Samael is a Swiss

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

band formed in 1987 in

Sion Sion may refer to * an alternative transliteration of Zion People * Sion (name) or Siôn, a Welsh and other given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Shion or Sion, a Japanese given name Pl ...

. The current line up of the band include founding members and brothers Vorphalack (Vorph) and Xytraguptor (Xy), guitarist Drop and bassist Ales. A few other members have been part of the band throughout the years: Rodolph H. (keyboards, 1993–1995), Kaos (guitar, 1996–2001), Mas (bass, 1991–2014) and Makro (guitar, 2002–2018). Samael is known to incorporate

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

and symphonic music into their sound and mix it with massive beats, martial rhythms and up-tempo or

blast beat A blast beat is a type of drum beat that originated in hardcore punk and grindcore, and is often associated with certain styles of extreme metal, namely black metal and death metal,Adam MacGregor, ''PCP Torpedo'' by Agoraphobic Nosebleed rev ...

. One of the key elements that distinguishes Samael from traditional metal bands is the use of a drum machine in studio and live on stage.

History

Early years and two first albums, 1987–1993

Although Vorphalack jammed and played with his friend Pat on drums since April 1987, it was when his brother Xytraguptor first sat behind the drums kit on 14 July 1988 that Samael really started. The two brothers soon recorded and released a 7-inch EP with two original songs "Into the Pentagram" and "The Dark" and a cover from

Hellhammer Hellhammer was a Swiss metal band from Nürensdorf, active from 1982 to 1984. Although the band's sound and style were heavily criticized and poorly reviewed during their active years, they have been widely praised in retrospect and are often r ...

"The Third of the Storm". They played a few shows in Germany, France, Switzerland and Poland before entering Taurus Studio in Geneva to record their first album. Samael became a trio when Masmiseîm joined the band as a bass player, the new formation played its first show in Poland. ''

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 ...

'' (1991) become the first album released by

Osmose Productions Osmose Productions is a French independent record label created in 1991 by Hervé Herbaut, after he had spent three years running a small mail order company. They specialize mainly in death and black metal bands. Many of the groups who began wit ...

one year after being recorded. The band played a bunch of shows to promote the album including a short eastern tour with

Napalm Death Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in 1981 in Meriden, West Midlands. None of the band's original members has been in the group since 1986. But since ''Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch ...

which ended with two shows in Moscow. Samael signed with

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'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

and record their second album at T&T Studio in Gelsenkirchen with producer Waldemar Sorychta. ''

Blood Ritual A blood ritual is any ritual that involves the intentional release of blood. A common blood ritual is the blood brother ritual, which started in ancient Europe and Asia. Two or more people, typically male, intermingle their blood in some way. Th ...

'' is released on 1 December 1992, a month later the band embarked on their first European Tour with label mates

Unleashed Unleashed may refer to: Art and entertainment Film and television * ''Unleashed'' (2001 film), a film featuring Jeff Anderson * ''Unleashed'' (2005 film), a 2005 martial arts film starring Jet Li * ''Unleashed'' (2016 film), a film starring ...

and

Tiamat In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( akk, or , grc, Θαλάττη, Thaláttē) is a primordial goddess of the sea, mating with Abzû, the god of the groundwater, to produce younger gods. She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial creati ...

. The 20-date tour ended in Belgium with an indoor festival with

Fear Factory Fear Factory is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1989. Throughout the band's career, they have released ten full-length albums and have evolved through a succession of sounds, all in their main style of industrial metal. ...

Brutal Truth Brutal Truth was an American grindcore band from New York City, formed by ex-Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, and Stormtroopers of Death bass guitarist Dan Lilker in 1990. The group disbanded in 1999, but reformed in 2006 and continued to release musi ...

and

Agnostic Front Agnostic Front is an American hardcore punk band from New York City. Founded in 1980, the band is considered an important influence on the New York hardcore scene, as well as a pioneer of the crossover thrash genre. History First era (1980–19 ...

among other bands.

