PLANETARY DUST

I was looking forward to finally check out a couple of albums from this intriguing Russian one-man project that is known for the high amount of releases, the original ambient music, the diversified culture and science topics, the great cover artworks and the elevated degree of creativity. I didn't know where to begin and "Planetary Dust" was somehow the first album that I found on the internet as I was looking for an entire "Senmuth" release.

Even though the average rating of this particular disc is surprisingly low, I must admit that I like the sound, atmosphere and cosmic topic of the album. The record works much more on a mysterious atmosphere rather than trying out weird and progressive sound collages. From time to time, the keyboards add some little and well used space sounds that remind me of "Voivod's" dystopian masterpiece "Phobos" but there also some folk samples in a couple of tracks that could have been inspired by the latest works of "Ayreon" such as "01011001". We hear many different samples on this record from tribal folk drums in "Cordelia" to pipers in "Sycorax". From weird and mysterious calm tracks like the eerie "Jupiter" to heavier and more rhythm orientated stuff like the majestic "Neptune", the album varies quite a lot but always respects the main topic and atmosphere. This may be one of the most complete and consistent space concept albums I have ever heard and the tension is kept high on an almost constant level for far over one hour of running time. Add to this that the sound samples never sound too artificial and that the production quality is surprisingly elevated for a low budget Russian one man project like this.

I may not always be in the mood to listen to this record on a regular basis, but when I feel the need to listen to some experimental, innovating and progressive space ambient music, "Senmuth" will from now on always be my first choice and is a great modern alternative to the legendary albums of the progressive rock scene. I can just warmly recommend this record to any fan of the space or science-fiction topic. This rather original record could easily be a truly great soundtrack for a weird experimental science-fiction movie. I feel that "Planetary Dust" is quite underrated for no apparent reason. If you have the chance to listen to this album or purchase it, don't hesitate if my review intrigued you just a little bit.

Originally published on www.metal-archives.com on July 29th of the year 2011.