SAMAEL — Above (review)

SAMAEL — Above album cover Album · 2009 · Black Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
Warthur
If completely changing your band's sound - like Samael did when they went from being pioneers of the 1990s black metal boom to a slick, occult-tinged industrial metal outfit - is a brave, risky move, then reversing that shift is an even riskier proposal. This is what Samael attempt on Above, a sudden and surprising gear change back to black metal (with occasional bits of more traditional metal and industrial influences here and there to add a little spice). It certainly succeeds at temporarily refreshing their sound, though it feels rather bland and generic compared to the startlingly original doomy black metal of their early albums; the use of programmed drums in particular has aged poorly.
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