''Above'' is the eighth studio album from the Swiss heavy metal band

Samael Samael ( he, סַמָּאֵל, ''Sammāʾēl'', "Venom/Poison of God"; ar, سمسمائيل, ''Samsama'il'' or ar, سمائل, label=none, ''Samail''; alternatively Smal, Smil, Samil, or Samiel) is an archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic ...

, released on 6 March 2009 by

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...

Background

Earlier in 2009 the band began promoting a virtual

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

band from their Myspace profile. The band was called "Above" and featured computer-designed band members in a virtual world, whose lyrics and songs were written by Samael. Later through Myspace, the band announced that they would be taking their side-project Above and turning it into their newest Samael album. Commenting on the album, Vorph said: "After 20 years, we've tried to do an album that would represent what SAMAEL is all about and we did 'Solar Soul'. We feel now it is the right time to emindthe people where we come from and that's exactly what 'Above' will do. It is like an enhanced version of our three or four first albums, maybe the missing link between '

Ceremony of Opposites ''Ceremony of Opposites'' is the third album by Swiss extreme metal band Samael. This is their second release with Century Media Records after leaving French label Osmose Productions. Although the band's subject matter was similar to previous r ...

' and '

Passage Passage, The Passage or Le Passage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Passage'' (2008 film), a documentary about Arctic explorers * ''Passage'' (2009 film), a short movie about three sisters * ''The Passage'' (1979 film), starring ...

'. With the '

Era One ''Era One'' is the 2006 album by Samael. It saw the band return to the Century Media A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'' ...

' project we've tried to work on different influences; with 'Above' we stripped everything down."

Track listing

Notes

The track "Dark Side" is a reworked version of "The Black Face" from the album ''

Worship Him Worship is an act of religion, religious wikt:devotion, devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is m ...

''.

Personnel

Samael

* Vorphalack –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

* Makro – guitar * Masmiseîm – bass * Xytraguptor –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, programming,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

Technical personnel

* Kris Fredriksson –

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

Fredrik Nordström Björn Tom Fredrik Nordström (born 5 January 1967) is a Swedish musician and record producer, best known as the guitarist of heavy metal band Dream Evil. Nordström is one of the leading melodic death metal and power metal producers in Sweden ...

– mixing * Erik Broheden – mastering * Patrick Pidoux – artwork, layout, design

Chart positions

References

{{Authority control 2009 albums Samael (band) albums Nuclear Blast albums