Album Review: Spiritual Deception – Semitae Mentis (Amputated Vein Records/Earache Records)

Italian death metal quartet Spiritual Deception will release their first-ever full-length album, Semitae Mentis, on February 9th, 2024, via Amputated Vein Records (physical) and Earache Records (digital). The album features guest contributions by Karl Sanders (Nile) and Luc Lemay (Gorguts).

Epic death metal with big melodies and a technical twist, Semitae Mentis is a very big sounding album, but also one that happens to be brutally heavy. Spiritual Deception have thrown a lot into this record, and it pays off by sounding wholly unique within the death metal sphere.

Case in point, the gothic piano melody and distant sound of choral voices that transitions into crashing and smashing carnage with the first track, The I Swells… (Decadence Pt. I). In this short effort, you’ll hear all of what makes this album special, and then some. Yet, it is just the starter, as the next two parts of Decadence (Atavic Future and The Days of Sleep) showcase even grander symphonic tones and garish techy twists. This first third of the record is intense, and it’s bloody brilliant.

Brilliance that continues into the progressive brutality of Beyond Perception and Matter. The serrated guitar parts, pummelling drum beats, and guttural vocals, are complimented by those continued epic choral voices in the background. This track is up there as one of the heaviest and most lavish sounding of all. Though having the likes of Luc Lemay of Gorgots guesting on Dirac Sea, and later, Karl Sanders of Nile on Thousand Lives Within, should tell every listener that heavy is what Spiritual Deception do.

Those tracks, The Night Opens, On the Edge of the Abyss, and Individuality Dissolves showcase an inspired band. One willing to push the limits of death metal expectations and perceptions. Utilising symphonic grandeur and melody to enhance the listening experience, rather than making either the focal point (except in momentary cases). Fear not, if you want nothing but grim noise, this album has plenty of ‘brees’ to please you.

Coming full circle, the album ends with …To the Coldest Decline (Decadence Pt. IV) and it is Spiritual Deception’s most epic track of all. A nine-plus minute finale that sees the talented Italian death metal band push themselves even more. Crafting a track that runs the entire progressive, technical, symphonic, melodic, and savage gambit. Where its runtime is immaterial, as it’s so compelling. Proving to be the most extreme example of their musical style and ending this album on a massive high.

Spiritual Deception – Semitae Mentis Track Listing:

1. The I Swells… (Decadence Pt. I)
2. Atavic Future (Decadence Pt. II)
3. The Days of Sleep (Decadence Pt. III)
4. Beyond Perception and Matter
5. Dirac Sea (feat. Luc Lemay – Gorguts)
6. The Night Opens
7. On the Edge of the Abyss
8. Thousand Lives Within (feat. Karl Sanders – Nile)
9. Individuality Dissolves
10. …To the Coldest Decline (Decadence Pt. IV)

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