Review by John B. on March 9, 2021.

This will sound strange, but Sierpe marks Ayahuasca taking a step back, by the very fact that they are advancing. By any technical measure, they are better on this, their second full length, than they were on the debut Huayra. But while the band is undoubtedly playing tighter and more clinical, that improvement comes at a cost. The primitive frenetic atmosphere of the debut was a major part of what made Ayahuasca special, and that feel is sort of missing on this album.

Sure Inguetuzca is still bringing his furious vocal style, and on 'H.F.' he sounds just as 80s-Cavalera unhinged as he did on the faster songs of Huayra. What I miss from the vocals here though, is that Ayahuasca have mostly abandoned the fearsome, otherworldly gang choruses which were so effective. They do it once on the self-titled song, and it’s a welcome scary-psychoactive addition; but last time on 'Teonanacatl' they did it while singing actual lyrics. Here they’re just shouting the title over again, so it comes across as a weaker effort.

Atmosphere-wise, I should tip my hat to 'Nishi Cobin'. This song’s distant, almost hypnotic guitars are these guys’ answer to Cascadian black metal - call it Andean death metal if you like. Problem for me is, though the guitars are technically more advanced, they have also thinned off the rough edge that gave the debut its raw South American charm. That modernization of sound is also a detriment to the bass, which was happily front and centre before, but is now sadly buried. On the whole, Sierpe is either very well-played death metal that’s just a bit too clean; or jungle interludes like 'Tutumak' and 'Cangui' that are... there... these passages don’t contribute like 'Wayra' and 'Chacruna' did to the previous album.

I’ll give a shout out to Ivan Ramirez here, who has taken over sole duty behind the drums. As with the other members, his playing has shed much of its frenetic primitiveness. And yes, that’s a drawback feeling-wise, but you can’t ignore that Ramirez does a lot more this time around. From the dextrous herky-jerkiness of 'Sierpe' and 'Siervo Sin Tierra' to the straight-up speed of 'Bandolita', there are challenging tempo differences on this album. And Ramirez shows he can back them all up rather than relying on the all-out ferocity of Huayra. His thundersheet work on the ambient tracks is cool too, though as I’ve mentioned the ambient parts are altogether not as effective this time around.

While I respect Ayahuasca’s clearly successful determination to become more professional-sounding musicians, for my taste, it’s just not what drew me to them. But if you enjoy when bands become more intricate, you’ll really like Sierpe. It’s a step up in musical expertise akin to the progression of early Pestilence.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10