Samael (band)
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Samael () is a Swiss
metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...
band formed in Sion in 1987. Their current lineup includes founding members and brothers Vorphalack (Vorph) and Xytraguptor (Xy), guitarist Drop and bassist Ales. A few other members have been part of the band throughout the years: Rodolph H. (keyboards, 1993–1995), Kaos (guitar, 1996–2001), Mas (bass, 1991–2014) and Makro (guitar, 2002–2018). Samael is known to incorporate
metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...
, industrial, electronic and
symphonic music An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...
into their sound and mix it with massive beats, martial rhythms and up-tempo or
blast beat A blast beat is a type of drum beat that originated in hardcore punk and grindcore, and is often associated with certain styles of extreme metal, namely black metal, death metal and their respective subgenres,Adam MacGregor, '' PCP Torpedo'' ...
. One of the key elements that distinguishes Samael from traditional metal bands is the use of a
drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...
in studio and live on stage.


History


Early years and first two albums, 1987–1993

Although Vorphalack jammed and played with his friend Pat on drums since April 1987, it was when his brother Xytraguptor first sat behind the drums kit on 14 July 1988 that Samael really started. The two brothers soon recorded and released a 7-inch EP with two original songs "Into the Pentagram" and "The Dark" and a cover from Hellhammer "The Third of the Storm". They played a few shows in Germany, France, Switzerland and Poland before entering Taurus Studio in Geneva to record their first album. Samael became a trio when Masmiseîm joined the band as a bass player, the new formation played its first show in Poland. '' Worship Him'' (1991) become the first album released by Osmose Productions one year after being recorded. The band played a bunch of shows to promote the album including a short eastern tour with
Napalm Death Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in Meriden, West Midlands, in 1981. None of the band's original members have been in the group since 1986, but since ''Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mi ...
which ended with two shows in Moscow. Samael signed with Century Media and record their second album at T&T Studio in Gelsenkirchen with producer Waldemar Sorychta. ''
Blood Ritual A blood ritual is any ritual that involves the intentional release of blood. Description Some blood rituals involve two or more parties cutting themselves or each other followed by the consumption of blood. The participants may regard the rel ...
'' is released on 1 December 1992, a month later the band embarked on their first European Tour with label mates Unleashed and
Tiamat In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( or , ) is the primordial sea, mating with Abzû (Apsu), the groundwater, to produce the gods in the Babylonian epic '' Enûma Elish'', which translates as "when on high". She is referred to as a woman, an ...
. The 20-date tour ended in Belgium with an indoor festival with
Fear Factory Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1989. Throughout the band's career, they have released ten full-length albums and have evolved through a succession of sounds, all in their main style of industrial met ...
,
Brutal Truth Brutal Truth was an American grindcore band from New York City, formed by ex-Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, and Stormtroopers of Death bass guitarist Dan Lilker in 1990. The group disbanded in 1999, but reformed in 2006 and continued to release mu ...
and
Agnostic Front Agnostic Front is an American hardcore punk band from New York City. Founded in 1980, the band is considered an important influence on the New York hardcore scene, as well as a pioneer of the crossover thrash genre. History First era (1980– ...
among other bands.


''Ceremony of Opposites'' and ''Rebellion'', 1994–1995

Recorded and mixed in 10 days in Woodhouse Studios in Hagen (Germany) '' Ceremony of Opposites'' was produced by Waldemar Sorychta and released on 18 February 1994. The addition of keyboards in every song is accountable for the recruiting of Rodolph H who joined the band as keyboards player. A few samples could be heard throughout the album and most notably the voice of
Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...
on the song "Crown" and the beginning of "The Hut on the Hen's Legs (Baba Yaga)" of the Pictures at an Exhibition from
Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (; ; ; – ) was a Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five (composers), The Five." He was an innovator of Music of Russia, Russian music in the Romantic music, Romantic period and strove to achieve a ...
in "Baphomet's Throne". The crunchy and aggressive guitar sound, the keyboards orchestration, the metallic sound of the drums and over the top screaming vocal turned it into a seminal black metal album. The band were invited by Martin Eric Ain (
Celtic Frost Celtic Frost () was a Swiss metal music, heavy metal band from Zürich. They are remembered for their strong influence on the development of several metal subgenres, particularly extreme metal,Bukszpan, Daniel. ''The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal' ...
) to play at the Lucifer Rising convention in Zurich in March before they joined the Full of Hate Festival tour headlined by Morbid Angel and
Cannibal Corpse Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1988, now based in Tampa, Florida. The band has released sixteen studio albums, two box sets, four video albums, and two live albums. The band has had little radio ...
. A video for the song "Baphomet's Throne" was shot during that tour. The tour was followed by Samael's first headliner tour in Europe with
Grave A grave is a location where a cadaver, dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is burial, buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of buria ...
, Massacra and Therion as supports. The same year the band did their first US tour: 23 dates in 23 days up and down the East Coast as support for Cannibal Corpse and continued that tour in Europe for another 41 shows. February 1995 the band was back in studio to record the ''Rebellion'' mini album. Two new tracks, two re-arranged songs and a cover version of "I Love the Dead" from
Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...
. "Static Journey" were the first songs Samael recorded with programmed drums. The Rebellion Tour started in Europe with Sentenced and ended with two shows in Mexico.


