Xytras
Passage

As singular as it is unexpected, this "Passage" is none other than the neoclassical instrumental version of the album of the same name created by the genius of Samael. This time the task is entirely up to Xytraguptor (later called Xytras and then Xy), who was initially the drummer of the band in its early black era, and later took care of both songwriting and keyboards.

The difference between the two albums cannot be overlooked: if from the very first seconds of the original Passage we were assaulted by powerful and granite riffs alongside the dark and gloomy sounds of the keyboards, here in the remake we are caressed by impetuous yet delicate notes of piano and synths. It is only natural to draw some comparisons with the original songs but I think it is wrong to evaluate them solely based on those: we are dealing with two totally different types of music, so it's better to study and enjoy this album as it is presented. And the result is excellent.

Xytraguptor has been extremely skillful in transposing the cold and violent sideral atmosphere of the original masterpiece into a more mellifluous, ethereal, and soft key, pleasant to every note. The emblem of this very interesting transformation is the opener "Regen" (the lyrics have been translated into German): a real cascade of shimmering notes, soaked with sweet yet melancholic poetry that envelop the listener in a whirlpool of astral emotions that, in the chorus, will glide over their skin like a spring rain.
And if in "Passage1" (let's call it that, the original one) we risked being swallowed by enormous and frightening black holes, in "Passage2" we will get lost as invisible dots in the romantic immensity of the cosmos, now accompanied by decisive and well-placed piano loops paired with bubbling synth-choirs ("Glänzendes Königreich"), now by decadent and captivating synth-violins ("Des Engels Untergang"), now by mysterious and unsettling images evoked by the frenetic and obsessive pace of "Die Vorher Kamen" and "Jupiterianische Schwingungen" and by the pouring progression of "Ein Mensch Im Kopf".

The mark of "Passage1" has not been entirely abandoned, then: traces of the original violence are still felt, only now they are not represented by the edgy sound of the guitar. What once appeared as amorphous and hallucinatory atmospheres now become contemplations of a desolate and vast yet wonderful lunar landscape, and it's precisely with this image that we could summarize the entire work reviewed here: the intense and bare candor of the small satellite and, opposed to it, the blackest void of space.

Flaws? In a couple of tracks the chorus is overused, but nothing more. The CD can appeal to almost everyone, considering that of Metal there's only the cover (if even that).

I can only recommend this little gem to those who want to savor new and strange emotions, to those who want to travel a bit further in their mind, and, of course, to those who want to see the other side of the album created with Samael. Rating: 4.5 but I give it a 4 only because, in any case, I consider the original "Passage" superior.