Hanal Pixan/U k'aayo' ob K'ujo'b/2017 Full Length Review

  Hanal  Pixan  are  a  band  from  Belize  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  goes  for  more  of  a  mixture  of  raw  black  metal  and  Mayan  folk  music  on  this  recording  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  album  "U  k'aayo'  ob  K'ujo'b".

  Clean  yet  distorted  playing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  folk  instruments  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  which  also  introduces  grim  black  metal  screams  onto  the  recording  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  songs  a  raw  feeling.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  the  songs  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a very  melodic  fashion  and  there is  also  a  brief  use  of  rain  and  thunder  sounds.

  The  slower  sections  of  the  songs  add  in  a  touch  of  doom  metal  along  with  influences  of  death  metal  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  songs and  there  is  also  a  small  amount  of  atmospheric  synths  as  the  album  progresses  and  they  close  the  album  with  a  track  that  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length  which  also  introduces  clean  guitars  onto  the  recording  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  progressive  feeling  while  also  being  all  instrumental.

  On  this  recording  Hanal  Pixan  brings  in  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  style while  also  mixing  in  more  Mayan  folk  music  this  time  around  and  only  keeping  around  a  touch  of  doom  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  are written  in  Yucatec  Mayan  and  cover  the  history,  mythology,  and  heritage   of  their  home  land..

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Hanal  Pixan  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  black  metal  with  folk  elements,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Aj  Muuk  Kimen"  "Maasewal"  and  "K'aay  Uti'al  Pixan".  8  out  of  10.     

https://hanalpixanbelize.bandcamp.com/releases

Hanal Pixan Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Andy Chuc: Hanal Pixan is Maya Extreme metal/Black metal band of the country of Belize which consist of Richard Acosta AKA "Mayan Samurai" in all instruments and my self Andy Chuc AKA "Halach Uinik Chuc" in vocals/Lyrics. We have 2 releases Noh Mul EP and our full length In Lu'umil Belice.


2.So far this year you have released an ep and a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings

Andy Chuc: The sound of both releases are very experiment blending elements of Black metal,Symphonic Black metal,Death metal,Doom and folk metal. Wecalled it Maya extreme metal.

3.Your lyrics go very in depth with Mayan Culture, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic and also are you interested in the mythology or the ancient religion that the Mayans practiced?


Andy Chuc: The lyrics are written in English,Spanish and Mayan. They speak about Maya Heroes,History,Culture etc. For example The song Nachan Can Speaks about the Maya lord Nachan Can of Chactemal who was very feared during the Conquest of the Maya world. The song Cruzoob is a dedication to the  Cruzoob Maya rebels who fought in the Caste War. Also a dedication to my maya ancestors who were part of the Cruzoob like General Juan Bautista Chuc and my great grand father Juan Chuc. I'm interested in the Maya Mythology and Ancient Maya religion it's like a calling of my ancestors
especially when reading the books like Popol Voh and Chilam Balam.


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Hanal Pixan'?

Andy Chuc: Hanal Pixan means "Food for the souls"  and is a celebration done in Belize and the yucatan peninsula it's similar to "Day of the dead". I chose the name because I wanted something that would reflect our Maya  traditions that we still do today.


5.Originally the band started out as a solo project but are now a duo, what was the decision behind
adding other members and also are you planning on expanding the line up in the future?

Andy Chuc: The band original started as a raw Black metal one man band but I was busy with other musical projects. Once chatting with Richard Acosta he told me he wanted to experiment with Symphonic Black Metal. Since Richard is a multi intrumental musician I thought he would help me develop the sound of Hanal Pixan so I invited  him to the project. Yes we have taught of adding other members maybe a  drummer.

6.The album was released on Metal Mayhem Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Andy Chuc: Metal Mayhem records is a record label of the country of Belize founded in the 2015 by Romel Villanueva. This label is helping the Belizean Scene. We are so grateful with Mr. Romel Villanueva.

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black and doom metal?

Andy Chuc: Well until now we have got good feedback better than what I thought.


8.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band
members are a part of?

Andy Chuc: Richard and I are also part of a melodic death metal band name Flames of apocalypse which we are recording our second full length. I'm also  part of a Goregrind band name Kill The Whore along with Thiago C. of Neverchrist we should start record this year our new album also.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Andy Chuc: Recording new music and trying to improve the sound,Composition and quality.


10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Andy Chuc: There are so many which have influence us but to name a few Orisha Shakpana, Congrad, Xipe toltec Kapul,Emperor,Immortal,Sepultura,SoulFly.Lately I have been hearing a lot of Hacavitz.


11.Are there any other band from your home country of Belize worth checking out?

Andy Chuc: I would recommend Lasher Zombie,Kill The Whore, Death suppressor and Severity.


12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Andy Chuc: Apart from music, I am a member of a Belizean Cultural group name U Puksi'ik'al Maya(Maya heart) to preserve the language and traditions of the Yucatec Maya in Belize . I have a huge interests in Maya history which is not taught in Belizean Schools.


13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Andy Chuc: Thank you so much for this interview , want thank every body who have supported us , and just
be yourself and be real. In K'aaba'e Andy Halach Uinik Chuc yu'um Bo'otik Occult Black metal Zine.
(My name is Andy "Halach Uinik Chuc" thank you Occult Black metal Zine).

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Hanal Pixan/In Lu'umil Belice/Metal Mayhem Records/2015 EP Review

  Hanal  Pixan  are  a  band  from  Belize  that  plays  a  very  grim  and  atmospheric  sounding  mixture  of  black  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  ep  "In  Lu'umil  Belice"  which  was  released  by  Metal  Mayhem  Records.

  Dark  and  atmospheric  sounding  synths  start  off  the  ep  and  after  a  minute  the  music  starts  going  into  a  heavier  doom  metal  direction  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  that  are  also  a  huge  of  most  of  the  tracks  and  when  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  they  are  very  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams.

  You  can  hear  a  decent  amount  of  melodies  in  the  guitar  riffing  at  times  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  being  long  and  epic  in  length  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  add  in  folk  instruments  and  elements  of  Mayan  music  which  also  gives  the  ep  more  of  a  tribal  feeling  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  there  is  also  an  instrumental  track  while  the  later  songs  back  back  the  vocals  and  the  music  also speeds  up  at  times  and  brings  in  a small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  the  last  track  brings  in  spoken  word  parts.

  Hanal  Pixan  plays  a  style  that  combines  black  and  doom  metal  with  the  music  of  the  Mayans to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  and  the  music  sound s very  dark,  raw  and  atmospheric,  the  production  has  a  very  dark  and  raw  sound  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Spanish  and  cover  Mayan  history, culture  and  the  Caste  War.

  In  my  opinion  Hanal  Pixan  are  a very  great  sounding  atmospheric  mixture  of  black  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Nachan  Can"  "Ch'i'bal  Maya"  and  "Muul  Ba'ate'el".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/hanalpixanbelize
https://metalmayhem.bandcamp.com/album/in-luumil-belice