There are death metal bands that throw in some acoustic folk, and there are some folk outfits that thrash away on acoustic guitars. And then there's Aztlan, which fully incorporates acoustic guitar and Mexican marimba into a straightforward death metal attack.

Aztlan Legion Mexica (self-released)

Even more cool, the acoustic elements are at the front of the mix and never get lost in the wake of the electric madness. This does create something of a strange production sound (duller, though not at all muddy), but it works just fine for me.

By and large these are lengthy expositions, with plenty of twists and turns. Aztlan usually sticks with the same mode of riffage each song, though it often shifts that through a variety of instruments and sounds. Each song has a different sonic core, and there's no problem with the dread "all of the songs sound the same" syndrome.

Nope. Nothing sounds like Aztlan. Not many bands would take the time and care to craft a sound this unique, and I imagine even fewer would want to do so. This is one of those albums that has bubbled under. Maybe not for long.

Jon Worley