Zaragoza-based Héroes Del Silencio is one of Spain’s most famous rock bands and according to multiple band members, their sophomore album ‘Senderos De Traición’ is the only album on which everything came out exactly as they had wanted. With a producer in tow who wanted the band to sound like themselves rather than the next bestseller in Roxy Music-guitarist Phil Manzanera and their most consistent set of songs at their disposal, ‘Senderos De Traición’ without a doubt is Héroes Del Silencio at its best. It definitely helps that the album is slathered in some of the most gorgeous clean guitar sounds ever recorded.

Like the band’s debut album ‘El Mar No Cesa’ a year prior, ‘Senderos De Traición’ is still largely inspired by British new wave and gothic rock bands, a sound which I think suits them slightly better than their later experimental hardrock phase. Their blend of Juan Valdivia’s goth-styled clean, arpeggiated chord work and the melodic sensibilities of stadium rock makes Héroes Del Silencio sound a lot like The Mission, only with Spanish lyrics. What little my limited Spanish allows me to make out of those lyrics does seem to have significantly more depth than Wayne Hussey’s nice-sounding, but ultimately hollow platitudes.

Opening the album is the song responsible for the band’s international breakthrough: ‘Entre Dos Tierras’. Unlike most bands of the era, however, Héroes Del Silencio’s breakthrough hit is actually their best song. The build-up from its relatively aggressive, though still very clean intro to the more longing verses of the song is simply brilliant. Also, the way the atmosphere suddenly shifts during the slightly distorted lead guitar section near the end of the song in a surprisingly smooth way has to be heard to be believed. ‘Maldito Duende’ was another big hit and one of the better songs on here.

‘Senderos De Traición’ is extremely consistent, however. And this is also where I think it outshines their other releases. ‘Oración’ is one of my favorite songs on the album. It is even more subdued than the rest of the material and features what might just be my favorite vocal performance Enrique Bunbury does on the album. He starts out low and keeps subtly increasing the intensity. On the flipside, ‘Decadencia’ is probably the most intense rocker here, though that is relative. It succeeds remarkably well as a change of pace. Other highlights include the almost Fields Of The Nephilim-esque ‘Senda’, the relatively uptempo ‘Hechizo’ and the severely underrated ‘La Carta’, but the whole album is worth hearing.

After ‘Senderos De Traición’, Héroes Del Silencio got into a bit of an identity crisis. Despite featuring a suprisingly large number of good songs, both albums that followed it featured a band that tried to be too many different things at the same time. What makes ‘Senderos De Traición’ so good is that Héroes Del Silencio is clearly aware of its strengths and tries to make the most of them. The result is an album so atmospheric that it refuses to let go when it sinks its hooks into the listener. ‘Senderos De Traición’ might just be the best gothic rock album made outside of the United Kingdom.

Recommended tracks: ‘Entre Dos Tierras’, ‘Oración’, ‘Maldito Duende’, ‘Decadencia’