Samael – Lux Mundi

Is there anyone out there who did believe that Switzerland could produce any great metal bands? Back then I believe that none of us could believe that Celtic frost, Coroner and later Samael are coming from Switzerland. And nowadays their last attraction is Eluveitie. I was always surprised with the originality of Swiss metal groups. I don’t think I must say anything about the above groups. The history does speak on behalf of all of them.

The story of Coroner and Celtic Frost cannot be denied by anyone. Yet the story of those guys from Sion is a bit confusing. The Swiss trio surprised us all with their first albums. They were raw and really heavy. The evolution of their music was listenable in each one of their songs. From their blackest and bleak debut “Worship Him” to the “Ceremony of the Opposites” they evolve their music through better production each time. The riffs were heavy and their vocals evolve more and more. They become deeper and more voluptuous and the orchestration was more epic and still beautiful. Their fans were from the extreme background of metal and then came their “Passage” into a different musical pattern which knocked us all into deep thinking. Still dizzy from the new Samael I was standing skeptical from their attempt into more industrial and electronic paths. It takes a lot of time listening again and again in their new material and trying to comprehend their unique music. Then the “Eternal” change into the electronic music world was complete. I left behind every argument about the experimentation and embrace the new, but still epic, Samael.

From then till now their music style is the same electronic and industrial metal hybrid. None can deny they are pioneers on each and every step; they take metal music further its boundaries. Today I could listen to these albums -”Passage” and “Eternal”- and feel a bit of nostalgia. In my opinion these were their greatest ones. Their next albums step on the same safe path, but they never could achieve the feeling of these two. Don’t let me be misunderstood; I believe they are great albums for someone into this kind of music. The exception is the “Above” album. It could be called as a return to their black metal era. Of course with the right amount of electronic yet it is the heaviest of their electronic period.

And now in 2011 we have the release of “Lux Mundi”. We might consider this album as an attempt of Samael to keep the place they earn in the music industry with the “Passage”. I know I am having this thought after some time listening to the album. Though it is a true and decent material that anyone could distinguish that this is Samael. For the fans of their electronic era I believe this is still a masterpiece. You can hear epic songs and brilliant orchestrations like this of “In Gold We Trust”. Some of the highlights in “Lux Mundi” except from the introductory track, which is always worth listening, are the fast prologue of “The Truth Is Marching On” and the army march of “Of War” and of “For Thousand Years”. I must not forget the “Pagan Trance”, because this could worthy be a track on the “Passage”. The bombastic rhythm is here once more and their ethereal choirs of the keyboards still travel you to extra terrestrial grounds and to some terrestrial oriental paths. There is a last detection to be made. The production is more firm than it was in “Passage”. The question still buzzes in my head. Is there a bright light in the world of Samael?