Samael
Lux Mundi

Talking about Samael always leads to getting too verbose, and this review will be no exception. The reason is quite simple: describing one of their albums without considering the entire evolutionary journey preceding it is absurd. How can one understand (even before describing) a “Passage” without considering a “Ceremony of Opposites,” and how can one talk about “Reign of Light” without considering “Eternal”? For an admirer of this group, it would at least be spontaneous to connect the albums together, as if they were a single design; on the other hand, the ability to reinvent themselves by perfectly embedding ideas step by step has always been Samael’s quality.

Or almost.

Indeed, it was so at least until the formidable doublet “Eternal”-“Reign of Light”, in 1999 and 2004 respectively: these marked the longest and bravest step (albeit not the best) for the band, projecting them into the challenging (and flashy) territories of electronics and industrial contamination, always in the name of a certain catchiness that, in the right doses, never hurts. Their horizon had never been so clear. Unfortunately, however, for reasons unknown to us, the wonders soon ran out. Something started to go wrong...

“Solar Soul” (2007), in my opinion far from being a bad work (right now I'd rate it a modest 3.5), seemed to have no other goal than to recycle the same material already excellently worked and consolidated by their predecessors; indeed, it was the first time Samael did not look to the future, to renewal, as they were accustomed to do; yet, with its powerful choruses and its martial and groovy pace, “Solar Soul” still sounded irresistible, unmistakably Samael, which once again led me to trust in their creativity.

However, doubts were quick to reappear, and hopes were literally razed to the ground by that terrifying wall of sound (unfortunately in a negative sense) that is “Above” (2009), a record that at best leaves me bewildered. What on earth were they trying to sell us? Such a radical, forced, and poorly executed change could only be symptomatic of an identity crisis, no longer so latent: something like “we are running out of ideas, don’t know what to do anymore, why not make an infernal noise and pass it as the classic long-awaited return to origins so everyone is happy and satisfied?”.

Only two years have passed since that blunder, and already I find myself having this “Lux Mundi” in my hands. I didn't know what to expect anymore, but surely, upon listening to a preview (and also live) of a track like “Antigod”, Samael's intent was not to redo another “Above”: the severe and ruthless rhythm, the horrific atmosphere emanated by the keyboards, and Vorph's malice at the microphone, more bestial and iconoclastic than ever, cannot help but bring to mind the glories of “Passage”, finally tributed in a worthy manner. What chills, guys. Almost unbelievable.

It’s a shame, though, that “Lux Mundi” can only provide chills by virtue of nostalgic recalls to past sounds, and I wouldn't really call that a merit. “Lux Mundi” is simply another Samael record, neither more nor less. Whether it is closer to “Passage”, “Solar Soul” or “Eternal” doesn’t matter: it's another Samael record playing at being Samael. Craftsmanship now feels at home, and what “Lux Mundi” offers is good craft, there’s no denying. Perhaps I am just playing the part of the insatiable grumbler again, but did we really need this? For the band, amidst a famine of ideas, taking quite a few steps back probably did some good. I’m happy for them but the result, while not being unpleasant (not as much as “Above” at least!), remains what it is.

Fundamentally, with “Lux Mundi” the band reworks with a certain deftness (and familiarity) the same formula of “Solar Soul” and “Reign Of Light”, hurling everything into the black holes of “Passage”: we will therefore deal with the usual concise and direct tracks, with a slowed and martial pace (decidedly effective live, mind you), this time, however, illuminated by a sick, amorphous light typical of their most famous masterpiece. In short, there is a great reshuffle of cards at play which in some cases is quite successful: “Antigod”, “Luxferre”, “Soul Invictus”, and especially the excellent “In The Deep,” with its tribal background so reminiscent of the sideral “Jupiterian Vibe,” can be listened to and relistened to on loop.

The rest of the album remains extremely compact and homogeneous in form (like every other Samael record) but very erratic in ideas: in the absence of real novelties to flaunt to the listener, the only goal to make an impact is in an almost frenetic quest for the catchy chorus, which unfortunately comes only occasionally, thus burning a good portion of the tracks in a static theatricality that becomes redundant over time. “Of War” is a clear example of this: it's practically the darker version of “Ave!” (from “Solar Soul”), same obsessive rhythm, same pompous synths, same growled chorus, same urge to hit skip after the first chorus.

The keyboard interventions in the negligible “Pagan Trance” border on the kitsch, while “For A Thousand Years” starts off great but ends up spilling into completely anonymous solutions. The remaining tracks are neither shameful nor commendable, and in any case, they focus more on impact rather than expressiveness, undoubtedly the unwelcome guest of this album. And what about the concluding “The Truth Is Marching On”? After three slow and dragging quarters of an hour, here are Samael bidding us a mocking farewell with a surprisingly fast and dynamic track, successfully nailed; my God, but did you really have to wake up/us just now?!

Once again, therefore, the grand coup wasn't achieved. In its entirety, “Lux Mundi” may remind one of “Passage” because of the arrangements, but in terms of expressiveness (and freshness of ideas), we are a couple of parsecs away. Sometimes I wonder what could have happened if Samael had decided to knead all the good ideas that are certainly not lacking in “Solar Soul,” “Above,” and this “Lux Mundi” into a single album, instead of diluting everything over multiple releases within a few years. Probably we would have obtained the worthy continuation of their evolution, but who can say? The deed is done now, and what remains is a handful of albums to properly sift through and a band that may have lost sight of its genius, but certainly not its grit. In the meantime, I gladly return for the umpteenth time to a certain old shining kingdom.

3.5/5. That 0.5 is purely sentimental.