TZIMANI

track-list:
We Stand and Fight
Breaker
Hold On
Haunting
Endless Road
Bleeding Life
Empty
I Feel Fine

songs performed by Seb Vazquez (drums) and Eddie Vazquez (vox, guitars, bass)
songs written, produced, mixed & mastered by Eddie Vazquez

Tzimani are:
Eddie Vaquez – guitars, drums, vox
Seb Vazquez – drums

discography:
2017 Demo Demo
2017 Final Hour (song) Compilation ‘No Legacy Vol. 1’
2018 Self-Titled EP
2019 Carry On (song) Compilation ‘Metal Assault Mixtape’
2024 We Stand and Fight Single
2024 I Feel Fine LP

Sleeping Village:
“Typically, when promo proclaims that a band represents a ‘bold new take’ on a traditional, well-trod style, you can expect the same: yet another forgettable ‘revitalization’ of a sound and aesthetic that has been done to death, reanimated, and then slaughtered by copycats once more. In the case of Tzimani, the status quo is effectively put in its place.”
Frenzy Fire/Metal Gods TV:
“Electrifying pace sets ‘We Are The Ones’ on fire, hurtling along at full velocity, displaying all the hallmarks associated with the ‘foot on the monitor’ style of traditional heavy metal. Hitting hard like an out of control wrecking ball”
8/10 SoundMagnet (German):
“…refreshing heavy rock…”
Metal As Medicine (Live Review – 2019 – Kelowna, BC):
“This two piece hailing from San Diego shredded their way through their set. Straight up heavy metal brothers rocking their way across North America. Eddie can really play the guitar. Each song they played were full of mean riffs and ripping solos.”
Ugh Metal (Live Review – 2017 – San Diego, CA):
“They surprised us all when vocalist/guitarist Eddie Vazquez announced that they were the only other band on the bill. It was their best time to shine. Kudos to you Vazquez brothers!…Tzimani set up shop, and made that stage their biatch! Soon enough they began playing songs that were not included in their demo such as ‘Overdrive’, and dished out their hits ‘Final Hour’ and ‘Get Me Out Of Here’ which are available on their demo. These bros emitted a tremendous confidence and were still glowing from their recent inaugural American tour.”

