August 2024 - Feature Release - The Sphere Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month’s feature release for The Sphere has been nominated by myself. It's the 1995 "Rebellion" E.P. from Swiss industrial metallers Samael, a record that Ben & I picked up upon release having both been fans of the band for several years already. It represented a transitional release for Samael in that it's the first of their records to fully embrace the industrial sound that would become their calling card for the remainder of their career. I haven't heard it since the mid-1990's as it's kinda been overlooked due to the popularity of the impressive full-lengths around it but I remember it being pretty decent so have been planning to give it a reassessment for some time now. I hope you'll join me in revisiting a release that has largely been lost to the ages.

https://metal.academy/releases/1663

I've done my review, here's its summary:

Rebellion marks the end of the band's black metal era and the start of their ongoing industrial metal era. Here we have two new tracks, two re-recorded tracks (3 in the cassette edition), and two instrumentals, one of the instrumentals having its own German vocal edition as a hidden track. So how has the sound turned out? Pretty great! Lots of catchy and heavy riffs, and vicious vocals by Vorph. And the style really does live up to the fact that it's the bridge between Ceremony of Opposites and Passage. A few of these anthems I enjoyed a few years ago, and I still enjoy them today! Those being the awesome title track and re-recordings that I would recommend to any fan of Samael and blackened industrial metal. The average instrumentals are better experienced by fans of electro-industrial. And that Alice Cooper cover? NAH....

4/5

Here's my review:

By 1995, Ben & I could count ourselves as being pretty big fans of Swiss black metallers Samael. We were both well across all three of Samael's albums to the time, all of which I consider to be essential listening for the black metal afficionado. I'd also gone so far as to secure myself dubbed copies of a couple of the band's early demo tapes through the tape trading scene in 1987's "Into the Infernal Storm of Evil" & 1988's "Medieval Prophecy", neither of which l'd say added much to my life if I'm being honest. But the point I'm trying to make is that there was a level of anticipation for Samael's next release after they'd improved on each & every recording to the time with 1994's "Ceremony of Opposites" third album being the finest work of the band's career still to this day. Coming off the back of such a successful effort, Ben & I went into 1995's stop-gap "Rebellion" E.P. with great confidence in the Swiss four-piece's ability to create a compelling musical soundscape so, when Ben brought home a CD copy of the brand-new E.P., we wasted no time in blasting it loudly from his bedroom stereo. Strangely though, I haven't given "Rebellion" much attention over the many years since which is a little bit telling. I wasn't able to remember exactly why though so I thought it was about time I gave it another crack.

"Rebellion" fits very much into your classic E.P. model as it's clearly a collection of disparate pieces that didn't fit into the full-length album concept. You get one brand new metal number in the title track, a couple of re-recordings of early works (see "After the Sepulture" & "Into the Pentagram"), a cover version of Alice Cooper's "I Love the Dead" & a few instrumental electro-industrial pieces, two of which are essentially the same with the exception of some German lyrics having been placed over the top of one. So, if you're looking for a cohesive & singular creative vision then you might want to look elsewhere. But what "Rebellion" does do successfully is create a transitional stepping-stone between the dark black metal of Samael's first three albums & their more industrially focused later material. It's here that you can first start to see Samael embracing the electronic component of the sound they're known for today although it's fair to say that it was still used a little more subtly which leaves the sound the band are pushing here in somewhat of a limbo between the two genres, not really feeling like either. It's mainly the use of spacey synthesizers that draws "Rebellion" into industrial metal territory although they're not over the top with a much greater emphasis being placed on that element for 1996's "Passage" album which pushed all the way out into fully-fledged symphonic metal territory.

The production job on "Rebellion" is thick & chunky & gives the material real clout, the riffs possessing a weight that comes more from the industrial metal side than the black metal one. The opening title track is the one that benefits the most from it with its groovy mid-paced riffage making it by far the most significant piece on the record. In fact, it's a little strange that it wasn't considered for inclusion on Samael's upcoming full-length albums to be honest as it's easily good enough & wouldn't have sounded out of place. The two re-recordings happen to be of my favourite tracks from each of Samael's first two albums which was a pleasant surprise but the reality is that neither can compete with the dark atmosphere of the originals, despite the heavier production techniques employed. I certainly enjoy both songs (particularly "After the Sepulture" which competes with "Rebellion" for the highlight of the E.P.) but neither added a lot to my life either to be fair. The rest of the E.P. feels more like filler than anything else in my opinion. I quite enjoy both versions of the six-minute electro-industrial piece "Static Journey" but can't see much reason for including both given that they're so similar to each other. Admittedly they do sound a little dated given the basic synthesized rhythms that have been employed. The three-minute outro piece utilizes the same creative platform but is unfortunately not as successful & I find it to be a little disappointing, as is the Alice Cooper cover version which feels more like a fairly accessible take on gothic metal than anything else & leaves me feeling like pressing the skip button a lot of the time although I've never been a skipper & likely never will be.

So, I feel that "Rebellion" was mildly successful in its quest to showcase a new sound that Samael would explore further across the remainder of their recording career but I would hardly say that it's essential listening for fans of the band. It's a professionally put together package & sounds bright & vibrant but I don't think it contains the depth that I enjoyed with Samael's first three albums.

For fans of Rotting Christ, The Kovenant & Moonspell.

3.5/5