NEWOLDLIVE

NewOldLive sounds indeed somewhat old and seems to present some filler material from the early days of the ambitious Senmuth project. Some tracks are reworked versions from previous records, others are mediocre bonus tracks and we don't get the high quality level we got used to by Senmuth over the last great outputs. Even compared to the entire discography, this album is one of the weakest releases by Senmuth but surprisingly still not a failure which speaks volumes for the unique quality of the music of Valery Av.

Musically, we basically have a return to the Industrial Gothic sounds of the first two records on this compilation record. This can be seen as a step back, especially as the instrumental parts and the vocal skills didn't improve on this album compared to what Senmuth has delivered before. I would add to this that the album is too long with fifteen tracks and lacks of focus as there is not a single truly outstanding song to find on this record even though the entire material sounds quite coherent and entertaining. Once again, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. On the other side, this record could find its positive value as a good introduction to Senmuth's roots and early days for someone that hasn't the time, money and patience to listen to all of Senmuth's records.

We still have a couple of good piano melodies, danceable tracks and even a few atmospheric darkwave tracks on the entire album that could easily please to the fans of the genre and even get some airplay in the underground radios or discotheuqes. As highlights, I might maybe point out the collaboration with Annie Red Hat on "Cutting The Last Threads", the title track "NewOldLive" and "A Short Song About The Eternity (Apocalyptic Farewell)". Any fan of the more progressive and ethnic sounds of Senmuth might though easily skip this record and discover the great Oracle Ocatve double pack right now.

Originally published on www.metal-archives.com on September 25th of the year 2011.