Although much of their music from the mid-1990s onwards has incorporated electronic sounds which would best define their genre as industrial metal, Samael was originally founded as an early 2nd Wave black metal band.
Their first demos presented a slow, doomy style of thrash metal with raw vocals, similar to that of Celtic Frost. Some of the songs would be included on Worship Him (1991) and Blood Ritual (1992).
Around the time of Ceremony of Opposites (1994), the band started using industrial-styled song techniques, employed by the use of keyboards and (minimalist) acoustic percussion. By this time, they had also left French record label Osmose Productions and signed with Century Media Records.
1995 - The Rebellion ep was released to much acclaim
Their album Passage (1996) saw them gather a larger audience, with the music video for the song "Jupiterian Vibe" getting airplay on MTV's Headbanger's Ball.
1998 saw the release of the "Exodus ep"
After the release of Eternal (1999), Samael would not renew their contract with Century Media. In 2004, "Reign of Light" was released through independent label Galactical Records.
In 2006, their album "Era One" was released on Century Media Records. It includes a bonus disc, "Lesson in Magic #1," which is entirely instrumental and done solely by keyboardist Xy. The album itself was recorded in 2001, and the bonus disc a year later. Both were rearranged and remixed in 2005.
In June 2007 they released the album "Solar Soul, which summed up and combined many of the styles of their previous albums since Passage.
April 2009 sees a new album from Samael, titled "Above. The album is a return to heavier territory for the band and has been labelled "Symphonic" blackmetal by some reviews in popular magazines.
In June 2010, Samael began recording demos for the next album. The album's first single, titled Antigod was released on November 19, 2010.[3] The album, titled Lux Mundi (which translates as "Light of the World"), was released April 29, 2011 in Europe and May 3, 2011 in North America. The same month they shot a video clip for the song "Luxferre" in Sweden with director Patric Ulaeus.
On December 29, 2016, Samael announced new album will be released in 2017. The following of “Lux Mundi” (2011) has been recorded in Switzerland during spring 2016 and mix in Sweden during the summer. In January 2017, the band signed to Napalm Records to release the album.
Bestial Devotion
Samael Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tired and submissive
Lying down on the black altar
She waits passive and anguished
A frost silence glides into the assembly
Priest reflection:
Only my invocation resounds in the heads of the followers
Priest with the crowd:
- Praise be to Ounis
The priest:
- So her blood may quench your thirst
- So her meat may appease your hunger
- For you we'll eat the red crown
- For you we'll lick the green crown
Priest with the crowd:
- Glory to you Ounis
- Praise be to Ounis
Narration:
The blade penetrates deeply in the young flesh
All together copulate with the bloody wounds
The priest:
Here's the theatre of our dreams
- This is the beauty of absurdity
Priest with the crowd:
- Glory and praise be to Ounis
The lyrics of "Bestial Devotion" by Samael describe a ritualistic sacrifice that takes place on a black altar. The narration begins by describing a young woman who is tired and submissive, waiting on the black altar, while the assembly is filled with frost silence. The priest's voice is the only sound that resounds in the heads of the followers who shout "Glory to you Ounis" and "Praise be to Ounis," indicating that Ounis may be a deity worshipped by the cult. The priest emphasizes that the girl's blood will quench their thirst, and her meat will appease their hunger. The followers are excited and eager to partake in the rite, with the priest instructing them to eat the red and green crown, referring to the girl's bloody wounds.
The climax of the ritual is reached when the blade penetrates deeply into the young flesh, and all the followers copulate with the bloody wounds. In this moment of brutal ecstasy, the priest proclaims that this is the theater of their dreams, and absurdity is beauty. The followers are again urged to glorify and praise Ounis.
Line by Line Meaning
Tired and submissive
She is exhausted and defeated, feeling powerless to resist.
Lying down on the black altar
She is laying on a dark platform, ready to be a sacrifice.
She waits passive and anguished
She's enduring pain silently, waiting for the inevitable to happen.
A frost silence glides into the assembly
There is eerie quietness in the atmosphere that fills the gathering.
Only my invocation resounds in the heads of the followers
The priest's call to the deity is the only thing echoing in the listener's minds.
- Glory to you Ounis
- Praise be to Ounis
The people express their worship and admiration to the deity Ounis through repeated chants.
- So her blood may quench your thirst
- So her meat may appease your hunger
The priest speaks to Ounis, saying the sacrifice is for the people's sustenance and satisfaction.
- For you we'll eat the red crown
- For you we'll lick the green crown
The followers are willing to do whatever Ounis wants, even consuming the remains of the sacrifice.
The blade penetrates deeply in the young flesh
All together copulate with the bloody wounds
The sacrifice is brutally killed and the crowd takes part in unspeakable acts with her remains.
Here's the theatre of our dreams
- This is the beauty of absurdity
The priest sees this ceremony as the pinnacle of their aspirations, a chaotic beauty in the suffering of others.
- Glory and praise be to Ounis
The people continue their worship of the deity, glorifying their acts of depravity in Ounis' name.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Darth Teddy Bear
I wonder if anyone perceives this track the way I do. The lyrics seem some kind of an inside joke, with Ounis being a totally made-up entity (correct me if I'm wrong). Actually, I even tried to do some research to find out whether "For you, we'll eat the red crown / For you, we'll lick the green crown" is a cryptic, esoteric message, yet, it didn't lead me anywhere. Just a pair or lines that portray the "cultists" performing some arbitrary, ridiculous actions for the sake of the act, whatever it is.
"Tired and submissive / Lying down on the black altar / She waits passive and anguished" - it may seem as if this female specimen is barely an object, a requisite with some traits of a living creature preserved only so that her pain could carry any weight.
"Here's the theater of our dreams / This is the beauty of absurdity" - I read it as:
- a wink that states "this is just some random violent, sexual fantasy with a setting that suits our music"
(and / or)
- everyone knows there is no Ounis, all that is done serves the purpose of alleviating our boredom and satisfying our perverse lust and fulfilling our dreams, that is, playing gods and doing... Just about whatever we please, just because WE CAN.
I find it interestingly ironic and self-conscious, especially for the early period, when the convention itself was still being forged.
Bassconvulsion
Magnifico
David Creigh
I like that short little riff at 1:41 ... Reminds me of something off Spiritual Healing.
Loki DD
Divine!
Junior Franco
great song of the best black metal album!!!samael rules!!!!!!!
Lilian Raquel Grajeda Molina
excelente canción
Jorge De Bracamonte
Han pasado muchos años, y es una realidad, el Dark Metal existe.
Moortis Burzum
Este due mi primer cassette de black.
Muy bueno muy buena banda
rogerio costa
escuto esse era do samael incansavelmente ....que trapaço...
Carlos Augusto Henao
excelente album superrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...
Lilian Raquel Grajeda Molina
Genial gracias amigo