SAMAEl - Reign Of Light

[Papa Josh]

SAMAEL Reign Of Light
Galactical/Nuclear Blast
2005
www.samael.tv


1. Moongate
2. Inch’Allah
3. High Above
4. Reign Of Light
5. On Earth
6. Telepath
7. Oriental Dawn
8. As the Sun
9. Further
10. Heliopolis
12. Door of Celestial Peace
13. Telepathic (Bonus Track)

Awful. That is the first word that immediately springs to mind upon listening to SAMAEL’s latest, Reign Of Light. What was Nuclear Blast thinking licensing this tripe? Nevermind, I shouldn’t ask that question as I will only succeed in pissing myself off further. It just annoys me because you know that somehow this is going to be made a priority release and it in no way deserves it.

I have followed SAMAEL for quite some time and though I know they haven’t produced any material comparable to Worship Him or Blood Ritual for many years, there is absolutely no excuse for this waste of paper and plastic. When the first track began, I wasn’t sure if I was listening to Rammstein or some other pseudo industrial crap-tastic device of aural torture. C’mon guys, I even vouched for Passage, but it is obviously time to give it up! The electronic and drum machine sound comes off sounding very dated, and personally if I’m gonna even listen to this kind of music, I’d prefer to have a vocalist who can at least carry a tune. I honestly thought he was performing the first song in a different language, but then I open the booklet and lo and behold, it’s in English!!

For the life of me, I can’t figure out who this is supposed to be marketed to, who finds this shite appealing? This is very bad club music for metalheads, I guess. I will give Waldemar Sorychta a point for at least making it a loud and thumping listening experience, but then I must subtract it right back for him being involved in this disaster in the first place. And to Nuclear Blast and SAMAEL, I want a refund on the 46 minutes and 57 seconds that was taken from my life swimming through this raw sewage.

Rating: 0.5/10
Papa Josh

 

[Captain Beard]

Perhaps you should allow someone less biased to review next time.

 

[Hell Mike]

Perhaps Samael should stop making crappy "music"

 

[Papa Josh]

Perhaps you should allow someone less biased to review next time.

How am I biased? I like Samael.

And for the record, no one wanted to review this.

 

[matt99_crew]

PJ is right, this album is not so fucking good.

 

[Captain Beard]

Oh. I shall hear it and agree or disagree then. Probably agree, but hey...

Update to come soon.

 

[Chromatose]

on the first few listens of this album, I thought it was great 8/10.

but then a few listens later, I hated it, and it saddened me oh so much for being a crap album ..... or is it???

no idea what I'll say when I listen again, so I'll resort to never listening to it again, and feigning ambivalence.

 

[Papa Josh]

on the first few listens of this album, I thought it was great 8/10.

but then a few listens later, I hated it, and it saddened me oh so much for being a crap album ..... or is it???
.

Kinda like when your stomach hurts and then you fart, it felt good to fart, but then the creeper stench works its way to your nostrils and then...

 

[Chromatose]

Kinda like when your stomach hurts and then you fart, it felt good to fart, but then the creeper stench works its way to your nostrils and then...

never was there a more perfect metaphor.

 

[Captain Beard]

Wow, Rammstein.... what the fuck.

And Reroute to Remain. What a fucking turd.

 

[speed]

It is horrific. I can remember one song on this album that names world city names like a really bad techno version of that Johnny Cash song. I actually love Eternal, but this is just total tripe. I do like Vorph's voice though.

 

[Ellestin]

Samael's career from "Passage" to "Reign of Light" might be the most dramatic artistic downfall ever committed by a band.

 

[Papa Josh]

Haha. I clicked on this review thinking "this sure as hell had better not get more than 1 point or the reviewer will lose any and all respect I had for him"


More like "Ceremony of Opposites" to "Reign of Light"... Though everything up to "Exodus" is still great stuff...

Huh? Ceremony was before Exodus, which was after Passage.

 

[speed]

Yeah thats the song Erik; a hymn to club hopping Eurotrash I guess.

 

[Ellestin]

I remember when Vorph wrote things like REBELLION for fuck's sake...

I remember, after leafing through the "Eternal" booklet, I've wondered whether it was really Vorph who had written the texts up to "Passage". I mean, what the fuck...

 

[Erik]

Exactly

"You're a nine
You're mine
And we get along at night"

THANK FUCK I found someone to trade away that album with :'\

 

[General Zod]

When the first track began, I wasn’t sure if I was listening to Rammstein or some other pseudo industrial crap-tastic device of aural torture.

I've only heard bits and pieces from these guys. Any recommendations?

Zod

 

[Erik]

Everything earlier than "Eternal" is good. Stay clear of the first two to begin with (and since you are Zod), they are very raw and basic early 90's black metal. Good starting points would be "Ceremony of Opposites", the "Rebellion" EP or even "Passage".

 

[Ellestin]

Everything earlier than "Eternal" is good. Stay clear of the first two to begin with (and since you are Zod), they are very raw and basic early 90's black metal. Good starting points would be "Ceremony of Opposites", the "Rebellion" EP or even "Passage".

Same here. Sad thing being: the huuuuuuge minus point from the latest two albums kinds of gnawed at my appreciation of "Passage", which used to be on top of my all-time list for seven years or so...