''Ceremony of Opposites'' and ''Rebellion'', 1994–1995

Recorded and mixed in 10 days in Woodhouse Studios in Hagen (Germany) '' Ceremony of Opposites'' was produced by Waldemar Sorychta and released on 18 February 1994. The addition of keyboards in every song is accountable for the recruiting of Rodolph H who joined the band as keyboards player. A few samples could be heard throughout the album and most notably the voice of

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pro ...

on the song "Crown" and the beginning of "The Hut on the Hen's Legs (Baba Yaga)" of the

Pictures at an Exhibition ''Pictures at an Exhibition'', french: Tableaux d'une exposition, link=no is a suite (music), suite of ten piano pieces, plus a recurring, varied Promenade theme, composed by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874. The piece is Mussorgsky's ...

from

Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...

in "Baphomet's Throne". The crunchy and aggressive guitar sound, the keyboards orchestration, the metallic sound of the drums and over the top screaming vocal turned it into a seminal black metal album. The band got invited by

Martin Eric Ain Martin Eric Ain (born Martin Erich Stricker; July 18, 1967 – October 21, 2017) was a musician best known as the bassist of the influential extreme metal bands Hellhammer and Celtic Frost. He used the stage name Martin Eric Ain throughout. ...

(

Celtic Frost Celtic Frost () was a Swiss extreme metal band from Zürich. They are known for their strong influence on the development of extreme metalBukszpan, Daniel. ''The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal''. Barnes & Noble Publishing, 2003. p.43 and avant-ga ...

) to play at the Lucifer Rising convention in Zurich in March before they joined the Full of Hate Festival tour headlined by

Morbid Angel Morbid Angel is an American 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 ...

and

Cannibal Corpse Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York in 1988, now based out of Tampa, Florida. The band has released fifteen studio albums, two box sets, four video albums, and two live albums. The band has had little radi ...

. A video for the song "Baphomet's Throne" was shot during that tour. The tour was followed by Samael's first headliner tour in Europe with

Grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...

Massacra Massacra was one of France's leading death/thrash metal bands in the early nineties. After recording three demos in the 1980s, they finally landed a deal with Shark Records from Germany, and released their famous debut, '' Final Holocaust'' i ...

and Therion as supports. The same year the band did their first US tour: 23 dates in 23 days up and down the East Coast as support for Cannibal Corpse and continued that tour in Europe for another 41 shows. February 1995 the band was back in studio to record the ''Rebellion'' mini album. Two new tracks, two re-arranged songs and a cover version of "I Love the Dead" from

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

. "Static Journey" were the first songs Samael recorded with programmed drums. The Rebellion Tour started in Europe with Sentenced and ended with two shows in Mexico.

''Passage'' and ''Exodus'', 1996–1998

The band decided to work with a drum machine after Rodolph left the band. Xy moved from the drums to the keyboards and programmed all the drums parts. Kaos joined the band as second guitarist and the band went back to Woodhouse Studios for a 3 weeks session. The first show with the drum machine and new line up was on 26 June in Z7 in Pratteln (Switzerland) as opener for

Kreator Kreator is a German thrash metal band from Essen, formed in 1982. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Miland "Mille" Petrozza, drummer Jürgen "Ventor" Reil, lead guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, and bassist Frédér ...

, the following day Samael played in

With Full Force Full Force (previously With Full Force) is a German heavy metal music, heavy metal and hardcore punk-oriented music festival held annually since 1994. The 2011 edition took place between 1 and 3 July at Roitzschjora airport in Löbnitz. Lineups ...

festival alongside

Ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

, and

Front Line Assembly Front Line Assembly (FLA) is a Canadian electro-industrial band formed by Bill Leeb in 1986 after leaving Skinny Puppy. FLA has developed its own sound incorporating elements of electronic body music and electro-industrial. The band's members ...

