SENMUTH — so(znanye)bitya (review)

SENMUTH — so(znanye)bitya album cover Album · 2006 · Industrial Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
1.5/5 ·
Conor Fynes
'cо(знание)бытия' - Senmuth (3/10)

For all of his music's strengths and flaws, the works of Senmuth can be very frustrating to give a proper rating to. Many of the albums sound very similar to each other, which can make listening to each of the albums in sequence a increasingly less lenient and forgiving exercise. Also, within each album itself, there will be a great diversity of sections, or traits in the music that either 'work,' or don't work. 'cо(знание)бытия' seems to be an example of this; while I may have been tempted to give this my first single star rating for Senmuth upon the first listen of it, repeated listening has shown sections of the music that show alot of promise. As it stands however, 'cо(знание)бытия' is an uninspired, uncohesive and rather boring album that frankly gets annoying within a few minutes of listening.

The album begins up with a strange arabic-tinged dance intro, before firing up into a track that wouldn't sound out of place in a shallow Euro nightclub. Throughout the first section of the album, the music generally follows this path; at times even incorperating hip-hop influences that could have worked if they didn't sound so out of place in the music. The irritating vocal work of Senmuth is more distorted and overindulgent than ever here, and it only serves to deter from the enjoyment of the music. It feels here like no musical idea is developed here enough to make it 'memorable;' unless the listener gives the album many more listens than it seems to be worth. Throughout the heaps of mediocrity and banality here though, there are some moments that are enjoyable and show that despite releasing quite a few mediocre pieces, Senmuth is indeed a very talented composer. Towards the latter half of the album, there are songs such as 'Il Mia Incanto' which do without the obnoxious dance-electronic nature of the album and give an atmospheric repose. A few other tracks (such as 'Символика мгновений,' which while not being necessarily a memorable track, may very well be a relative highlight here) have sweeping synth arpeggios that are highly reminiscent of the band Muse.

While Senmuth is certainly a diverse artist in terms of the music he makes, many of his albums seem to fall into categories of their style. In parts, this album reminded me of an uninspired version of the project's debut, 'Cognitive Discord.' With so many other 'dance metal' albums in Senmuth's discography however, there is very little reason to check out 'cо(знание)бытия,' unless of course, you're like me and plan to listen to every album the man has produced.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Suns of Perdition - Chapter IV: To Shadow Zion Black Metal
PANZERFAUST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Facilis Descensus Averno Death Metal
SAEVUS FINIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Merciless Crossover Thrash
BODY COUNT
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Vengeance [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - I Need You [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed