Xibalba

 

Mexico is not widely known internationally for producing influential black metal bands. The only band you could really make a case for is XIBALBA, from the capital city. Now going by the name Xibalba Itzaes, it was in the early and mid-1990s that this band helped put Mexico on the map when it came to extreme metal.

Brothers Jorge Ah Ektenel and Marco Ek Balam formed Xibalba some time in early 1992 after playing together in deathgrind band Dread. It wasn't long before they recruited their other brother Victor Ehxibchac on bass. While the brothers acknowledge metal influences ranging from Judas Priest and Black Sabbath to Venom and Metallica, Xibalba was about extreme metal that drew on ancient Mayan myths and legends--a far cry from the Satanism of typical death and black metal! 

Here is In Lucescitae Tristis Hiei in its entirety

After only a few months of existence,  Xibalba put out the demo In Lucescitae Tristis Hiei in June of '92. A mix of old school extreme metal and Mayan folk instruments, it was clear that they were trying to do something new. Given that they were named after the underworld in Mayan mythology, this should have come as no surprise.

This demo helped spread their name far and wide in the metal underground. Before long, they were performing shows all over Mexico. Some of these shows were sponsored by label Guttural Records. The band signed with them in order to record their first studio album proper. After struggling to get into the studio (they couldn't find a date that worked for them), they finally recorded their debut album.

"Sign of Eastern War" comes from Xibalba's debut

A true second wave black metal masterpiece, Ah Dzam Poop Ek hit the shelves in 1994. Diving even further into the ancient Mayan worldview with an even heavier folk sound, nothing like this album existed at the time. Where the viking metal bands of Scandinavia drew on pagan beliefs to challenge and upend Christianity's dominance, Xibalba's goal was the same with their focus on Mayan cosmology.

In the wake of this album, they didn't do a lot of touring. They found themselves performing in the same places in and around Mexico City, and they began to notice that the extreme metal scene was filling up with posers and wannabes. This led to the band going on hiatus in the late '90s.

From the Ah Tza EP, this is "Katun"

Shortly after the dawn of the new millenium, the band re-formed with the new name Xibalba Itzaes. This new name was to ensure that they didn't get mixed up with other bands who had the name "Xibalba" (I believe there was a hardcore band with that name who were rising in popularity). That said, they were still a Mayan-inspired, folk-influenced black metal band.

After Guttural Records put out a compilation of Xibalba's old material (2007's Ancients), the band signed with the label Nuclear War Now. Since then, they have remained active and continued to release quality black metal.

Select Discography:

In Lucescitae Tristis Hiei (demo) (1992)

The Crown of Plumes (rehearsal demo) (1994)

Ah Dzam Poop Ek (full-length) (1994

Ancient Blasphemies (split with Avzhia) (1996)

No Life (demo) (1998)

Ancients (compilation) (2007)

Demo 2010 (2010)

Ah Tza! EP (2015)

Ah Tza Xibalba Itzaes (full-length) (2018)

Next time: POCCOLUS