Samael (band)
Encyclopedia
Samael is a industrial black metal band formed in 1987 in Sion, Switzerland
.
, they are an early 2nd Wave black metal band and an innovator for post-black metal styles.
Samael released several demos, including an extremely rare demo titled Medieval Prophecy. Their first demo
s presented a slow, doomy style of thrash metal
with raw vocals, similar to that of Celtic Frost
. Some of the songs would be included on Worship Him (1991) and Blood Ritual (1992).
Around the time of Ceremony of Opposites
(1994), the band started using industrial-styled song techniques, employed by the use of keyboards and (minimalist) acoustic percussion. By this time, they had also left French
record label
Osmose Productions
and signed with Century Media Records
.
Their album Passage (1996) saw them gather a larger audience, with the music video
for the song "Jupiterian Vibe" getting airplay on MTV
's Headbanger's Ball. A second edition was later released with a bonus disk, done solely by keyboardist Xy and titled "Xytras," containing 10 entirely instrumental remixes featuring classical piano.
After the release of Eternal (1999), Samael would not renew their contract with Century Media. In 2004, Reign of Light was released through independent label Galactical Records.
In 2006, the electronica project Era One
(featuring Vorph and Xy) was released on Century Media Records. It includes a bonus disc, "Lesson in Magic #1," which again is entirely instrumental and done by keyboardist Xy. The album itself was recorded in 2001, and the bonus disc a year later. Both were rearranged and remixed in 2005.
In June 2007 they released the album Solar Soul, which summed up and combined many of the styles of their previous albums since Passage.
On March 6, 2009, Samael released Above
, a full-length album described as a tribute to Samael's roots.
In June 2010 Samael began recording demos for the next album. The album's first single, titled Antigod
was released on November 19, 2010. The album, titled Lux Mundi (which translates as "Light of the World"), was released April 29, 2011 in Europe and May 3, 2011 in North America.
Vorph and Xy are brothers.
In earlier original album credits Xy was to as "Xytras," not "Xytraguptor." On the band's official about page, they give mixed references using all 3 monikers, Xy, Xytras, and Xytraguptor.
Sion, Switzerland
Sion is the capital of the Swiss canton of Valais. it had a population of .Landmarks include the Basilique de Valère and Château de Tourbillon. Sion has an airfield for civilian and military use, which, because of its location in a valley, causes a reasonable amount of noise pollution. FC Sion...
.
Biography
Although much of their music from the mid-1990s onwards has incorporated electronic sounds which would best define their genre as industrial metalIndustrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
, they are an early 2nd Wave black metal band and an innovator for post-black metal styles.
Samael released several demos, including an extremely rare demo titled Medieval Prophecy. Their first demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
s presented a slow, doomy style of thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
with raw vocals, similar to that of Celtic Frost
Celtic Frost
Celtic Frost was a metal band from Zürich, Switzerland. They are known for their heavy influence on the extreme metal genres. The group was first active from 1984 to 1993, and re-formed in 2001. Following Tom Gabriel Fischer's departure in 2008, Celtic Frost decided to break up again...
. Some of the songs would be included on Worship Him (1991) and Blood Ritual (1992).
Around the time of Ceremony of Opposites
Ceremony of Opposites
Ceremony of Opposites is the third album by Swiss heavy metal band Samael.This is their second release with Century Media Records after leaving French label Osmose Productions...
(1994), the band started using industrial-styled song techniques, employed by the use of keyboards and (minimalist) acoustic percussion. By this time, they had also left French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Osmose Productions
Osmose Productions
Osmose Productions is a French independent record label created in 1991 by Hervé Herbaut, after he had spent three years running a small mail order company...
and signed with Century Media Records
Century Media Records
Century Media Records is an Independent record label with offices in the United States, Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom.- Background :...
.
Their album Passage (1996) saw them gather a larger audience, with the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the song "Jupiterian Vibe" getting airplay on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Headbanger's Ball. A second edition was later released with a bonus disk, done solely by keyboardist Xy and titled "Xytras," containing 10 entirely instrumental remixes featuring classical piano.
After the release of Eternal (1999), Samael would not renew their contract with Century Media. In 2004, Reign of Light was released through independent label Galactical Records.
In 2006, the electronica project Era One
Era One (album)
Era One is the 2006 album by Samael. It saw the band return to the Century Media label. It includes a bonus disc, "Lesson in Magic #1," which is entirely instrumental and done solely by band member Xy. The album itself was recorded in 2002, and the bonus disc a year later...
(featuring Vorph and Xy) was released on Century Media Records. It includes a bonus disc, "Lesson in Magic #1," which again is entirely instrumental and done by keyboardist Xy. The album itself was recorded in 2001, and the bonus disc a year later. Both were rearranged and remixed in 2005.
In June 2007 they released the album Solar Soul, which summed up and combined many of the styles of their previous albums since Passage.
On March 6, 2009, Samael released Above
Above (Samael album)
-Notes:The track "Dark Side" is a reworked version of "The Black Face" from the album Worship Him.-Personnel:* Vorph: Vocals, Guitars* Makro: Guitars* Masmiseîm: Bass* Xy: Drums, Percussion, Keyboards, Synthesizers, Programming-Production:...
