TZOMPANTLI: Beating The Drums Of Ancestral Force, The War-Bringing Second LP From Indigenous Death Metal Tribe Led By Xibalba Guitarist, Now Streaming; Album Out Friday On 20 Buck Spin

May 15, 2024 Infrared Magazine Uncategorized Comments Off

photos by Luckee Ngin

Beating The Drums Of Ancestral Force, the war-bringing second album from Los Angeles-based indigenous death/doom metal tribe TZOMPANTLI, is now streaming in its entirety ahead of its release this Friday on 20 Buck Spin.

TZOMPANTLI is the brainchild of Brian âItztlakamayehâ Ortiz, guitarist for metallic hardcore outfit Xibabla. With the Tlazcaltiliztli debut album, TZOMPANTLI called forth a penetrating strike of death and doom metal like a poisoned arrow through the heart. The bandâs foundation in Indigenous/native rituals, history, and lore, and merging of traditional instruments into their sound made for one of 2022âs most uniquely voiced metal records.

Now, TZOMPANTLI has again been summoned from the smoke of the ancient fires with a new offering at the altar of human sacrifice, Beating The Drums Of Ancestral Force. Fearsomely brutal war marches of percussive death metal are contrasted with melancholy passages of longing spirit and entrancing ceremonial invocations to the ancestors. The TZOMPANTLI tribe has greatly expanded on this second album with more than ten musicians enlisted in the conjuring of wrathful deities and collection of invader skulls.

There has been no shortage of fantastic death/doom records in recent years and TZOMPANTLIâs latest entry in the genreâs pantheon demonstrates its continued expansion into wider musical and thematic arenas. The anguished fortitude at the heart of Beating The Drums Of Ancestral Force exalts in the blood and ash of empire and would be conquerors, a fiery lamentation to centuries of erasure.

With members of Civerous, Dead Heat, Teeth, and more supplying the vast array of instrumentation to the album, Beating The Drums Of Ancestral Force was recorded, produced, mixed, and mastered by Erol Ulug at Bright Light Studios, and completed with cover artwork by Adam Burke, layout by Chimere Noire, and photography by Luckee Ngin. TZOMPANTLIâs unique draws listeners of Coffins, Mortiferum, Anhedonist, Evoken, Sepultura, Xibabla (US), Hooded Menace, Mournful Congregation, Yaotl Mictlan, the early Paradise Lost and Anathema albums, and beyond.

**Stream TZOMPANTLIâs Beating The Drums Of Ancestral Force in its hostile entirely at YouTube HERE and Bandcamp HERE**.

Beating The Drums Of Ancestral Force will be released this Friday, May 17th on LP, CD, MC, and digital platforms. Find preorders at the label webshop HERE and Bandcamp HERE.

âMake no mistake about it, TZOMPANTLI are most definitely channeling ancestral forces here, and when the end of year accounting is all done, Iâm confident that their body-count â heads taken and hearts stolen â will be higher than most of their peers combined.â â No Clean Singing

âBeating The Drums Of Ancestral Forceâ is a mind-splitting, smoking dose of doom-emblazoned death metal, and with that wide array of musicians that are a part of the tribe of TZOMPANTLI, youâre bombarded with a spirit with which you cannot contend.â â Meat Mead Metal

âWith traditional instruments coming together with its warring riffs and percussion, TZOMPANTLI‘s craft comes forth as a downright crushing listening experience to strive for.â â Heaviest Of Art

TZOMPANTLI:
Brian âItztlakamayehâ Ortiz â vocals, rhythm/lead guitars, bass, folk instruments, percussion
Manzig âYohualliâ Sanchez â lead guitars
Eric Delgado â bass
Mateotl Boughton â lead guitars
Jason âKatuluâ Brunes â vocals, folk instruments, percussion
Erol Ulug â vocals, lead guitars
Alejandro Aranda â vocals, drums, folk instruments, percussion
Justin Moore â vocals
Lord Foul â vocals
Mateotl Gonzalez â folk instruments, percussion
Justin Ton â lead guitars