Review by Noir Mind for Samael - Passage (1996)

I, unfortunately, was not previously familiar with the work of this group, and I was attracted by a specific mixture of black metal and symphonic industrial, which was listed in the tags of the album. I expected something like a mix of Neurotech, Septic Flesh and Dimmu Borgir, but I got... something more. The combination of the mechanical percussion section, dark black metal riffs, gothic keyboards - often presented by organ sounds - and space themes creates a unique existential vibe devoid of the cybernetic nonsense of Neurotech, the pathos of Septic Flesh and the vulgar satanism of Dimmu Borgir. 

This album seems to me a serious, multifaceted work, which surprises the listener in each track with various experiments, whether it is methodical pagan percussion of "Rain" and "The Ones Who Came Before", dramatic but not vulgar organ vampirism of "Angel's Decay", sensual, like dark fairy tale, "Moonskin", or epic futurism of "Jupiterian Vibe". But even with all its technical and melodic variety this album seems to me not just a set of songs, but an integral work with thematically connected tracks, only some of which seem to be fillers. Unexpectedly successful for its originality this is the record I recommend to everyone who is tired of the sterile noise of black metal. 8/10