SACRAL LAND

Here is another one of the more laid back Senmuth albums. As the man behind all of this music has gradually matured his sound, there has been a gradual trend towards more mellow styles, rather than the crazy metal sound of his earliest work under the title. While this does seem to be the right direction for Senmuth to be going in, it's clear that it will take some time before this new approach is solidified and mastered. 'Sacral Land' shows Senmuth working with this mellow, ethnic and ambient outlet of his music, to some mixed degree of success.

As with many of the project's releases, 'Sacral Land' does tend to grow on the listener after a few listens, although the music is typically ambient and could fall into the category of 'background music' for the majority of the set here. While there are scarce bits of heaviness here and there to liven things up, things are typically get laid back, although the overall tone of the music could very well suit a gothic horror film. There are some great moments where the music begins to soar in it's clever use of melodic instruments and 'epic' orchestration, but for the most part, the musical potential of Senmuth does not feel properly tapped into here. There is very little in the way of 'hooks' or memorable melodies, which could have done wonders for the otherwise uneventful soundscape that curses a good portion of the music here.

The mood here is particularly dark; some of the darkest Senmuth has ever done thus far in his career. Songs such as 'Per-Isis' for example, could easily be a soundtrack to a lost Egyptian tomb. The music is kept slow and doomy in nature. While 'Sacral Land' is indeed a laid back album, there are parts here that do recall the metal sound of his past work. There may be little here that really grabs the listener's attention, but the songs are pleasant throughout, and give off a convincing atmosphere.

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