PROBUZHDAYA SLUCHAYNOST

With such a vast discography, it comes as a pleasant surprise every once in a while to see Senmuth take risks with his music. While 'Пробуждая случайность' essentially remains one of Senmuth's industrial metal albums (as are the majority of his releases, thus far in his career), there is a clear development here from the typical noise-heavy party metal that defined much of his earlier work. While instrumentally, the album may not be a drastic improvement from the average Senmuth work (although there is still a clear added emphasis towards complexity over energy), the thing that makes 'Пробуждая случайность' better than what we've heard so far from Senmuth is the good vocal work here, which was typically lacking on previous albums.

Fifteen albums in (at least,) 'Пробуждая случайность' has without a doubt, the best vocal work of any Senmuth album. There is a great variety of singers here; featuring some more familiar voices (such as Skandy21, who has collaborated several times before with the project) but also some new singers that haven't been heard in a Senmuth release. Among these is the theatrical voice of 'Estella,' whose dynamic singing style really helps her section shine. Also, the male vocalist J.Kay (yes, I have noticed all of these guests have strange stage pseydonyms as well!) performs here, providing a very weird performance that verges on avant-garde.

Instrumentally, things are a bit better than you might expect from a Senmuth album, but I doubt the album would stand above its peers, were the variety of vocalists not included. Several ideas here are sampled from previous albums, giving a bit of pleasant familiarity right off the bat, but also developing on some of the better ideas from the past and giving them new perspective. In terms of the 'ethnic' direction of Senmuth this time around (for those uninitiated, his style of music revolves alot around the music of various cultures), there is an audible celtic vibe, which is a far cry from the typically Egyptian and Oriental sounds of past releases.

Overall, 'Пробуждая случайность' is a step in the right direction for Senmuth, and a good album by all accounts. There are still a fair bit of room for improvement and he is still a fair ways away from crafting a real masterpiece, but Senmuth's talent and skill is evident.

The introduction "Inside" is a usual Senmuth track with the usual distorted voice and techno sounds. It's followed by one of the best tracks I've heard from this artist. "Heaven and Heart" has a strong melody of a kind that reminds me to some RPI bands of the early 70s. The singer is some "Eresh" and doesn't use the distortion kit.

Estella is another guest singer with an impressive voice, capable of high and low pitches. She sings on "Priestess". Another track above the Senmuth's average. It appears clear that the song was written for Senmuth's voice and in a second time he decided to have it sung by somebody else.

On track 4 we have an old friend: the punk lady Annie Red Hat. "ParaBrahma" his a techno track on which Annie makes vocalisms. Average.

Skandy21 is well-known to who follows Senmuth. On "Sight" she sings a duet with Senmuth. Another highlight of this album. Not bad also the other track sung by Annie Red Hat: "Dark Goddess".

"Nothing is Realm" is opened by J.Kay. This time we have a real growler. Somebody able to growl without any kit. The track is a mixture of industrial and ethnic as in the best Senmuth while the growl gives it a death metal appeal.

"There, Where's an Eternal Dream" is another song on which Senmuth has put some extra effort. There's more attention to the melodic line than as usual.

"Awakening" is a techno track. Not my favourite. The instrumental parts are good enough, but it lacks the melodic structure of the previous track.

"Dark Goddess V.2" is even better than V.1. Annie Red Hat is a great singer. Her voice can be compared to the newage artist Lucia Hwong.

Estella speaks on "Hatshepsuth". This is the name of the only legendary woman who became pharaon in the ancient Egypt. A slow keyboard-based and ambient track. Very unusual in Senmuth's productions, quite close to the early Vangelis.

Muza is a soprano (likely). An excellent voice on a track from the ethnic side of Senmuth. "Hathor" has something of symphonic that's enhanced by the vocals.

Also the closure is performed by Muza. This time it's a typical techno-metal song in the arrangement but the vocals are excellent and let the melody emerge clearly. With just a bit less of the usual noise to make it more accessible this could have been a hit.

I've been undecided about how to rate this album. It's probably the most consistent between those I've listened to. Also, with the time I'm getting more used to Senmuth's music and last but not least, another reviewer has already rated it 4 stars and I don't want to be influenced by things external to the album. I give it 4 stars (4- really) to distinguish it from the previous ones and mainly because some tracks are really great. The fact that his music is better when he has guests is likely depending on my personal appreciation of the vocal distortion kit that he uses on his voice. A good album for a newbie to start with Senmuth.