#54: Xipe Totec
This band is among the most brutal acts to rise out of Mesoamerica.
Background Info (Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives):
Country of origin: Mexico
Location: Cuautitlán Izcalli, State of Mexico
Status: Active
Formed in: 1996
Genre: Death Metal
Lyrical themes: Aztec culture and mythology, Spaniard conquest
Current label: Unsigned/independent
Years active: 1996-present
Xipe Totec’s death metal sound is either solidly dark and devastating as in most of their albums, but also blindingly epic as in Prehispanic Beg (2017). Early releases in their discog sound raw and rough, but their latest albums have truly caught my attention. Not only have their mixes become more developed, ethnic instruments have been more frequently featured in their latest albums such as Axomimitl (2017) and Tlamiquih (2021).
Though they serve more as aural embellishments, the dissonant and simple nature of the Mesoamerican indigenous instruments — the flutes, rattles, and drums (membrane and slit types) — not only add cultural identity to the band’s sound, but it amplifies its darkness and eerie-ness.
Favorite albums:
- Tlamiquih (2021)
Favorite songs: — all from Tlamiquih
- In Tonatiuh Tlaixpopoliztli
- Mihcaotli
- Tlahuelpuchi
