Named after a Mayan term that roughly translates to “place of fear,” Southern California trio Xibalba have been blending strains of metal and hardcore for nearly 14 years. They’ve increasingly leaned into their Latino heritage (they sing in both Spanish and English) and their death-metal influences, while expanding into new moods and song structures; on the 2015 album Tierra y Libertad they deviated from their relatively compact crushers for sprawling closer “El Vacio.” On their new fourth album, Años en Infierno, Xibalba continue down their ferocious, groove-infested path to explore suffering, despair, and man’s search for meaning on personal, spiritual, and societal levels.…
Named after a Mayan term that roughly translates to “place of fear,” Southern California trio Xibalba have been blending strains of metal and hardcore for nearly 14 years. They’ve increasingly leaned into their Latino heritage (they sing in both Spanish and English) and their death-metal influences, while expanding into new moods and song structures; on the 2015 album Tierra y Libertad they deviated from their relatively compact crushers for sprawling closer “El Vacio.” On their new fourth album, Años en Infierno, Xibalba continue down their ferocious, groove-infested path to explore suffering, despair, and man’s search for meaning on personal, spiritual, and societal levels.…