. ''Passage'' was released on 19 August 1996 and a full European tour followed with support from label mates

Moonspell Moonspell is a Portuguese gothic metal band formed in 1992. The group released their first EP, ''Under the Moonspell'', in 1994 and followed up with their debut album, '' Wolfheart'', a year later. They quickly became the most recognizable meta ...

and

Rotting Christ Rotting Christ is a Greek black metal band formed in 1987. They are noted for being one of the first black metal bands within this region, as well as a premier act within the European underground metal scene. They are also responsible for creati ...

. A video was shot in Berlin for the song "Jupiterian Vibe" directed by Andreas Marshall. Samael co-headlined the 1997 Full of Hate Festival tour with

Obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

, Entombed, Crowbar and

Strapping Young Lad Strapping Young Lad was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, ''Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing' ...

completed the line up. Later on that year they took part in another tour festival across Germany alongside Kreator, Sodom,

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

Grip Inc. Grip Inc. was an American groove metal band and side project of drummer Dave Lombardo. The band was formed in 1993 and was signed to SPV GmbH, Steamhammer Records. History Following the birth of his first child in 1993, Lombardo formed Grip I ...

and

In Flames In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990. Alongside At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity, In Flames pioneered the genres known as Swedish death metal and melodic death metal. During t ...

. That summer the band played for the first and only time at

Dynamo Open Air Dynamo Open Air is a festival in the Netherlands held (almost) every year between 1986 and 2005. It was reborn in 2008 as Dynamo Outdoor and in 2015 as Dynamo Metal Fest. History Originally held to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Dynamo ...

in Eindhoven as well as Wacken, Grasspop, and With Full Force festival. In the meantime Xy released on his own label a neo classical version of ''Passage'' under the name ''Xytras''. ''Exodus'' mini album was released in April 1998, in June Samael played in Istanbul with Kreator.

''Eternal'', ''Black Trip'' DVD, 1999–2003

Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approximat ...

(Switzerland) at the

Mountain Studios Mountain Studios was a commercial recording studio founded by American singer and composer Anita Kerr and husband Alex Grob in 1975 within the Montreux Casino in Montreux, Switzerland. The studio was under the ownership of Queen and then long ...

, Samael recorded their new album with rock producer David Richards. The sound and the overall production of ''Eternal'' was very much rooted in the 1970s while the approach of the songs was very contemporary. The gap between the opening song "Year Zero" and "Infra Galaxia" or between the

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

sounding "Radiant Star" and the electronic stamped "Ways" is very wide. The band toured in Europe with

and

Lacuna Coil Lacuna Coil is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. Since their formation in 1994, the group has had two name changes, being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal, and they have recorded nine studio albums, two extended plays, two ...

before going to the US with

Dimmu Borgir Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, ...

, Monstrosity and Epoch of Unlight. The following summer they played with

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

at Artefact Fest in France. Early 2002 Kaos departed from the band and was replaced by Makro. With the new line-up, the band played a couple of shows before the Summer Breeze Open Air which became the core of Samael's first DVD '' Black Trip''. In the meantime, Vorph and Xy worked on an electronic project which was released in 2006 under the name

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'' ...

. In January 2003 Samael was back on the road with

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

and

Without Face Without Face were one of the most famous internationally known Hungarian progressive metal bands. They were formed in the city of Veszprém, Hungary in 1997. The band featured a dual female and male vocal line-up similar to that of gothic metal, ...

for the Redemption Tour, the tour then went to the US with

and Cathedral as supporting acts.

''Reign of Light'' and ''Solar Soul'', 2004–2008

Reign of Light ''Reign of Light'' is the sixth album by Switzerland, Swiss industrial metal band Samael (band), Samael, released in October 2004 by Galactical. Track listing Personnel Samael * Vorph – guitar, vocals, production * Makro – guitar, product ...