Seb V.:
“You know those albums that you listen to over and over again and you just know when the first song hits your sense of familiarity, nostalgia, warmth, and comfort? That is what we are trying to encapsulate. The album is straightforward heavy metal mixed with modern elements with a dash of AOR and we feel it is the best representation to show everyone what we are capable of. We are also trying to represent the future of the band and give everyone an entry into some of the larger questions that we struggle with and how we choose to represent that with our songwriting. We are not the type of band that is capable of singing about stories, dragons, and swords, but we excel at writing tunes that people can genuinely relate to and connect with.”
Eddie V.:
“This album is our first synthesizer infusion with our sound. I’ve always wanted to blend heavy metal and synth and it’s our first foray into that sound and we think we were able to get it down in a way that works and remains engaging without potentially alienating the focus of the music. It also gives us an opportunity to go in a broader direction with where I want to go musically too. I’d love to go into a synth heavy AOR direction with a rockin’ metal twist. This album gives me that platform.”
‘We Stand and Fight’:
“‘We Stand and Fight’ is a powerful speed metal song that channels the power and energy of early heavy metal to convey a lyrical message about standing up for what you believe in, against all obstacles.”
‘Breaker’:
“While Tzimani is not an overtly political band, this song is specifically about those who have been scapegoated and blamed for all the ills in the world. Immigrants, are those that are trying to find a better life. This song is definitely more of a rock vibe to it with the midtempo chug but it is something that we like to perform live as a set piece to our shows.”
‘Hold On’:
“I think we all have had enduring issues with loved ones and those we choose to become romantic with. We try our best to make things work and over time we realize that some things are not quite right. The song is about those who struggle to hold on to something that they know it is not right for them in terms of forever. It will eventually be ok as time heals everything, and we have an uplifting tone and drive to the arrangement of the song with galloping double bass lines, sweet guitar leads, and energetic connecting pieces. It also slows down a bit so that the dynamics can speak for how the song is written lyrically.”
‘Haunting’:
“As Eddie said, ‘Haunting’ is a song about toxic relationships and people having the courage to walk away from them. It can be difficult to realize the strength to make the distance so that is what I wanted to write about with this song. The song is infused with a driving synth-heavy pulse that not only carries the mid-tempo piece with elegance and eloquence it also pieces it all together with a melancholy timbre. It is one of our favorite songs to play and it really opens the dynamic capabilities of the band and what we can achieve sonically.”
‘Endless Road’:
“Musically, this song is going to bend and be closer to what modern heavy music leans to. While it retains the classic Tzimani double bass and heavy but clean rhythms, it has a mood and tone to it that brings the song to a resounding climax in the solo section. We think it is one of our more strong solo sections and it is a song that was written almost ten years ago and we feel that we are ready to release the song after some maturation musically. We all dream of triumph and tribulation and becoming the best that there is to be. This song represents the struggles one may go through the perseverance of building character and fear the loss of strength and the inability to carry on beyond what you personally believe you are capable of.”
‘Bleeding Life’:
“Imagine if Journey decided to write a slightly metal-heavy tune and added some galloping bass drum parts to it. This song represents an allegory of the struggles of daily life and the challenges that come with it. No one ever has it easy, even the dudes that we think do, so this song has more of a sad tone to it to carry the message that we are trying to illustrate musically. We love that this song gives us a lot of room to work with in terms of where we can go musically but its a song that represents a lot of the inner struggles that we each deal with as people, and as people in a band.”
‘Empty’:
“I think we all have had someone that ‘walked away’ on us but really it was a matter of our own doing. We sometimes have to struggle within and deal with our personal demons in order to have a satisfied outlook on life and sometimes our own personal demons can get in the way of our romantic partnerships or people that we hold dearly. It’s a song closer to AOR with a bit of rock to it and we love how we arrange the tune to carry the message forward with clean rhythms, catchy lyrics, and an anthemic solo section.”
‘I Feel Fine’:
“This is Van Halen meets heavy metal all the way, baby. Go put on some 5150 and listen to that rattle and roll that was captured by the band during that point in their tenure. We tried to go with a bit of VH worship but also close out the record with a resounding finish to put the record to a close. Most of the songs in a lot of ways capture some form of inner struggle and this one certainly has the anthemic chorus where we proclaim ‘I Feel Fine’. The song is about the banality of everyday life. Think about the problems of that most people have to go through and the fact that most have to hide their true feelings. The song has blistering double bass. Massive hooks and a solo break to tie it all together.”
Seb V. about the album artwork:
“Ryan Bartlett based out of Los Angeles has been our go to guy for all things album releases. He did our band logo, band symbol, and our eponymous release, so we wanted him to be able to take the artwork that we have from the EP and transcend it to something more comprehensive and elaborate. He absolutely knocked it out of the park and we think it is his finest piece in his portfolio but that is me being biased because I love it so much. He even went above and beyond and did out templates for physical release and did an incredible job at providing something original but engaging.”
