Review by ZeroSymbolic7188 for Samael - Ceremony of Opposites (1994)

My rating for this album is proof that I do put the music first. Samael biblically is the husband of Lilith, and the king of demons, and this album art may be a reference to the crown of thorns, but it also has a possible second meaning. You see my wife is one of the proud and few members of the Sphere-our resident Industrial clan, and fans of industrial music are sometimes reffered to as "rivet heads". I think the cover might be a clever double entrendre. Please do confirm or deny if this has come up in an interview somewhere. 

With all the Satanic/Anti-Christian stuff I would usually be ripping this thing apart, but here's the thing. When the music is this fucking good, I don't give a shit what's being sung about. Black Metal meets Industrial Metal in a fairly uncommon marriage here and you get 30+ minutes of riffs and grooves, and every single one of them is top-notch. The production is still definitely black metal, but it's cleaned up a little bit more than most of the releases of this era. and my favorite feature of all; the bass is not only audible but capably played!

I don't think that you have to be a fan of black metal, or heavy metal at all even to enjoy this-which means some edgy basement dwelling purist is going to throw a grown man temper tantrum about how this isn't TRVE black metal. Yeah, Fuck that guy. TURN IT UP!