SENPAI III

Someone with a greater understanding/appreciation of Japanese anime/manga/culture will be able to do this far more justice than me, but here's a little review anyway. "Senpai" loosely translates as a mentor, teacher, or elder in Japanese, generally related to the transfer of knowledge and wisdom. This is Sithu Aye's third installment of the Senpai series, with two previous shorter EPs.

The music itself is very well mixed, and as you'd expect given the genre would fit very well as a soundtrack - its more of a fusion between J-Rock/Pop styles and prog, than simply progressive metal. Not too familiar with today's Japanese music and anime, although much of my childhood was spent watching Pokemon, and it would certainly fit with that. Sithu Aye has actually written a full novella to go with this album. I will confess to not having read it, and just listening to the album on its own. I very much enjoyed it, and it is the sole reason why I'd be open to listening to more anime soundtracks in future. Hopefully someone who is inclined to will review the album alongside the Novella too.

I'm can't rate this among the 5-star prog elite, but simply because it has opened a door to a slightly different genre of enjoyable music, this is well worth calling an excellent addition to a prog collection.