Band:	Tenochtitlan
Album:	Sotvorenie Mira
Style:	Ambient Folk, Neofolk, Doom metal
Release date:	July 2012

01. Tlaltekutli
02. Nachalo
03. Sokol I Zmey
04. Nual
05. Pokhorony Montesumy
06. Tsvetok Ishchel

What we have here is doom which draws its influences from south of the (well, my) border? Fortunately that influence comes by way of the Aztec, Mayan, and Inca civilizations as opposed to, say, a Tejano or Mariachi doom infusion.

My Dying Bride meets Selena it is not.

Ok, so let's start with the band. It's a "virtual" collaborative side project for a bunch of Russians involved in other bands. They take the death doom approach that so many bands out of Russia have taken and do what a variety of other metal bands have done - pick an ancient civilization with obscure instruments and pour it on like red sauce on an enchilada.

Metalheads seem to eat this stuff up. Metalheads also have a hard on for creating new sub-genres. Death doom can be terrifying. The Aztecs used to rip muthatruckas hearts out? this shit should be powerful enough to send your annoying little sister screaming from the house, no?

No.

For a beginning, the doom falls a bit flat. I used "beginning" intentionally, as it is the second track on this album, as well as the name of a 2010 release by Septic Mind. That album was the stuff of nightmares. By comparison Sotvorenie Mira isn't even the "show up to school naked" scenario. It's not poorly done by any stretch, just lacking in both sonic and emotional impact, and tedious at times, particularly the chanting segment on "Сокол и Змей" which seems to go on and on and on and on.

And that infusion of "cultural" music doesn't particularly help. Sure, it gives it a Amazonian jungle feel, but it's neither well infused nor creepy. It is about as ominous as a Peruvian Pan Flute band, and functions more like sides, sauce, and garnish rather than part of the main course itself.

Tenochtitlan deserve credit for an intriguing - if not overly far reaching - concept. Unfortunately the doom foundation was short in impact and the added elements further exacerbate the shortage of "oomph." (doomph?)