RXG-242-11

The seventh album released under the Senmuth name, the strangely titled 'RXG-242-11' shows yet another slow but steady development in the overall sound of this industrial metal act. While the brand of typically upbeat, distorted and 'danceable' metal Senmuth usually employs still faces the same issues it has suffered from it's inception, there is solace to be found in the music's softer segments. While this Russian one-man project has never gone long without throwing unconventional ethnic styles into the mix, never before in his career has the integration of metal and non-metal aspects been so effective. There is still alot of mediocrity that seems to have gone along with the sheer quantity of music the man has made over the years, but interspersed between the partially-memorable heavy tracks are a few stunning gems that really speak of Senmuth's talent and potential as an artist.

Perhaps as a foreshadowing to Senmuth's next project ('Kami-No-Miti') which would focus greatly around the Oriental school of music, 'RXG' has a heavier emphasis on Chinese/Japanese music than usual, although some Indian and classical European stylings appear throughout the album. It is actually the influence of European classical music that seems to be the biggest development here in terms of actual sounds. Before this, Senmuth generally stuck to extracting music from cultures outside that of Europe. While it may simply be a matter of personal taste, I find the European stylings (generally based in the piano presence, while the string orchestration maintains an eastern flair) to feel very natural for the direction Senmuth seems to be pushing towards. While some of his softer orchestrations have sounded a bit too artificial and novel in the past, he is clearly improving his craft of making the music (and album as a whole) feel more fluid and organic.

Among the highlights of 'RXG' is the epic oriental track 'Coast Of The Carried Away Lives,' which proves the point of Senmuth's improved metal/non-metal integration, and the stunning 'Megiste Syntaxis' duology, which is the closer to my version of the album. Probably not coincidentally, all of the most memorable and profound tracks are instrumental. While I have made it clear in past reviews that I am not a fan of Senmuth's distortion-box vocal style, the strength of the instrumentals makes the wound that much deeper. Should Senmuth release a completely instrumental album and recreate the magic of some of the more powerful work here in 'RXG,' I am sure this talented artist could have his first potential masterpiece of his career on his hands. Until then, 'RXG-242-11' is no deriviation from the Senmuth formula, but certainly among the stronger releases under his belt at the point of this album's creation.

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