The Californian death/doomsters TZOMPANTLI roll out a mighty thunder, the second album offers abysmally dark, sluggish or nasty blasting death metal with somewhat one-dimensional growls. The interwoven grooves are deliberately kept simple and blunt to emphasize the subtly melodic guitars. This tactic works really well on the menacing colossus Tlayohualli, where the sustained part is really sublime and powerful. The tempo becomes terribly tough and one drags along desperately for minutes like a wounded animal, always ready to rebel once more in agony. The sound collage with ritualistic chanting and clear guitars during Tlaloc Icuic loosens things up and serves as preparation for the crushing monster Chichimecatl. In my opinion, the ritual drums should be used more often, as in Tetzaviztli, not just as a drop on the burning hot desert sound. One often imagines oneself to be in the middle of a ritual rather than in the sound environment of a metal album before the rhythmic wave of sound sweeps everything away. TZOMPANTLI have saved the most beautiful melodies for the final epic Icnocuicatl; moreover, this song repeatedly erupts and then ebbs away like a mighty wave of sound.

In its entirety, this album comes across as a ponderous, shot-up beast that rears up again and again and lashes out wildly. Nasty, crawling, slimy, dragging, edgy, scratchy and yet marginally melodic, the eight heavy tracks crush all resistance. Only suitable for strong nerves!