Band:	Senshi
Album:	Rise Again
Style:	Ragga, Alternative metal
Release date:	March 2023

01. The Fall
02. Rise Again
03. Evil In Dem Eyes
04. Chaos In My Soul
05. Rock Da Mic
06. Greed
07. Memories
08. Hold On Tight
09. Run Dem Over
10. Famicore Killer
11. Shibuya Meltdown
12. Piece Of Light

Dear readers, how about something unique? How about some groove-meets-power metal inspired by manga soundtracks and with reggae vocals? Got your attention, did I? Senshi combines a modern, sort of groovy power-meets-Gothenburg metal style with ragga music, sometimes notable in the instrumentation but always notable in the Jamaican vocals. They top this all off with an authentic Japanese shamisen, mostly seamlessly blended into the mix. Would you believe me if I said a band that combines Japanese folk with modern, slightly Swedish-sounding metal, and Jamaican reggae-ish singing comes from Serbia? I suppose Serbia is more or less right in between Japan and Jamaica, but yeah, still. Unlikelier things have (probably) happened.

The core of Senshi’s music is a groovy, alternative take on power metal accentuated by Japanese folk instruments and rhythmic, Jamaican ragga-style vocals. If you don’t know what ragga is, think reggae but heavier, faster, more improvised. The album opens with a reasonably epic, instrumental intro that introduces all the elements of the band, sans vocals, admirably. After this, you’re in for a surprise. The title track employs a hard rocking riff, tight drumming, and rhythmic singing complete with a Jamaican accent. Alright, so Skindred already tried mixing reggae with metal (with varied results…), but it gels better here. The groovy, rhythmic vocals combine with the simplistic, groovy riffs to create something I can’t say I’ve ever heard before.

On the following song, “Evil In Dem Eyes”, the two styles (ragga and metal) compete with each other to create a fun, reggae-meets-power metal tune that should get your ears perked to “wait, what the hell am I listening to?”-mode before, voluntarily or not, ending up totally digging along to the groovy tune. “Rock Da Mic” is another fun-loving tune, and then “Greed” throws the album into darker territories with an ominous, chugging riff (well, most of the riffs on this album are chugging, for better or worse) that inexplicably works very well with the ragga singing in the chorus. “Memories” is basically a happy power metal song with off-beats, and “Hold On Tight” is likely the best cut on here, with its Nintendo boss music-sounding ascending main riff that puts the guitars front and centre. “Famicom Killer” hinges on retro arcade music to bring the point home, and ends up a very memorable song, while ending song “Piece Of Light” ties it all together very well with its clean-sung, Gothenburg-style chorus.

"We've come a long way from the start
It's gonna be alright
Dem evil can't break us apart
It's gonna be alright"

There are some things I would change if I could, of course. Senshi’s music sometimes is supported by cringy nu-metal shouts and metalcore-ish riffing, which isn’t for me, and a few of the tracks on the album (“Chaos In My Soul”, “Shibuya Meltdown”) probably could have been cut for good measure. Sometimes, the shamisen becomes a bit grating in its overuse, and sometimes the guitars are mixed too loudly. But all these are nitpicks, really, and I absolutely adore what Senshi has come up with here, for all its little flaws.

Okay, so Rise Again probably isn’t for everyone, but it sure works for me. Outside of metal, reggae is one of my favourite styles of music, and ragga is basically a more upbeat, more improvised form of reggae. Hearing this convincingly combined with metal sure puts a smile to my face. I mean it, literally every time I’m listening to this album, I can’t help but laugh at the unlikeliness of it all yet remain smiling at how well it ultimately works. Rise Again is a heavy, rhythmic, melodic, fun-loving album that sometimes comes off as cheesy, but ultimately wins me over with its outlandish stylistic mix and convincing performance.

And, hey. “Come on,” I hear you say, “what about the novelty factor, Netzach?” Well, I have listened to Rise Again a dozen times and also checked out their debut album Senshi No Seishin a few times for good measure, and whatever the madness that came up with this ragga metal style, it just works. It’s entertaining, empowering, fun, memorable, utterly unique, and you would be remiss not to check it out.