Search - Samael :: Above

Back to the roots

Kaligula | PA | 04/22/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Murat definetly did his research.



Above is a combination of everything from SAmaels first album up to and including Passage. Fortunately it excludes the past few releases which were basically garbage.



While we may never hear the brutality of Ceremony again or the majesty of Eternal, Above combines these elements w/ some decent vocals although not the Ceremony type.



If you're anything like and passed opn the last 2-3 albums don't be fooled again, this album is worth a listen."

\m/ This record deserves a 6th star! \m/

madFive | Atlanta, GA | 04/30/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow - It's actually something new in BlackMetal!



This record is definitely one to pick up if you like blast-beats - not so much if you want some bland electronic music like Samael's recent outings. I'm a huge blackmetal fan, and occasionally listen to some darker electronic music; been putting up with the last few records from these guys, but missed the greatness of their earlier work. They just completely redeemed themselves! I wasn't expecting this sound at all when I bought the record, but it ended up being the best surprise I've had in a new CD in ages! This one will be staying in my listening rotation for the foreseeable future.



The new sound mixes the semi-stale electronic sound of the last few records (ends up being some faint background ambience), the same vocal styling that has pretty-much always been black-metal sounding and was fairly out of place in the old electronic sound, and an incredibly heavy dose of old-school blackmetal blasting! The drums on this record are a huge highlight - insanely fast and technical; I am assuming the drums are all programmed, and they don't actually have a drummer that can play this fast, which makes the music all the more interesting (not much less so if he does physically play this fast). The guitars are a wash of perfectly distorted melody, while being the most cliché part of the record as far as the black-metal theme goes, they still have some great catchy melodies that keep the music flowing really well - I've even caught myself humming these melodies a few times in the past week. Add in some stop-on-a-dime precision and a perfect mix that makes every punch hurt and keeps the vocals in the background where they belong, and you have some extremely catchy songs that should seem like a real breath of fresh air to anyone who has been a little bored with the blackmetal coming out in the last few years.



\m/ I can't recommend this record enough. Buy it now. \m/"