basis for theming a black metal band, can it? Stylistically the music is reminiscent of early- to mid-black metal-era Darkthrone, with shades of Burzum accompanying Immortal-esque rasps. However, they cite Bathory, Cryptic Slaughter and Voivod as influences. The second part of this particular track is very melodic, almost poppy weirdly. They are another band who did a few demos and released only one long player, this being the opening track, off ’94’s majestic Ah Dzam Poop Ek. Click here to view a video of two guys in corpse paint, with spiralling shots of the inside of Mayan temples, p.o.v. shots of running through corn fields, corn on the cob being burned on an open fire, and eerily shifting close-ups of corn off the cob (seriously, while we’re here, shouldn’t corn on the cob really be ‘corn’ and corn/sweetcorn should really be ‘corn off the cob’? Yes, it should, think about it).

Also, if you missed Fenriz’s mix of black thrashing death last week, click here. It would be sheer lunacy on your behalf not to. Till next week, mortals…

Listen: Xibalba, “Furor Antiquus”

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†ROCKWELL†