Безлетно

Release number two-hundred and four from Russia's most prolific metal musician, Безлетно sees Senmuth continuing to explore mystic, almost shamanistic music. The album was released in late September, right after the monumental ode to the Himalayans that was Хрустальный трек. While his music has surely found itself really far from the original experimental industrialized metal of the early albums, Senmuth has really proven that he has an incredible ability to produce striking melodies and sweeping soundscapes.

Безлетно is certainly not Senmuth's heaviest album by any means. The entire offering seems more rooted in light, airy ambiance and what could pass a form of low-tuned stoner rock. Rolling programmed percussion, with a bit of a tribal flair, fills the background as the riffing and ambient nods take center stage. The riffs are deep, with what I'd call a bit of djent flair if it was a little fast paced, but this is mostly because Senmuth has been using eight string guitars for his recent recordings. Sweeping synths take up the background while the somewhat stoner rock, somewhat djent riffs roll forward, in a laid back yet still rollicking style. The bass also plods along, forcing my head to bob along ridiculous to its swaggering style, but it also serves to link the airy ambient sections with the dusty stoner rock.

Some write Senmuth off simply because his discography is so large and covers so much territory, genre-wise, or because his music is usually hard to pinpoint and is never really written in a linear fashion. It's unfortunate because the guy writes some really good material and he clearly loves what he's doing because he releases so much of it. Безлетно should please anyone that's been into Senmuth's recent trip into lower tunings and more guitar strings. It's not really a heavy release, relying on the interplay between slower moving, but rollicking instrumentation and sweeping, astral ambient tones, but it's a full bodied release that serves as great music while taking a walk or just sitting back and relaxing.