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.
Macabre Operetta
Samael Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
- Spirit to the light...
- Life can't be infinite
- Only pain is eternal
Cry for the ruined time
You've lost to understand,
But you now have the answers about death
The lyrics of Samael's song Macabre Operetta provide a commentary on the inevitability of death and the transience of life. The opening lines, "Bodies consecrated to the earth/Spirit to the light," suggest a belief in the afterlife or a spiritual existence beyond the physical world. The following lines, "Life can't be infinite/Only pain is eternal," convey the band's philosophy that death is an end to the suffering that comes with life. The song encourages listeners to come to terms with mortality and to focus on making the most of the time they have.
The chorus of the song, "Cry for the ruined time/You've lost to understand/The meaning of life will stay a mystery/But you now have the answers about death," further emphasizes the band's perspective on death. The lyrics suggest that while the meaning of life is elusive and difficult to grasp, death is an answer that is readily available. The repetition of the word "cry" in the opening line underscores the emotional weight of this realization, while the final line suggests that death can provide a sense of closure and finality.
Line by Line Meaning
Bodies consecrated to the earth
Our physical bodies will decay and return to the soil after death
Spirit to the light...
The spirit departs from the body and moves towards the afterlife
Life can't be infinite
Life is limited and has an end point; we cannot live forever
Only pain is eternal
In contrast to life, suffering can feel endless and unrelenting
Cry for the ruined time
Regret the time lost not understanding the significance of existence
You've lost to understand,
Accepting that some things will never be understood or explained
The meaning of life will stay a mystery
The purpose of human existence cannot be fully comprehended or articulated
But you now have the answers about death
While the unknowns of life linger, the inevitability and finality of death is a certainty
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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