ALBUM REVIEW: Spiritual Nemesis – Two Face Sinner
Peru’s TWO FACE SINNER are one of the more impressive acts within the countries large and very active underground scene. Taking the intensity of acts like MARDUK and injecting it with a monstrous death metal undercurrent, TWO FACE SINNER have garnered a reputation for making incredibly ferocious and catchy blackened death metal. Their latest full length, Spiritual Nemesis, comes close to five years after the release of their previous record, Peccatum Originale, and showcases a band that have significantly tightened their sound, resulting in what is arguably their best record to date.
Invoking Evil doesn’t mess around, diving headlong into an intense slab of blackened death metal with monstrous vocals and tight, aggressive guitars. It’s got some great, catchy riffs and some excellent, punishing drums, and makes for an impressive start to the record that immediately grabs the listeners attention. Satanic Altar follows in much the same vein, with a fast and furious pace being set right out of the gate, driven by razor sharp guitars and juggernaut drumming. The vocals are much more shrill than on the previous song, carving through the mix and providing a bellicose edge to the music, making for a darker offering.
God Sun leans more heavily into the death metal side of the bands sound, with fantastic, chunky guitars and intricate, precise drums giving this song a much more chaotic quality, with brilliant, demented vocals adding a sense of urgency to the proceedings. Slick, hair raising leads also do a lot to make this song stand out for all the right reasons, turning this song into one of the earliest highlights of the album. Servants of Blind Faith opts for a slower, more ethereal approach, giving this song a much more atmospheric edge without losing any of the ferocity. Blending caustic guitars, machine gun drums and robust gutturals, it’s a primal, powerful piece of music that really packs a punch. Army of Me and God of the Masses both provide brief blasts of brutality, with the former featuring some beefy guitars and sludgy vocals that give it a much heavier feel, and the latter boasting some of most technical and impressive drums on the whole album. Both are engrossing additions to the album that add a savage extremity to the proceedings.
Triumphant Satan, by comparison, is slightly more subdued, with fuller hooks dominating the guitar sound. Chants of Hate carries that formula forward. The more prominent use of cymbals in the drumming give this song a different edge, elevating the song at various points. Ode to Destruction is another sharp shock of primal musicianship with varied guitar work, howling vocals and equally frenetic drumming crafting an impenetrable wall of noise, giving this song an unrelenting and fierce sound. Mother Death is a sprawling, epic piece of music that brings Spiritual Nemesis to a close on a high note. A lighter, yet nonetheless bestial, guitar sound and brilliant vocals provide a great focus for the rest of the music to build around, with intricate drums and a great, meaty bass line adding plenty of great moments throughout, making this final, lengthy offering perhaps the most eclectic on the album.
It’s incredibly hard to find fault with Spiritual Nemesis. Straight out of the gate, the brilliant musicianship and excellent songwriting ensures that they the record is engrossing right to the very end. It’s a genuinely impressive record, with even the weakest offerings still be of a ridiculous high quality. This is arguably best output from TWO FACE SINNER to date.
Rating: 9/10
Spiritual Nemesis is out now via Non Serviam Records.
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