Tzimani is a dynamic metal duo comprised of brothers Seb and Eddie Vazquez from San Diego CA.
Founded in 2017 after the pair split from a previous project, Tzimani sought to revolutionize their musical direction.
Seb, a powerhouse on drums, and Eddie, a multi-instrumentalist handling guitars, bass, synthesizers, and vocal duties, hit the ground running with their new sound.
In 2017, Tzimani launched their journey with a demo release, swiftly followed by an ambitious West Coast and Southwest tour.
“We tour in a SUV hauling a trailer. If you ever catch a black Pilot out on the road hauling a trailer at night chances are you will trail us to to a parking lot where we will eventually get cozy and fall asleep. We have this air mattress that we blow up and it fits perfectly when we put all the back seats down. I guess one of the perks of a traveling two man band.”
They captivated audiences in key markets like Portland, Seattle, and Texas, rapidly building a dedicated fanbase with their electrifying live performances.
The band’s momentum continued to surge in 2018 with the release of their eponymous self-titled EP.
“We track and engineer all of our stuff in house. Eddie is good as an engineer so he puts all the hard work in the studio process to get a finished product. He really enjoys just playing guitar though and often thinks about hiring on a killer guitar player so he can just be a frontman and really own the stage. As we have learned doing the two-piece for so many years is that you are incredibly limited in how you do a ‘stage show’ so you need to let the songwriting, energy, and live performance do most of the talking.”
This major release, distributed digitally through Noize Cartel Records, propelled Tzimani into the national spotlight.
Their relentless touring schedule took them across North America, including over 100 shows that extended into Canada.
“The best tour story that we have ever experienced was having our show in New Mexico get canceled on the same day we were supposed to play there. The promoter called me to give me the bad news but he had a friend that was throwing a garage style party and needed another live act. So he put me into contact with the birthday woman and she gave me an address. Little did we know that the address was going to take us to backroads Albuquerque and it was sitting on a lot surrounding by two house that we had to drive on unpaved road for a bit. We feared that we would lose control of the vehicle as we were hauling a trailer headed to the place but it was fine. Once we arrive the party, it turned out that it was a backyard biker gang party and that there was going to be pantera tribute as the main entertainment. Think old, rad dudes in bandanas, open carrying, big knives in their waistbands, chain smoking, and real tough looking mfers. We ended up performing our set to a widely accepting audience with loud hollering and hoots. We tore down and let the Pantera band set up. Once they got going to kick off the show, the front man announced ‘WE ARE FROM LA’. Eddie and I looked at each other thinking ‘dude this shit is tight! We are playing this garage biker party with another CA band’. Then the frontman goes ‘LOWER ALBUQUERQUE!’ and the guitarist goes right into the opening riff into Cowboys from Hell. We must have openly laughed for a solid 5 minutes straight. It was incredibly well delivered and the seriousness of the gag gave it the punchline it deserved. That is one hell of way to pitch to someone and it was such an incredible experience given the circumstances of the entire ordeal in New Mexico on that day.”
“Our backing track bassist has two nicknames. Mac Ableton is the one we created, and Robobass 5000 is the one our buddy DJ created. We did one time hear two kids talking shit about us in a bar after we played a set. One kid goes to another and says ‘dude did you like that band?’ and the kid responds ‘fuck no. They use auto bass’. It was hilariously candid and I am sure the kids did not know we were within earshot but we laughed about it and still joke about it to this day. It keeps us grounded and ensures that we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Especially living in the 21st century.”
Notable festival appearances at the Legions of Metal Festival in 2019 and Hyperspace Metal Festival in 2022 solidified their reputation as a formidable live act.
Tzimani’s sound is a unique fusion of melodic AOR elements and the aggressive, rhythmic intensity of old-school heavy metal.
Drawing inspiration from iconic bands like Iron Maiden, Mötley Crüe, Van Halen, and Def Leppard, Tzimani’s music features twin-guitar leads, virtuoso solos, and Seb’s pounding double-bass drumming.
Eddie’s vocal phrasing echoes the legendary Dio, while his guitar work channels the spirit of Eddie Van Halen.
Their dedication to the craft saw them included in two significant compilations:
‘No Legacy‘ in 2017 and ‘Metal Assault Mixtape‘ in 2019.
Following the success of their 2018 EP, Tzimani re-released it as an expanded edition in early 2020.
This reissue featured two cover songs from W.A.S.P. and Dio, along with their original 2017 demo, aiming to reach a broader audience in anticipation of their next major release.
Despite the relentless touring from 2017 to 2019, the pandemic brought an unexpected slowdown for Tzimani.
From 2020 to 2023, the band entered a dormant phase, with limited activity and sporadic performances across California.
During this period, however, they remained active in the local scene, using the time to write, record, and finalize their highly anticipated debut album.
As Tzimani prepares to re-emerge, they aim to reclaim the respect and recognition they earned in their early years.
Their upcoming 2024 release ‘I Feel Fine‘ promises to capture the essence of their relentless energy and innovative sound, heralding a new era for the band.
With a legacy of electrifying performances and a sound that bridges the past and future of metal, Tzimani stands poised to make a significant impact on the music scene once again.