''Passage'' and ''Exodus'', 1996–1998

The band decided to work with a drum machine after Rodolph left the band. Xy moved from the drums to the keyboards and programmed all the drums parts. Kaos joined the band as second guitarist and the band went back to Woodhouse Studios for a 3 weeks session. The first show with the drum machine and new line up was on 26 June in Z7 in Pratteln (Switzerland) as opener for
Kreator Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current line-up consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mille Petrozza, Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen Reil, Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli- ...
, the following day Samael played in
With Full Force Full Force (previously With Full Force) is a German heavy metal music, heavy metal and hardcore punk-oriented music festival held annually since 1994. Lineups 2014 4 - 6 July Amon Amarth, Architects (British band), Architects, Being as an O ...
festival alongside Ministry,
Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...
, and
Front Line Assembly Front Line Assembly (FLA) is a Canadian electro-industrial band formed by Bill Leeb in 1986 in music, 1986 after leaving Skinny Puppy. FLA has developed its own sound incorporating elements of electronic body music and electro-industrial. The ba ...
. ''Passage'' was released on 19 August 1996 and a full European tour followed with support from label mates Moonspell and Rotting Christ. A video was shot in Berlin for the song "Jupiterian Vibe" directed by Andreas Marshall. Samael co-headlined the 1997 Full of Hate Festival tour with
Obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...
, Entombed, Crowbar and Strapping Young Lad completed the line up. Later on that year they took part in another tour festival across Germany alongside Kreator, Sodom, Exodus, Grip Inc. and
In Flames In Flames is a Swedish Heavy metal music, heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990 out of the Swedish death metal, Swedish death metal scene. Their lineup has changed several times, with vocalist Anders Frid ...
. That summer the band played for the first and only time at Dynamo Open Air in Eindhoven as well as Wacken, Grasspop, and With Full Force festival. In the meantime Xy released on his own label a neo classical version of ''Passage'' under the name ''Xytras''. ''Exodus'' mini album was released in April 1998, in June Samael played in Istanbul with Kreator.


''Eternal'', ''Black Trip'' DVD, 1999–2003

In
Montreux Montreux (, ; ; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, Swiss municipality and List of towns in Switzerland, town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Swiss Alps, Alps. It belongs to the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut (district), Riviera-Pays ...
(Switzerland) at the Mountain Studios, Samael recorded their new album with rock producer David Richards. The sound and the overall production of ''Eternal'' was very much rooted in the 1970s while the approach of the songs was very contemporary. The gap between the opening song "Year Zero" and "Infra Galaxia" or between the
Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
sounding "Radiant Star" and the electronic stamped "Ways" is very wide. The band toured in Europe with Grip Inc. and
Lacuna Coil Lacuna Coil is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. Since their formation in 1994, the group has had two name changes, being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal, and they have recorded ten studio albums, two extended plays, two l ...
before going to the US with Dimmu Borgir, Monstrosity and Epoch of Unlight. The following summer they played with
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...
at Artefact Fest in France. Early 2002 Kaos departed from the band and was replaced by Makro. With the new line-up, the band played a couple of shows before the Summer Breeze Open Air which became the core of Samael's first DVD '' Black Trip''. In the meantime, Vorph and Xy worked on an electronic project which was released in 2006 under the name Era One. In January 2003 Samael was back on the road with
Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
and Without Face for the Redemption Tour, the tour then went to the US with Strapping Young Lad and Cathedral as supporting acts.


''Reign of Light'' and ''Solar Soul'', 2004–2008

'' Reign of Light'' was recorded and mixed during the summer 2004, first single "Telephath" came with a video and was released in September, the album was out in October. The band toured Europe with support acts Flowing Tears for the first part of the tour and Dagoba for the Scandinavian dates. Samael later supported
Oomph! Oomph! is a German Rock music, rock band from Wolfsburg, formed in 1989. The band pioneered the movement. Their work contains lyrics in both English and German, with a shift towards German exclusively on recent albums (''GlaubeLiebeTod'', '' ...
in Germany. The next year, the single "On Earth" which featured a cover of "I Feel you" from
Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...
was released. The band played summer festivals in Europe and Switzerland. In Paleo Festival in Nyon (Switzerland) they played before
Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, drummer Christoph ...
, four songs of that performance ended up on a bonus DVD for a special edition of ''Reign of Light''. In Paris, the band received an award from ''
Hard Rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
'' magazine for best industrial album. After a European tour with
Obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...
the band finished recording their following album. In March 2007 Samael opened for
Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
in Montana (Switzerland) where they played two new songs for the first time: "On the Rise", and "Slavocracy". '' Solar Soul'' was mixed in Sweden by Stefan Glaumann and was released on 1 June through
Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast Records is a German record label with subsidiary, subsidiaries located in Germany, the United States and Brazil. It was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Donzdorf. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on ...
worldwide. In July they played with
Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...
at Rock Oz'Arenes. In March 2008 they were back on the road with Gothminister and Sybreed. During the summer Vorph and Xy went to Sweden to mix with Frederic Nordström a side project that was recorded a long time ago. In September they returned to the US with Amorphis and Virgin Black. After that tour, as the final mastering for the side project was done it was decided that it would become the next Samael album.


