Conor Fynes
'Kami-No-Miti' (5/10)
While every Senmuth record distinguishes itself from the others in small subtle ways, there are a few records that leave more of a unique imprint on the listener, regardless of their relative quality and strengh as an album. While certainly not my favourite this far into Senmuth's discography, the album realizes one of the biggest musical jumps and developments the Russian one-man project has made since it's inception. Revolving almost solely around a mixture of atmospheric Japanese themes, ambient industrial and slower, almost doom metal guitar work, 'Kami-No-Miti' is undeniably a unique piece of work. While the musical ideas here and overall texturing does not measure up to par with some of the more challenging and intelligent albums this man has done, some of the bigger issues with Senmuth's music have been cleared up, and the album is blessed with a handful of great tracks that make 'Kami-No-Miti' worth a couple of listens.
The big trait with this release is certainly the heavy emphasis on Japanese/Oriental culture and sound, as well as the fact that this is the industrial metal based record Senmuth has released that lacks his vocal work completely. While the man behind the title of Senmuth is undeniably a very talented musical mind, his distortion-box style of singing has never appealed to me. In any case, the album's instruments enjoy a greater liberty without such frantic vocals overtop. The female Chinese operatic vocals that replace Senmuth's aren't incredibly pleasant either, but they mesh well into the music, meaning that it is easier to appreciate the music for what it is, rather than focus on less powerful vocals.
The track 'Idzanagi' is the standout song here. It is a powerful anthem fantastic rock instrumetal; driven by some very tasteful melodic leads by the main man himself. Underneath the soaring melodies is the typical electronic noise that permeates every Senmuth song for the sake of 'atmosphere' (to mixed results) and some tasteful traditional Asian instrumentation, which gives the music a very ethereal feel. To a lesser effect, the closer 'Shakjamuni' is an interesting piece of near-doom metal; it's heavier parts being interspersed by long droning sections that seem to get lost in themselves. While being another one of the more memorable tracks, this has alot of the same problems that are unique to 'Kami-No-Miti;' a seeming lack of melody to most of the music, were it could have been the missing key to make this into a much greater body of work.
While being a different creature than the ones Senmuth usually creates, I arrive at the same conclusion for this one as many of the others he has done in the past. While the music is worth giving a couple of listens, it is nothing special. However, for all intents and purposes, it is good to see Senmuth steadily improving his craft. And considering there are dozens of albums to go, improvement and development is likely the best thing an album could offer at this point.