, a full-length album described as a tribute to Samael's roots.
In June 2010 Samael began recording demos for the next album. The album's first single, titled Antigod
Antigod
Antigod is an EP by Swiss heavy metal band, Samael.-Track listing:# Antigod# Into the Pentagram # Reign of Light # Slavocracy # Antigod # Ten Thousand Years -Personnel:*Vorph: Vocals, Guitars...
was released on November 19, 2010. The album, titled Lux Mundi (which translates as "Light of the World"), was released April 29, 2011 in Europe and May 3, 2011 in North America.
Line-up
- Vorphalack (Vorph) - Vocals, Guitar
- Xytras/Xytraguptor (Xy) - Live and Programmed Drums, Keyboards, Samples
- Masmiseim (Mas) - Bass (ex-AlastisAlastis-History:The initial line-up was War D. on guitar, Zumof on vocals, Acronoise on drums, and Masmiseim on bass. Masmiseim left early on to join Samael, with Zumof departing soon after...
) - Makro (Mak) - Guitar
Vorph and Xy are brothers.
In earlier original album credits Xy was to as "Xytras," not "Xytraguptor." On the band's official about page, they give mixed references using all 3 monikers, Xy, Xytras, and Xytraguptor.
Former members
- Rodolphe H. — Keyboards & Samples on Ceremony of Opposites and Rebellion.
- Kaos (Frédéric Minuti) — Guitar on Passage, Exodus and Eternal
- Pat Charvet — Drums (1987–1988)
Albums
- Worship HimWorship HimWorship Him is the first full LP from the Swiss heavy metal band Samael, released in 1991.- Track listing :# "Sleep of Death" – 3:45# "Worship Him" – 6:30# "Knowledge of the Ancient Kingdom" – 5:06# "Morbid Metal" – 4:56...
(1991) - Blood RitualBlood Ritual (album)Blood Ritual is the second album by the Swiss heavy metal band Samael, released in 1992 on the Century Media Records label.-Track listing:# "Epilogue" – 0:40# "Beyond The Nothingness" – 4:31# "Poison Infiltration" – 3:58...
(1992) - Ceremony of OppositesCeremony of OppositesCeremony of Opposites is the third album by Swiss heavy metal band Samael.This is their second release with Century Media Records after leaving French label Osmose Productions...
(1994) - Passage (1996)
- Eternal (1999)
- Reign of Light (2004)
- Solar Soul (2007)
- AboveAbove (Samael album)-Notes:The track "Dark Side" is a reworked version of "The Black Face" from the album Worship Him.-Personnel:* Vorph: Vocals, Guitars* Makro: Guitars* Masmiseîm: Bass* Xy: Drums, Percussion, Keyboards, Synthesizers, Programming-Production:...
(2009) - Lux Mundi (2011)
Other releases
- Medieval Prophecy (7" EP 1988)
- 1987 - 1992 (Compilation, 1995)
- RebellionRebellion (album)-Track listing:#"Rebellion#"After the Sepulture" [New Version]#"I Love the Dead" #"Static Journey" #"Into the Pentagram [New Version]"...
(MCD, 1995) - ExodusExodus (Samael album)Exodus is an EP by Swiss heavy metal band, Samael. The contents of the release were later included as bonus tracks on the 2007 re-release of Passage.-Track listing:# "Exodus"# "Tribes of Cain"# "Son of Earth"# "Winter Solstice"...
(MCD, 1998) - Black TripBlack Trip (album)Black Trip DVD from Swiss Industrial metal band Samael is a double DVD set which contains a concert held on Summer Breeze Festival , live concert held in Krakow, Poland, in 1996 during their "Passage" world tour and also a bootleg concert shot in Illinois during the "Ceremony Of Opposites" tour...
(DVD, 2003) - Telepath (Single, 2004)
- On Earth (single, 2004)
- Era OneEra One (album)Era One is the 2006 album by Samael. It saw the band return to the Century Media label. It includes a bonus disc, "Lesson in Magic #1," which is entirely instrumental and done solely by band member Xy. The album itself was recorded in 2002, and the bonus disc a year later...
(2006) (project featuring Vorph and Xy) - Aeonics — An Anthology (Compilation, 2007)
- Valkyries New Ride (Single, 2007)
- Illumination (Single, 2009)
- Xytras released a neo-classicalNeo-classical metalNeo-classical metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that is heavily influenced by classical music. It refers to a very technical performanceExact quote from the french text: "L'arrivée du néoclassique remet au goût du jour la virtuosité et le travail de l'instrument", « Les secrets du metal-...
remixRemixA remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
of Passage and Exodus in 19981998 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...
. It was distributed as a bonus disc on the american edition of Passage. - AntigodAntigodAntigod is an EP by Swiss heavy metal band, Samael.-Track listing:# Antigod# Into the Pentagram # Reign of Light # Slavocracy # Antigod # Ten Thousand Years -Personnel:*Vorph: Vocals, Guitars...
(EP, 2010)