The end of the 90's was a strange moment for metal in general, there was a stagnation in the sounds that predominated in the first part of the decade and the end of the previous one, many of the bands that were seeking consolidation within each of their Genres of origin, were creating fusions and new rhythms, so something called “nu metal” was born in those years.
But not everything was nü-metal, as is the example of the Swiss of Samael, who were born as a band 100% black metal around 1991, and that was recognized until their third album in 1994 "Ceremony Of Opposites ”, and it was in this album that he separated the band from the strict canons of conventional black metal, putting arrangements in certain songs with electronic overtones, giving by then a freshness that gave them success and consolidation.
The great leap from Samael's evolution to something much more electronic and consciously moving away from black metal was with his next album from 1996, PASSAGE, in which even the cover came from the origins of the band, - no longer Satanism, nor staves - if not getting into a much more cosmic roll - the moon on the cover and tracks like jupiterian vibe, moonskin-, that although we could still consider black metal, the sound is totally fresh thanks to the incorporation of electronic elements and this defined the course of the band for the future.
The evolution continued with the fifth album "EternalWith a decidedly more electronic sound. Stylistically it is a mix of black metal and industrial metal, with a sound closer to Ministry or Rammstein, although without abandoning its black metal origins at all. The vocal work is refined, leaving the guttural 100%, as well as lyrically, it definitively abandons the satanism of previous records, with songs that speak about luminosity and spiritual transcendence; It also creates songs with relatively romantic content. It is where they consolidate and find a niche where they can create an authentic sound that suits them.
Reign of Light 2004, Samael now turned into an industrial metal band 100% gives another turn to the sound, incorporating not only what has been learned from the transition from black-industrial but incorporating rhythms typical of the Middle East, once again leaving the premise than could be the comfort of the conventional industrialist.
With Solar Soul 2007 is the apogee for the Samael sound, to give us odes like “Slavocracy"- and now, with its own and consolidated trajectory - they can afford to return to their origins with the album Above 2009, an album that fits into 100% within blackmetal, very reminiscent of its early materials "Worship Hom" and "Blood Ritual“
In the last decade Samael has worked polishing his discovered sound in his previous materials, releasing two albums that demonstrate it: Lux Mundi 2011 and its latest full-length Hegemony from 2017
Definitely Samael is an example that the versatility and the constant struggle to search for new and own sounds makes a band authentic and even better… .. it lasts for more than 25 years.
Samael will celebrate these 25 years of Ceremony Of Opposites on October 17 at the CDMX HALL
