[Noemaontos]

Senmuth does whatever he wants: from industrial metal to ethnic ambiance to dark wave to meditative calms, you truly cannot go into a new Senmuth with any expectations on what it will sound like. Throughout his relatively short career (formed in 2004), he has released on one-hundred and fifty albums. I’ve listened to a vast majority of his discography (if not all of his albums by now), and I can say that there’s not really a dud in the bunch. Sure some albums and movements are a little off the wall and really out there, but it’s always well thought out and constructed masterfully. It’s amazing that with the sheer amount of material produced by Senmuth that any of it is coherent.

2012 was probably Senmuth’s busiest year to date, with twenty-two full length albums, two EPs and thirteen compilations released. In comparison, Senmuth only released eleven full length albums, a single and an EP in 2013. I know, right, thirteen releases in one year and I’m saying it was slow. March of 2013 saw the release of Senmuth’s one hundred and forty-first album, [noemaontos], which features eight instrumental tracks. According to Senmuth himself, the album is composed of “sympho, industrial, ethnic, ambient and post metal” elements. That’s a lot to have going on during a forty-seven minute album, but, somehow, Senmuth manages to make a coherent album utilizing all of those mentioned styles.

[noemaontos] has the ability to transport you to a different plane via subtle ambient textures, industrial / electronica rhythms, psychedelic tendencies and movie score styled epic string backing. The ethnic instrumentation utilized is soft yet striking, like the album’s opener “Мир Уходящих Минут” which dabbles with Asian strings and “Thiounta Factory” which samples the sounds of Egypt. These ethnic elements mesh seamlessly with soft piano patterns and electronic beats. It’s not all soft and meditative, though, as “Чебаркуль: Траектория Вторжения” features a trippy, psychedelic guitar solo that would fit during any acid rock song. The strongest feature of [noemaontos] comes during “This is 404” and “Fin Ontos” where the drum beats surge forth with industrial sounds while string samples create an epic atmosphere that wouldn’t sound out of place as a soundtrack to an action sequence. “OxyMore” continues the same style but incorporates a heavy guitar riff, altering the sound into something darker and more menacing. It’s uplifting yet firmly rooted to the sounds presented during the album’s run time.

Senmuth brings a nice mix of calming pianos, rhythmic techno beats, psychedelic guitar work and ethnic instrumentation. The music waxes and wanes through meditative ambiance and industrialized rhythms, yet it remains cohesive. While Senmuth is over one hundred and fifty albums into his career, he is showing no signs of slowing down and he is definitely not showing any significant dips in quality. If you’re turned off by experimental music, please just go away, but if you have an open mind Senmuth’s catalog is full of underrated and undiscovered gems. Please add [noemaontos] to Senmuth’s list of wins.