Samael – Ceremony Of Opposites & Rebellion
Century Media – 2005
By Russell Garwood
This reissue of
Samael’s seminal 1994 album
Ceremony Of Opposites and subsequent 1995 EP
Rebellion comes courtesy of Century Media. Marking a transition in the band’s career, this period sees them toy with keys for the first time, but in a fairly subtle manner. The sound is still guitar driven, with the vaguely melodic, always strongly rhythmic, melodic riffs driving a powerful collection of songs. The synths are often confined to the background, but not in a purely atmospheric role, taking a more structured form, and occasionally foraying into lead territory. Under this, the mid paced drums are varied and well-performed, and the bass is nothing unusual, but fairly prominent and fitting. The vocals are a black metal rasp with occasional more guttural moments. It is the varied and absorbing song-writing that really makes this, however, there’s always something happening, and after a few spins it all begins to flow nicely as you become familiar with the sound.
On
Ceremony Of Opposites,
Samael manage a trick balance between fairly raw and heavy black metal, with great atmosphere and pervasive synths. It is impressive that
Ceremony was released in 1994, as it doesn’t seem twelve years old. By the time
Rebellion comes around the keys take an even more prominent role, adding a bombastic feel to the more polished tracks. If you already have the original releases of these two, there’s little point in getting this reissue, apart from two new versions of songs on the
Rebellion EP for purist fans. The CDs have been well packaged, however, with full slipcase and decent artwork. For black metal fans who don’t already have these releases, however, they come highly recommended; seminal, wonderfully executed stuff.
7.5/10
UM’s Review Rating Scale
Official Century Media website
Official Samael website
