Today I spoke with Brian from Xibalba (pronounced shi-bal-buh) we talked about their new 7″ on Closed Casket Records, growing up in Pomona and Brooklyn NY being their 2nd home! read on.
* First off congrats on the the new release, what made you guys go for a 7″ release versus a full album this time around?
Thank you thank you! Well, we started writing a full length but only had a handful of songs when we thought it’d be cool to have at something for our 10 year anniversary. We recorded 3 songs that we felt were finished, with Taylor Young at the Pit Studios and he told us Closed Casket would be interested in putting it out. We’ve put out a few splits on CCA before in between full lengths, so it made sense. Justin from CCA hit us up and made it happen. We’re stoked on how everything came out. Closed Casket is a great label.
* How would you guys describe the progression you guys made from your 2015 album to these new songs?
I wouldn’t say there’s not too much progression honestly. Well, we did write two songs that are under 5 minutes between the two. If you know us, that’s way out of our character haha. We did try a few things in regards to structuring songs, I guess you could call that shit progressive.
* You guys got a great sound what do you down tune to? What gear does everyone favor to get that low bottom end but still come across with such clarity?
We’re tuned to A standard. That’s mostly Taylor when he records us. Me and him will discuss a tone that we have in mind before hand but at the same time keeping it in line with our low tone that gives us our sound. When tracking we use Marshall, Sunn, Peavy and mesa amps, I believe. But live we usually just use Peavy 5150/6505 amps. Not sure what drums Jason uses but they nice though.
“At one point we were all living in the same housing project together.”
* You’ve been around for about 10 years now right? What’s the secret to keeping it all together (most bands these days don’t last more than 5 years)
Yea, 10 fuckin years with these fucks. Honestly the key to it is friendship. We’ve been friends for over 10 years. We all knew each other before Xibalba. At one point we were all living in the same housing project together. We’ve all been close and remain close. As cheesy as it sounds, this is some real life brotherhood shit. My family loves the guys and their families love us. We’re pretty much family at this point.
* You guys play a nice mix of HC meets death metal – do you guys consider yourselves a HC band or a DM band?
I mean, we’re definitely a mixture or hybrid of the two. But regardless we love both and it shows in our music.
“I loved the brutality of death metal, the groove of hardcore specifically NYHC”
* What were your musical influences coming up? I can definitely hear some classic death metal influences in there (Morbid Angel, Obituary etc)
Oh most definitely, two of my favorites! When we started it was death metal, 90’s hardcore, Crowbar and lots of Sepultura. I loved the brutality of death metal, the groove of hardcore (specifically NYHC) and the soul/passion of doom metal.
* You guys are based up in Pomona right? Are you all born and raised there? I’ve only been there once for a couple of days – but I liked what I saw – you are close enough to LA if you need to be there but seem to have all the advantages of small town living too. Seems like there are some decent size venues too and I am sure a lot of National touring acts hit there too (like the best of both worlds)
Yes, me and Jensen grew up in Pomona and everyone one else is from the surrounding area. Now we’re spread all over Southern California/L.A. area. I love Pomona, it’s home. There is a few good venues here that get lots of big bands and a few years back Nate booked at a place here too.
* Speaking of National touring have you done any yet? or just regional shows?
We’ve done the touring things for years, been all over the world s few times over but don’t do it much anymore due work.
* Have any of the band visited NYC before? If so what did you guys think?
Most definitely, we’ve played there many times. Brooklyn is like our second home. Our original bassist lives there now. I love NYC. I know the guys in the band love it too.
* What’s been the best show you guys have played to date and why?
That’s a tough one. We’ve played so many great shows. One that sticks out in my mind is our last Brooklyn show we did for the record release/10 year anniversary, it was violent, fun and a lot of friends were there. Same with our LA/Pomona shows. It was fun.
* What sort of crowds do you draw is it mainly hardcore kids? or mainly metal kids? Which do you prefer? Back in the early 80’s metal crowds stuck to metal and punk kids to punk shows..it wasn’t till bands like Suicidal tendencies, Corrosion of Conformity and DRI started “crossing over” was it ok to admit to liking both hardcore punk and metal.
Our crowds are mainly hardcore kids and some metal heads. It doesn’t matter to me in regards to preference. Everyone is there for the same reason, to have fun and get their ass kicked.
* What does the name Xibalba mean? (I know its Mayan for “place of fear”) And what’s the correct pronunciation?
Correct, it means “Place of Fear”. It’s pronounced shi-bal-buh.
* You guys are well known for your pride in your Latin heritage – have you played any countries in Central or south America yet? If so what’s been your favorites and what countries would you love to play and why??
We’ve played Mexico, all of Central America. Not South America, yet. Hopefully that changes soon though.
* What can we expect from Xibalba in 2017?
We don’t have much planned. We have Sound at Fury fest in June, then after that we have some shows here and there around the globe. Other then that, we’re going to be writing for a full length.
* Any final words?
Thank you to everyone for the last 10 years of support and to everyone that is just discovering us. Pick up our new EP via Closed Casket Activities. Thank you for the interview! One love baby.