I have just realised that come next 2012 Samael will have been going for 25 years. That’s quite an achievement and even more so when you consider how stable their line up has been in all that time. Formed in 1987 by Vorph who was joined the year after with long time collaborator Xy, the group have solidified their position as being one of the forerunners of ever shifting musical extremity, forging their career with a solid output which sees them now releasing their tenth studio album. This really is cause for celebration.
I am sure I was not alone in being somewhat taken aback by the unrelenting savagery of last album ‘Above,’ it was a bit of a shock to the system and blacker than the tar pits of hell themselves. Being Samael it should come as no surprise that there is a bit of a shift between ceremonies and the new album takes a side-step rather than continues down previously trodden paths. We got a taster in the form of EP ‘Antigod’ recently and the new opus ‘Lux Mundi’ (that’s Light Of The World) contains this and another 11 cuts in a similar vein.
We batter into things with ‘Luxferre’ which settles into a commanding mid-paced romp etched with Vorph’s austere vocals. As ever on this album he really does sound like he is ordering a ancient army to crush, destroy and take no prisoners rather than singing lyrics to a mere album. Melody is enhanced by the keyboard flow and there is a feel of bristling indignation about things as the fist slamming rhythm gets hooks into you. It’s an incredibly strong opener and it makes you wonder if the group can keep the tempestuous tempo flowing throughout the album, being Samael though we should by now be aware that this is a band who don’t know the meaning of the word filler. Swirling into ‘Let My People Be’ on a melodic keyboard weave, we may well be now on the defensive theme wise but the thumping mindset of the song is still very much in attack mode. By the time we march into ‘Of War’ and get kicked in the nuts by ‘Antigod’ it is obvious how strong an album this is, every one of these tracks should be totally formidable live and the battlefield is literally strewn with crowd-pleasing future anthems in that respect. The problem with all this is it is very difficult to choose anything resembling a favourite number, but that’s hardly a complaint.
Makro’s jagged guitar assault keeps everything flowing and Xy’s dextrous percussion and electronic assault adds plenty to keep things both mighty and ever interesting. ‘Mother Night’ is probably the albums slowest number but is just as bombastic as everything else and like the night itself is full of mystery and intrigue. Rampant orchestration with a really brass laden bombast has ‘In Gold We Trust’ standing out as a bit of an adventurous treasure hunt and the clavichord sounding Bach imprint on final track ‘The Truth Is Marching On’ ends a formidable and impressive album. All I can really say at the end of the review is that this is another essential purchase on the old shopping list and I hope some live dates are soon announced on the back of it.
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