Samael - Lux Mundi [2011]

Bass drum is way too low in the mix. There's this fucked up double-bass thing happening in the first track, but it sounds like there's a second bass drum part playing something more simplistic on top of that... it confuses the ear and the fact that the drums are lower in the mix really doesn't help. The first track isn't all that catchy or gripping. Ugh... this is a pretty piss-poor start for the album... first four tracks are drudgery. This album is a massive disappointment. It's everything that I DON'T like about Samael. Boring songwriting. No energy. Run of the mill riffs with no catchiness at all.

Rating: 5

http://www.samael.info/Above/index.html

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Samael - Above [2009]

Whoa! Double bass and a Black Metal riff?! BLASTING!!! SWEEEEEET. Seems like this is going to be a throwback to their BM days. I'm kinda missing the techno/industrial aspect… I thought that they were going to try and blend the two more, but that's not the case at all. Production is really loud. When the drums are blasting, it feels like the pounding of a machine, pretty cool. It's nice to see them go back to their Black Metal roots, but I was kind of expecting this album to blend all that Samael had been experimenting with after their style change to Industrial Metal.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.samael.info/Above/index.html

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Samael - Solar Soul [2007]

Samael is back with the heavy guitars. Production quality is improved a bit. The keys are a bit more forward in the mix and the guitars sit a little farther back. First track is good so far. More orchestra effects, really cool. Wow, I'm really impressed by this album. The use of keys and effects is fucking phenomenal and makes the songs way more energetic than on their previous albums.

Rating: 8

http://www.samael.info/Above/index.html

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Samael - Era One [2006]

Nice piano / industrial intro with cool ethnic beats… hoping for good things. Absolutely not what I expected for the beginning of the first track. Starts of with a very anti-climactic ride cymbal and then goes into the industrial stuff but with no sign of guitars. It's actually pretty cool, different song-writing than I expected, so props go out for surprising me. 3rd track is promising good things with the intro. Seems like this album as a whole is going to move Samael deeper into the industrial genre and farther from metal. Still haven't heard any guitars at all yet, lol. Overall, interesting work, but slightly disappointed that there weren't any heavy guitars or anything… actually, there's virtually no guitar-work at all. Still, it takes the risk and is a good album when the mood for industrial music strikes me.

Rating: 7

http://www.samael.info/Above/index.html

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Samael - Reign of Light [2005]

Right off the bat, I am fucking impressed as hell. Unique instrument usage, powerful entry, great production, catchy, and heavy all at once… and that's just the first fucking track. The awesomeness seems like it will carry through to most of the album, judging by the second track. Tracks 4 and 5 are a bit more doomy, maybe even a little bit on the boring side. However, "Telepath" starts kicking ass. It begins to get a bit one-sided towards the middle-end of the album. Overall, it's creative, heavy, well-produced, and pretty well-written even though there's not much difference between the songs.

Rating: 7

http://www.samael.info/Above/index.html

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.