Samael
Above

For the first time, Samael leaves me with a bitter taste. The vague hint of artistic decline perceived in the last "Solar Soul," which overall was a decent work, has now taken shape in this "Above," the latest endeavor of the Swiss group.

According to what was previewed in an interview with Vorph, the band leader, "Above" is a return to the band's more aggressive and powerful side (in other words, more metal), which had been set aside for many years in favor of heavy electronic/industrial influences. Not only that, but it was even described by the leader himself as "The missing link between Ceremony and Passage", the intermediate spirit between the two masterpieces dating back about fifteen years ago. What more could you ask for? It's certain that citing the two highest peaks of the entire Samael project, hopes were heightened quite a bit for "Above," especially among long-time fans who are particularly tied to the group's dark roots.

Despite everything, in many cases, returns to origins result in failure, and apparently, "Above" is no exception: besides being not very spontaneous and at times rather forced, it is especially light years away from the aforementioned masterpieces, not to mention the poor songwriting affecting much of the proposed tracks. The electronic influences disappear to make way for simple and immediate keyboard interventions, much less audible than in any other work of the band; "Above" is thus free from the avant-garde and industrial germ present in "Eternal" and the albums to follow. On the contrary, it has nothing to do with the seminal "Ceremony" and "Passage," since it lacks precisely the malice, the impenetrable darkness, the sick and surreal atmospheres, and the granite riffs perfectly interlocked with each other. In simple terms, it lacks genius, let alone inspiration.

"Above" falls short on all fronts, starting from the guitars, an almost essential element given the more 'metal-oriented' sound: it is difficult to distinguish a truly memorable riff (as was the case with the magnificent "Rain"), and consequently, the electrifying energy of the platter quickly vanishes in the shadow of melodies that, although solid and rocky, are not very convincing. As if that were not enough, the production is certainly not optimal, in fact, many times the guitar sound is so confused as to resemble an unpleasant amorphous buzzing, while the drums play a disastrous role in much of the album, being apparently urgent, hammering and static, but above all intrusive. It's not rare for the other instruments (and Vorph's scream) to be muted and smothered by a poor drum programming.

The best episodes occur where these defects are felt the least. This is the case with "Polygames", "Virtual War," "Illumination" (single extracted) and especially "Black Hole". These tracks, while not being the pinnacle of genius, can be listened to without too much difficulty: power and effectiveness make "Polygames" and "Virtual War" two small gems in a generally unpleasant context, while an catchy approach, combined with sidereal atmospheres, makes the other tracks dynamic or at least interesting. As for the remaining six tracks, they fluctuate between worrying mediocrity and the absence of a precise musical direction: we can cite the opener "Under One Flag," endowed with a weak main riff lacking bite, "God's Snake" (perhaps one of Samael's worst performances, truly horrible), and "Dark Side," which, among other things, is an attempt to modernize an old song from the first album "Worship Him" (namely "The Black Face"), with the only and terrible result of stripping it of its original rotten and evil feeling, rendering it bland and far from 'avant-garde.' The rest remains (alas) on similar levels.

With this album, Samael gives the impression of being a band poor in ideas, confused and in a phase of change, and therefore in search of a new personality with which to express themselves more freshly and incisively. Unfortunately for them and those who have always followed them, "Above" represents only a stagnant and negligible transitional episode, devoid of the polish of any previous album but, perhaps (and hopefully), the first seed of a new (im?)probable evolution of their extraordinary musical universe. Who knows...