Nature

Beauty. It's a highly subjective thing, yes? One man considers the woman in the magazine with a tiny dress to possess beauty. Another man claims his son's smile is what he finds beautiful. Yet another probably thinks the mountains and trees and birds and all those sorts of things are beautiful, though he's also probably got a bedroom full of anti-logging propaganda and various Pink Floyd albums on permanent repeat. The point I'm getting at here is that everyone has different conceptions of beauty, and everyone is going to have a different opinion of what they perceive. Like physical beauty, musical beauty is also subject to the listener's feelings. My feelings on this? It's an incredible piece of work.

Now, it's no secret that I'm a raving fanatic of anything strange or "different" from traditional music. Such things most likely disgust the average person, but to me (and many others) experimentation in music is something that allows a musician's creativity to thrive and compel. Senmuth's album "Nature" does just that - it expands till it puts the listener in a state of near-trance through exceptional musicianship. This is by no means metal, however; it's more similar to a combination of ethnic music, Trance, EBM, and ambient with a few metallic solos here and there. Even the solos are highly influenced by ethnic music, though they're not exactly folk metal. Rather, they're soulful tunes with exotic melodies that try to integrate with the rest of the music.

One could say that the entire point of Senmuth's music is to experiment with just how much you can smoothly blend in one album, or even one song. The tracks here certainly prove that with powerful and memorable numbers with a personality all of their own. "Alania" is one of Senmuth's most memorable songs. It's loud, fun and bombastic without being stupid - the usage of accordions with trance inspired keyboards and some very subtle guitar is done in such a way that it feels more like some sort of soundtrack to a spy mission in a foreign land rather than a bunch of idiots in "battle paint" jumping around in the woods. The accordion melody feels grandiose while being accented by the echoing quality of the accordion's tone.

Some other highlights of this that simply MUST be mentioned are "Amanauz" with it's psychedelic quality, accented by Senmuth's distant, echo-laden voice reciting chants. He sounds like he's worshipping at the bottom of a waterfall, rather than recording his voice in a gymnasium. It also features a really powerful solo section at the end and some bouncy jew's harp playing. "Tribal Rivers And Roads of Spirits" is, put bluntly, racing music. Play this thing in your car when it's raining a little and you're on the highway, it's great fun! Hell, it even fits the nature mood of the album, conjuring up images of being swept down the rapids in a dense forest.

Indeed, all the tracks on this album are keepers in the sense that they experiment and differentiate without sacrificing memorability at all. What's more, their emotion is completely top-notch. Aided by Senmuth's incredibly skilled production job (he's also an audio engineer, you see), all the instruments come through crystal clear. As simple a job as that sounds, theres a LOT of instruments - sitars, electric guitars, a jew's harp... Some are bound to be a bit confused after the first few listens to this just due to the massive depth of everything. Careful listening and a desire to understand this piece are what allows it to be fully appreciated. There are so many layers of sound making so many beautiful melodies and soundscapes that every time I listen to this I feel almost transported to a misty, grey-skyed area of the wilderness full of mountains and lakes and every other nature cliché in the book - but it works. Everything on here works, even the oh-so-slight hip-hop tendencies that sneak in on "Crystal Water of the Ice Stream". It all progresses logically and wants to be accepted, but also wants to be different - and it succeeds.

Really, save for a slightly odd track transition here or there, maybe a few instances of an instrument making one note a tiny bit weird, I find this to be a great release worthy of MUCH more attention. This is one of Senmuth's true crowning achievements in terms of beauty and staying power, as well as atmosphere and representing his skill as a musician. It doesn't even sound like anything else, it has a sound all of it's own. Full of some of the coolest moments in Senmuth's 2007 career, this is easily one of the "must-hear" albums in Senmuth's ever expanding discography. Highly recommended, especially if you plan on playing the entire thing at once.

Highlights: Alania, Alibek Falls, Amanauz, Singing Of Birds Under Stars, Tribal Rivers And Roads Of Spirits