Tzompantli - Tlazcaltiliztli (2022)^{Release ID: 36828}

Apparently Tzompantli (which is the name of a Mesoamerican skull rack) is the side project of Brian Ortiz, a member of the Metalcore turned Death Metal outfit Xibalba. I've never heard that band, so have no idea just how much of a departure this album is. I can say that Tlazcaltiliztli is a really intriguing album that caught my attention almost instantly. It combines tribal sections with a disEMBOWEMENT-like death doom, and adds a bunch of heavy, groovy death metal into the mix. One minute it sounds like Evoken performing some dark native ritual, while the next it brings to mind an ultra-doomy cover of Where the Slime Lives. The drumming is a highlight for me, always changing patterns and techniques while never losing touch with the riffs. I'm a sucker for tribal drumming in general and while I do wish that they were more entwined with the metal rather than playing a separate role, I welcome them every time they appear. This is yet another great Fallen release for 2022 (which wouldn't feel out of place in The Horde) and one I thoroughly recommend. It's relatively short running time make it easily consumable, so if it doesn't float your boat, you won't have lost out on much.

Brian Ortiz of Xibalba fame has put together a groovy yet ultimately abysmally dank piece of death doom on his debut full length release.  Having never really hit it off with Xibalba in either their death metal or earlier metalcore guises, I was not expecting to engage so well with Tlazcaltiliztli as well as I have done.  Over a short, yet still fulfilling enough runtime, Tzompantli do a great job of scratching my sick yet catchy death metal itch.  The infectious groove of the title track stays with me for days after I hear it and I find myself constantly going back to that track in particular.

There is more hear than just some memorable riffs though.  There are cavernous and guttural vocals that reverberate through the tracks (with a less successful, hardcore-esque shouting on occasion also) and some straight up d-beat drumming to remind me that this is no ordinary death doom release.  With lots of references to indigenous and ritualistic practice, Tlazcaltiliztli deploys a variety of instruments to keep things interesting and morbidly atmospheric.  Utilising death whistles, animal flutes, didgeridoos, shells, shakers and a Huehuetl drum circle to mention a few of the unusual instruments that sit alongside the more traditional guitars and standard drums, this is a record where the artists (Brian is assisted by a couple of others in the studio with G-Bone being the only other full-time member of the band) wear their heritage on their sleeves with pride and execute a consistent and entertaining album as a result.

It feels longer than the actual runtime somehow when you play this through and the tracks are all quite evenly measured in length apart from album closer Yaotiacahuanetzli which goes over the seven-and-a-half-minute mark.  Were it not for those occasional shouty vocals, I could have awarded this a perfect score.  Immediate and menacing and steeped in cultural references that ooze ritualistic undertakings - count me in!

Tlazcaltiliztli is an album of thick as molasses death doom riffs and awesome bellowing growls for vocals that sound like a wounded bison and remind me somewhat of Japanese death doomers Coffins. Whilst the bulk of the album consists of this crushingly brutal assault on the listener's sensibilities there are also some really cool indiginous Mexican folk interludes that make for something a bit different and are undeniably an interesting diversion. The death doom side of things isn't the most earth-shatteringly awesome or original metal you are ever likely to hear, but it is authentic and it's chugging riffs are heavy as fuck and if you are a fan of extreme doom metal then that, along with the more interesting indiginous music interjections, should at least merit you checking it out (just don't try spelling it!) Me, I'm always a sucker for anything that sounds like it was derived from the early Autopsy sound, which this assuredly is, so for me this is a big thumbs up. Sadly, it is very short at 32 minutes, but it's probably better to leave the listener wanting more than boring them with overlong LPs so I have no complaints about that either.