'' was recorded and mixed during the summer 2004, first single "Telephath" came with a video and was released in September, the album was out in October. The band toured Europe with support acts Flowing Tears for the first part of the tour and Dagoba for the Scandinavian dates. Samael later supported

Oomph! Oomph! is a German rock band from Wolfsburg, formed in 1989. The band pioneered the Neue Deutsche Härte movement. Their work contains lyrics in both English and German, with a shift towards German exclusively on recent albums ('' GlaubeLiebeTo ...

in Germany. The next year, the single "On Earth" which featured a cover of "I Feel you" from

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

was released. The band played summer festivals in Europe and Switzerland. In

Paleo Festival __NOTOC__ ''Paleo'' may refer to: Prehistoric Era, Age, or Period * Paleolithic, a prehistoric Era, Age, or Period of human history People * David Strackany, aka "Paleo", an American folk singer-songwriter Art, entertainment, and media * ''Pa ...

in Nyon (Switzerland) they played before

Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, ...

, four songs of that performance ended up on a bonus DVD for a special edition of ''Reign of Light''. In Paris, the band received an award from ''

Hard Rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

'' magazine for best industrial album. After a European tour with

the band finished recording their following album. In March 2007 Samael opened for

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

in Montana (Switzerland) where they played two new songs for the first time: "On the Rise", and "Slavocracy". ''

Solar Soul ''Solar Soul'' is the seventh album by the Swiss heavy metal band Samael, released on 1 June 2007 through Nuclear Blast. Track listing Personnel Samael * Vorph – guitar, vocals * Xy – keyboard, drums, programming, production * Mas – bas ...

'' was mixed in Sweden by Stefan Glaumann and was released on 1 June through

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 ...

worldwide. In July they played with

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

at Rock Oz'Arenes. In March 2008 they were back on the road with

Gothminister Gothminister is a Norwegian gothic/industrial metal band. Formed in 1999, they have released six albums and have had success in Germany, playing many German music festivals, including Wave-Gotik-Treffen (WGT), the Dark Storm Festival, and the M ...

and Sybreed. During the summer Vorph and Xy went to Sweden to mix with Frederic Nordström a side project that was recorded a long time ago. In September they returned to the US with

Amorphis Amorphis is a Finnish heavy metal band founded by Jan Rechberger, Tomi Koivusaari, and Esa Holopainen in 1990. Initially, the band was a death metal act, but on later albums they evolved into playing other genres, including progressive metal, an ...

and

Virgin Black Virgin Black is an Australian symphonic gothic and doom metal band. The band was signed to The End Records (for the United States) and Germany's Massacre Records (for Europe), through which it released four albums and one EP. A fifth album, o ...

. After that tour, as the final mastering for the side project was done it was decided that it would become the next Samael album.

''Above'' and ''Lux Mundi'', 2009–2014

Recorded in 1999, mixed in 2008, ''Above'' was released on 6 March 2009. It was described by the band as a tribute to their metal roots and they listed some of their influences on the CD booklet:

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

, Impaled Nazarene,

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

, Bathory. Faster and more extreme than anything Samael released previously, the album surprised the critics and fans alike but it sent the band on a 90 more dates tour. First in Europe with

Deicide Deicide is the killing (or the killer) of a god. The concept may be used for any act of killing a god, including a life-death-rebirth deity who is killed and then resurrected. Etymology The term deicide was coined in the 17th century from m ...

, Vader, Devian and

The Amenta The Amenta are an Australian Heavy metal music, metal band formed in 1997 as Crucible of Agony. By 2002 the line-up was Cesium 137 (aka Mark Bevan) on lead vocals, Diazanon (Dave Haley) on drums, Ethion (Erik Miehs) on guitar, Endrin (Nathan Je ...

, then in the US with

Carcass Carcass or Carcase (both pronounced ) may refer to: *Dressed carcass, the body of a livestock animal ready for butchery, after removal of skin, visceral organs, head, feet etc. *Carrion, the decaying dead body of an animal or human being *The str ...

Suicide Silence Suicide Silence is an American deathcore band from Riverside, California. The band was established in 2002, and has released six studio albums, three EPs, and nineteen music videos. They were awarded the ''Revolver'' Golden God award for "Best ...

and

Psycroptic Psycroptic are an Australian technical death metal band formed in Hobart, Australia in 1999. Mainstay members are Dave Haley on drums and his brother Joe Haley on guitar. Their lead vocalist, Jason Peppiatt, joined in 2004. In 2008 they signe ...

