WEMA TAYN

The first of a two-compilation set seeking to showcase the best of experimental artist Senmuth's heavier material, 'Wema Tayn' takes what composer Valery Av perceives to be some of his strongest work from three of his more recent metal albums, and makes some minor remixes and edits to give this release a semblance of novelty. Unfortunately, while this release may have some interesting artwork to sport, it doesn't feel legitimate enough to be worth giving a listen.

A thought that really started dawning on me when I began looking in Senmuth's 2010 material: it seems that he is competing with himself to see how many releases he can put out over the course of one year. While Senmuth's most interesting feature is the sheer quantity of music Valery Av is able to produce, it seems that he has taken to recycling his existing music, and re- releasing it through compilations and superficial 'remix' pieces. Unfortunately, with a few minor exceptions, the modifications Senmuth makes to the music are negligible, and feel as familiar as anything else.

'Wema Tayn' is interesting for the fact however that it gives a longer dose of Senmuth's more recent heavy material, something that sounds surprisingly fresh due to the fact that the project has turned in an almost exclusively ambient section in more recent years. Here, one can hear tracks from 'Akhet Mery Ra', 'Sebek' and 'Sekenenra', 'Sebek' being among the best things Senmuth has ever churned out, and 'Akhet Mery Ra' being the longest. Unfortunately, a compilation that puts together songs from only three technical releases doesn't feel so useful overall; more like an excuse to put out a new title under the Senmuth logo.

The one somewhat interesting thing here is the album art, which goes beyond the front cover. As Valery Av is a graphic designer professionally, the art here is professional as always. However, musically, 'Wema Tayn' offers nothing new for Senmuth's career.