“Oxx is a trio from Aarhus, Denmark, having released three full-lengths and an EP since 2012. In spite of easy recollections to mathy insanity, pigeonholing The Primordial Blues is unfair even to the act’s own discography, as the ominous sprawling of 2015 debut Bury the Ones We Love and Burn the Rest differs fundamentally to the frantic Dillinger-core of 2019’s The Skeleton Is Just A Coat Hanger.” Big, not so dumb OXX.
“Pupil Slicer, although undeniably a trio, is vocalist/guitarist Davies’ brainchild through and through, seen in the guitar-and-vocals focus. Mirrors, following up an EP and a series of splits since their 2015 formation, combines its assets into a mathcore Frankenstein’s monster: twisted guitar work and frantic shrieks, Josh Andrews’ blasting drum tracks of an abandoned post-black project, and a healthy dose of Luke Fabian’s formidable bass and gutturals.” Eye on the prize.
Xibalbá is the name of the Mayan underworld: not exactly a nice place, it must be said. A cave next to Alta Verapaz, somewhere in central Guatemala, is the entry to this domain whose hottest places, to quote none other than Dante Alighieri, “are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.” If there’s a circle which refuses to stay neutral in favour of a purely negative stance, it’s a band from Southern California whose name, doom and gloom take us straight to the Mayan idea of hell.