, and finally all across Europe with

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...

and Ghost Brigade. ''Lux Mundi'' was co produced by Xy and Waldemar Sorychta, it was recorded in Switzerland and mixed in England by Russ Russel. First the band released a mini album ''Antigod'' which featured two live tracks, a remix and new version of the song "Into the Pentagram" from their first album ''

'' (1991). Samael toured in Europe with Finntroll and Rotting Christ in support of that mini album. A video was shot in Sweden by Patrick Ulaeus for the song "Luxferre" (Latin for "light carrier"). On 29 April 2011 Lux Mundi was released. The band later toured in Europe with

Keep of Kalessin Keep of Kalessin is an extreme metal band from Trondheim, Norway formed in 1993. The group's early lineup consisted of Ghash on vocals, Obsidian C. (the group founder) on guitars and keyboards, Warach on bass, and Vyl on drums. They released two ...

and

Melechesh Melechesh is an ethnically Assyrian black metal band that originated in Jerusalem and is currently based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Ashmedi started the band as a solo project in 1993. In the following year, guitarist Moloch and drummer Lord C ...

. Xy was asked by the city of

(Switzerland) to compose a piece of music for a sound and light show to be played in two consecutive summers. Recorded in Prague with 100 classical musicians that piece of music was released on CD under the name ''Sedunum''. In 2013, Samael played the album ''Passage'' in its entirety at Inferno Festival Switzerland and at Metal Hammer Paradise in Germany. Bass player and long time Samael member Mas left the band in November 2014, he was replaced by Drop (ex-Sybreed).

Return to the past, 2015–2017

20 years after it was first released, Samael celebrated their album '' Ceremony of Opposites'' (1994) by playing the entire album live over 40 times in festivals in Europe and US and with short tours in Canada, Russia and Poland. The fact that the album was performed with a drum machine instead of real drums like it was on the original recording created a polemic within the older fans of the band. In May 2017 the member of Samael launched a side project W.A.R. (Worship and Ritual), in order to perform their first two, more primitive black metal albums, live. In this group, the original members adopted their old stage names (Vorphalack and Xytraguptor) and Xy returned to playing drums. The first W.A.R. concerts happened in Les Caves du Manoir in Martigny (Switzerland) were the band performed for two consecutive nights.

''Hegemony'', 2017–present

The new album ''Hegemony'' was released on 13 October 2017. Before hand the band released lyrics video for the songs "Angel of Wrath" and "Red Planet", and a video for "Black Supremacy". In early 2018, a video with live footage was released for Rite of Renewal.

Members

;Current * Michael "Vorph" Locher – guitar, vocals (1987–present) * Alexandre "Xytras" Locher – drums, drum programming, keyboards, samples (1988–present) * Thomas "Drop" Betrisey – guitar (2018–present), bass (2015–2018) * Ales Campanelli – bass (2020–present) ;Former * Pat Charvet – drums (1987–1988) * Rodolphe "H." Bellina – keyboards, samples (1993–1996) * Frédéric "Kaos" Miniutti – guitar (1996–2002) * Christophe "Mas" Mermod – bass (1991–2015) * Marco "Makro" Rivao – guitar (2002–2018) * Pierre "Zorrac" Carroz – bass (2018–2020)

Timeline

Discography

Albums

Compilation albums

EPs

DVD

Other affiliated releases

Music videos

References

External links

*
Facebook page

Samael on MySpace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samael Century Media Records artists Swiss industrial metal musical groups Swiss heavy metal musical groups Swiss black metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1987 Musical quartets Nuclear Blast artists Season of Mist artists 1987 establishments in Switzerland Symphonic black metal musical groups Sibling musical groups People from Sion, Switzerland Swiss symphonic metal musical groups