ORACLE OCTAVE (PART II: SIRIUS MYSTERY)

Having been throughly impressed, if not blown away by the first part of the 'Oracle Octave' duology, it's clear that I would be interested in checking out the second part. A spacy and enchanting journey of music, 'Orion Mystery' was enough to shake what notions I thought I had about Senmuth's music, and open me up to a new realm of appreciation for the man behind the project, and his work. In a way, tossing a forgettable throwback to his traditional industrial metal in between sections of 'Oracle Octave' only made me more excited to hear it. However, while 'Sirius Mystery' has turned out to be an alright follow up, the common saying rings true here; 'the sequel is never quite as good as the original.'

In comparison to the psychedelic and otherworldly leanings of 'Orion,' this album sheds alot of the melodic lead in favour for more electronic presence in the mix. The album is still as well produced as the first 'Oracle,' but there is not nearly such a wide variety of played instruments here. Based on it's own merits however, 'Sirius Mystery' still ranks as being one of the better Senmuth releases. A great deal of the music is driven by some sort of keyboard-synthesized sound, although many of the melodies feel a bit misdirected and too spread out.

Things are instrumental with the exception of one track. The song 'Laba Ozu Po. Ozuga Po Ya' is the first Senmuth song I have heard thus far in the act's career to make actual use of the death growl vocal technique. While I have never been a big admirer of Senmuth's clean vocal abilities, the death growls are a good sign, because they seem like they would work well in the stead of the regular clean singing.

'Sirius Mystery' is not necessarily a dissapointment for it's comparison to the superior 'Orion'; it is a worthy creation on it's own terms and should be enjoyed by anyone ingrigued by the style. Be as it may however, I will always hope for another great Senmuth release coming my way...

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