Pomona, California’s Xibalba are kicking off a European tour with Italy’s Hierophant, starting this weekend. With that being said, we felt the urge to ask the guys some questions about touring Europe, a possible new record and upcoming bands. So here’s that…

Please introduce yourself…

“I’m Jason Brunes, and I play drums. Mike Salazar is on guitar.”

What are your thoughts about the first European tour you did? Are you excited for this one with Hierophant?

“We were very excited to be able to go to Europe and play shows. Also we saw how different and similar the culture was to America. I was very excited to see all the architecture, and experience what life is like a little bit. And not to mention being in the birthplace of where so many sick bands have come from. Yes we are very excited to do this tour with them. We cannot wait to get the tour started already.”

How would you say touring the States is different from Europe?

“Well, every show here is in a legit venue and has a sound system, usually they have bunk beds above the venue and back home we don’t really have that. We get a driver for the whole tour and at home we do all of our own driving. We also get fed at every show which is pretty cool.”

How did your signing with Southern Lord and your work with Greg Anderson come around?

“Greg Anderson checked us out at a couple of shows and also Todd Jones mentioned us to him. He helped us out a lot.”

What are your thoughts about drone music? Seeing that your Cold rerecording features a quite long and amazing drone as intro.

“I personally do not listen to drone music at all. But we listen to doom/sludge bands and lots of different types of music. We had that as an intro because we thought it would be cool to have Greg do some drone stuff.”

“I could go on forever about that but just to name a few. Morbid Angel, Crowbar, Disembodied, Sepultura, and all that is badass.”

Are there plans for a new record sometime soon?

“Yes. As soon as we get back from this tour we will start writing new songs. And are planning on it being out next year.”

Which local or worldwide news stories could inspire the writing of new songs?

I’m not sure how to answer this. I don’t really think so. We just write songs based off what we like and want to hear.

Could you name five bands that are readers should definitely check out?

“Power Trip, Take Offense, Outlet, Red Enemy, Frustration, Terror, Piece By Piece, Cold Stare, Alpha & Omega, Nomads, Sleepwalkers, Backtrack, King Nine, World of Pain, Suburban Scum, The Acacia Strain, Minus, Twitching Tongues, Disgrace, Foundation, Incendiary, Mammoth Grinder, Downpresser, Daylight, Nails, Harms Way, Wolfnote, East Beast, Death Threat, Ringworm, Rude Awakening, and fuck Soul Search.”

Xibalba is starting their European tour with Hierophant on September 28th in Essen, Germany. Find all tour dates here and make sure to catch both bands at a show nearby. We’re also giving away 2×2 tickets for their show in Amsterdam on September 29th – winners will be announced tomorrow so be fast if you want to win!

Xibalba: Facebook

Interview by Niels Koster
Photo by Lukas Hodge