Tzompantli – Beating The Drums of Ancestral Force
Tzompantli – Beating The Drums of Ancestral Force
20 Buck Spin
Release Date: 17/05/2024
Running Time: 42:17
Review by Rory Bentley
9/10
It’s hard to say what ancient historical peoples would gravitate towards if they were exposed to Metal. Obviously Vikings would love a bit of Bathory and I could totally see the Celts getting down to a bit of Primordial, but I’m not sure I would have said the Aztecs would pair nicely with Death Doom. Yet here we are with Tzompantli’s second album “Beating The Drums of Ancestral Force”, and everything clicks.
Melding the aforementioned Death Doom with traditional pre-Hispanic Central Mexican music, the band have created something that’s technically Folk Metal, but don’t let that put you off cos this ain’t some hurdy gurdy in the woods shit. It has far more in common with “Chaos AD” and “Roots” era Sepultura; but, y’know, doomier.
I expected a substantial level of heaviness from the description and the fact that 20 Buck Spin don’t fuck around, but my god this record is heavy. The barrage of native instruments and gnarly blast beats that kick off ‘Tetzahuitl’ are absolutely ferocious and the impenetrable deluge of Sludge and guttural howls that follow are frankly ridiculous. Although I enjoyed it immensely, I was initially disappointed that the Aztec themes and ethnic instruments were more like window dressing to the more conventional, though excellent, Death Metal going on.
Thankfully those fears were immediately allayed by the hypnotic, crushing and movingly spiritual ‘Tlayohualli’ which gave me the kind of tribalistic feeling of reverence that the best Neurosis material does. Even better is the beautiful rain-drenched segway into the full on shamanistic majesty of ‘Tlaloc Icuic’, which feels like the perfect symbiosis of Metal and tribal music, integrating in a mesmeric pattern of rhythms that gave me the same vibes I got when I first heard Peter Gabriel’s ‘The Rhythm and The Heat’. Guaranteed you weren’t expecting that reference, but Big Pete is my boy and one of the OGs of melding World Music with Western Rock.
The fantastic thing about the album is the further into it you get, the more the avant-garde Aztec influence makes its presence felt. ‘Chichimecatl’ lumbers and thrashes like the ominous thunder of a terrifying war dance, stacatto riffs and demonic vocals creating a cacophony fierce enough to make any rival warriors have a career change and become farmers or something less hazardous.
As with the best albums of its kind, “Beating the Drums…” took me a good while to fully get my head around and soak up fully. Despite the clear parallels with “Roots”, there are zero bangers or concessions to mosh-friendly accessibility on here. The Metal aspect of things is unvarnished and unashamed in its savagery, but the rewards for perseverance are immense. If you can hold on through the thick slabs of filthy Doom and apoplectically violent Death Metal, the majestic ‘Icnocuicatl’ is as good a closing track as you’ll hear all year. Throwing all the disparate elements of the band’s sound into a melting pot of masterfully delivered truly progressive Metal that’s equal parts My Dying Bride and Heilung in its approach.
Tzompantli have delivered an album so good that fans of adventurous, innovative Extreme music will be fighting their way to the front of the altar and offering their sacrifice to hear more from this special band. Which is stupid if you think about it because they’d be too dead to hear the next album. But anyway it slaps. Bye!
‘Tlayohualli’ Official Audio
TRACKLISTING:
01. Tetzahuitl
02. Tlayohualli
03. Tlaloc Icuic
04. Chichimecatl
05. Tetzaviztli
06. Otlica Mictlan
07. Icnocuicatl
LINE-UP:
Brian “Itztlakamayeh” Ortiz – Vocals, Rhythm & Lead Guitars, Bass, Folks Instruments & Percussion
Manzig “Yohualli” Sanchez – Lead Guitars
Eric Delgado – Bass
Mateotl Boughton – Lead Guitars
Jason “Katulu” Brunes – Vocals, Folks Instruments & Percussion
Erol Ulug – Vocals, Lead Guitars
Alejandro Aranda – Vocals, Drums, Folks Instruments & Percussion
Justin Moore – Vocals
Lord Foul – Vocals
Mateotl Gonzalez – Folks Instruments & Percussion
Justin Ton – Lead Guitars
LINKS:
