SAMAEL — Lux Mundi (review)

Album · 2011 · Industrial Metal

2.5/5 · 2011-10-27
J-Man

Despite their roots in old school black metal, Samael have moved pretty far from that label since their formation in 1987. On Lux Mundi the Swiss veterans sport a sleek and modern industrial black metal style with plenty of bombastic keyboards and electronics - quite a change from what we would've expected around the time of Worship Him! Although I have a great appreciation for Samael and their willingness to change and innovate their sound, I feel like Lux Mundi is boring industrial metal by-the-numbers, and fairly uninspired at that. This isn't a bad album by any stretch, but it lacks enough memorability and inspiration to really grab my attention.

Musically, we're dealing with industrial black metal with lots of symphonic overtones. There are real drums and guitars present, but they are often complimented by electronic beats and symphonic orchestrations. Although it's a rather cool idea, the music comes across as pretty sterile and uninspired to these ears. Lux Mundi is seriously lacking when it comes to memorable songwriting, and it can make this fifty minute album feel much longer than it actually is. The musicianship and production are both top-notch and professional, but that only carries so much weight when the compositions are so formulaic and generic.

Lux Mundi is a pretty passable album from Samael, and I'd really only recommend this to die-hard fans of the band and industrial black metal at large. This album doesn't offer many new ideas, and the forgettable compositions make it a pretty mediocre affair. The strong musicianship and production save this from the garbage bin, but the most I can give is still 2.5 stars.

more than 2 years ago
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Vehemency wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Don't know about any general opinion on "Worship Him" and "Blood Ritual" but all the people I'm daily in contacts with tend to dislike Samael's latter albums that came AFTER the two first ones. But it's knowingly up to what kind of people you talk to.

Wilytank wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Well, you might be kinda right. Ceremony of Opposites and Passage are album numbers 3 and 4 respectively.

J-Man wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Really? I always thought the first 4 albums by the band were the most highly regarded. I guess I must've been mistaken!

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

We I regard those two albums as part of their early output :-)

Wilytank wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Well, Ceremony of Opposites and Passage are considered their transitional albums and are generally viewed in much higher regard than Worship Him or Blood Ritual. You should check them out. There's quite a few people out there who call those two albums essential. ;)

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I don´t know anyone but the band themselves who thinks that LOL.

J-Man wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I haven't heard most of their more recent material, but I'm aware that their change in sound was a gradual one rather than a sudden one. My point with that part of the review was more to clarify that the band has changed a lot since their first few efforts and (IMO) it's not for the better. :-)

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Nope there was definitely a transition period. It´s been a while since I´ve listened to anything by Samael. The last album I listened to was "Passage". I also saw Samael live on the tour supporting that album.

Wilytank wrote:

more than 2 years ago

The change from Worship Him to their current style wasn't entirely sudden. Have you checked out Ceremony of Opposites or Passage?