Worship Metal Album of the Week – Xibalba – Años En Infierno

Xibalba are set to release their fourth album, titled Años En Infierno on 29th May via Southern Lord Recordings, and it’s a collection that continues their trend of combining devastating death metal infused with grindcore and doom metal.

While Xibalba’s last opus (2015’s Tierra Y Liberdad) was a satisfactory assault on the senses, Años En Infierno is a more inspired and intense album. Taking their cues from Bolt Thrower and Discharge in equal measure, these Mexican-American musicians from Pomona, California have unleashed their most annihilating and diverse album yet.

From start to finish, the production courtesy of Arthur Rizk (Producer extraordinaire for such luminaries as Cavalera Conspiracy and Powertrip) is absolutely top-notch and significantly heavier than on any of their previous releases. To add to the class, the cover is painted by the master himself, Dan Seagrave, and it’s one of his best!

However, it’s Xibalba’s adeptness at varying their rhythms and intensity that adds to their overall greatness. They can easily shift between mid-paced death metal to grindcore blastbeats and then into a plodding, doom metal pace without missing a beat. Variety is also key and it’s noticeable that Años En Infierno has moments of sublime beauty with Xibalba utilising clean vocals and melodic doom metal on the song “El Abismo I” to great effect.

If Xibalba haven’t received enough recognition in the past, Años En Infierno should be the album to garner them the accolades that they so thoroughly deserve, as this 36-minute opus is one of the best death metal albums of 2020 and is sure to please those looking for a hefty dose of modern death metal brutality! 10/10