''Above'' and ''Lux Mundi'', 2009–2014

Recorded in 1999, mixed in 2008, ''Above'' was released on 6 March 2009. It was described by the band as a tribute to their metal roots and they listed some of their influences on the CD booklet:
Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
,
AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...
,
Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...
,
Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...
,
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...
,
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
, Impaled Nazarene,
Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...
,
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
, Bathory. Faster and more extreme than anything Samael released previously, the album surprised the critics and fans alike but it sent the band on a 90 more dates tour. First in Europe with Deicide, Vader, Devian and The Amenta, then in the US with
Carcass Carcass or Carcase (both pronounced ) may refer to: * Dressed carcass, the body of a livestock animal ready for butchery, after removal of skin, visceral organs, head, feet etc. *Carrion, the decaying dead body of an animal or human being, also c ...
,
Suicide Silence Suicide Silence is an American deathcore band from Riverside, California, Riverside, California. The band was established in 2002, and has released seven studio albums, three EPs, and nineteen music videos. They were awarded the ''Revolver (ma ...
and
Psycroptic Psycroptic are an Australian technical death metal band formed in Hobart, Tasmania in 1999. Mainstay members are the Haley brothers, drummer Dave Haley, Dave and guitarist Joe. Their lead vocalist, Jason Peppiatt, joined in 2004. In 2008 they ...
, and finally all across Europe with
Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an Epic poetry, epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the Bible, biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their ex ...
and Ghost Brigade. ''Lux Mundi'' was co produced by Xy and Waldemar Sorychta, it was recorded in Switzerland and mixed in England by Russ Russel. First the band released a mini album ''Antigod'' which featured two live tracks, a remix and new version of the song "Into the Pentagram" from their first album '' Worship Him'' (1991). Samael toured in Europe with Finntroll and Rotting Christ in support of that mini album. A video was shot in Sweden by Patrick Ulaeus for the song "Luxferre" (Latin for "light carrier"). On 29 April 2011 Lux Mundi was released. The band later toured in Europe with
Keep of Kalessin Keep of Kalessin is a Norwegian extreme metal band from Trondheim, formed in 1993. The group's early lineup consisted of Ghash on vocals, Obsidian C. (the group founder) on guitars and keyboards, Warach on bass, and Vyl on drums. They released t ...
and Melechesh. Xy was asked by the city of Sion (Switzerland) to compose a piece of music for a sound and light show to be played in two consecutive summers. Recorded in Prague with 100 classical musicians that piece of music was released on CD under the name ''Sedunum''. In 2013, Samael played the album ''Passage'' in its entirety at Inferno Festival Switzerland and at Metal Hammer Paradise in Germany. Bass player and long time Samael member Mas left the band in November 2014, he was replaced by Drop (ex-Sybreed).


Return to the past, 2015–2017

20 years after it was first released, Samael celebrated their album '' Ceremony of Opposites'' (1994) by playing the entire album live over 40 times in festivals in Europe and US and with short tours in Canada, Russia and Poland. The fact that the album was performed with a drum machine instead of real drums like it was on the original recording created a polemic within the older fans of the band. In May 2017 the members of Samael launched a side project W.A.R. (Worship and Ritual), in order to perform their first two, more primitive black metal albums, live. In this group, the original members adopted their old stage names (Vorphalack and Xytraguptor) and Xy returned to playing drums. The first W.A.R. concerts happened in Les Caves du Manoir in Martigny (Switzerland) were the band performed for two consecutive nights.


''Hegemony'', 2017–present

The new album ''Hegemony'' was released on 13 October 2017. Before hand the band released lyrics video for the songs "Angel of Wrath" and "Red Planet", and a video for "Black Supremacy". In early 2018, a video with live footage was released for Rite of Renewal.


Members

;Current * Michael "Vorph" Locher – guitars, vocals (1987–present) * Alexandre "Xytras" Locher – drums, drum programming, keyboards, samples (1988–present) * Thomas "Drop" Betrisey – guitars (2018–present), bass (2015–2018) * Ales Campanelli – bass (2020–present) ;Former * Pat Charvet – drums (1987–1988) * Rodolphe "H." Bellina – keyboards, samples (1993–1996) * Frédéric "Kaos" Miniutti – guitars (1996–2002) * Christophe "Mas" Mermod – bass (1991–2015) * Marco "Makro" Rivao – guitars (2002–2018) * Pierre "Zorrac" Carroz – bass (2018–2020)


Timeline


Discography


Albums


Compilation albums


EPs


DVD


Other affiliated releases


Music videos


References


External links

*
Facebook page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samael Century Media Records artists Swiss industrial metal musical groups Swiss heavy metal musical groups Swiss black metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1987 Swiss musical quartets Nuclear Blast artists Season of Mist artists 1987 establishments in Switzerland Symphonic black metal musical groups Sibling musical groups People from Sion, Switzerland Swiss symphonic metal musical groups English-language musical groups from Switzerland