Nuclear Blast

Samael is one of those bands that has always preferred to forge their own path, independent of what is happening in the black metal genre, where the band has its roots. They've been dabbling with techno and electronic sounds for over half of their existence, though many still wish to judge them under the criteria of a black metal band. Perhaps all of the criticism finally had an effect on the band, as Above is in large part a black metal album.

On its first listen, Above basically sucker-punches you. Their last album had absolutely no black metal elements at all. There's no natural progression back into the band's former sound. It just falls on you like a ton of bricks and lets you deal with it on your own. Blackened riffs are everywhere, Vorph's vocals are deeper and raspier, Xy unleashes a ridiculous blast beat barrage... its quickly overwhelming. It almost gets to the point where one feels that the band is trying too hard, that they're forcing themselves to do this than let it come out naturally. The overall production is cranked to the extreme, basically destroying any sense of separation for the individual instruments in the mix. It's a cacophonous meat grinder, mixing everything into one hulking mass.

After a few listens Above does become easier to digest. Its hard to deny the infectious nature of Black Hole and Earth Country, though the songs tend to run together. Had this album come out right after Ceremony Of Opposites and before Passage, then it wouldn't had as much a problem finding a place in the band's catalogue. While it does maintain the deliberate mechanical coldness of the latter, it does lack the spark and dark flow of the former which I think older fans miss the most about the band. I'm not exactly sure who I'd recommend this album to. If you've been avoiding the band ever since they started toying with the electronic stuff, then Above probably won't make you regret your decision.


01. Under One Flag
02. Virtual War
03. Polygames
04. Earth Country
05. Illumination
06. Black Hole
07. In There
08. Dark Side
09. God's Snake
10. On Top Of It All
11. Black Hole (Verso mix) (bonus track)

Score: 6/10