SAMAEL - Worship Him

It is difficult to write an album review 15 years after the release. Not only did a ton of music come out in the meantime to compare with, but the band itself has evolved in this time, in some cases quite a lot. And considering that their future efforts have made history, how relevant can a debut album be anymore?

This Worship Him gathers all that Samael produced since they started playing. This is sombre black metal, played in a rather Anglo-Saxon manner, in the vein of Celtic Frost or Venom. A little keyboards, almost non-existent compared to what we’d hear a few albums later. The bass is also a bit absent, suggesting a rather garage-y production. So, we have an album that is almost strictly guitar, drums and vocals, simplistic instrumentally and without a lot of song-writing finesse. A bit of balance could remind you of future albums. And this simplicity that was later elevated to an art form.

I listened to it now, as I write this review, with pleasure and some degree of amusement, thinking about the naivety of many (including myself), about the time of garage bands, when you try to write, hit the wall of your own playing technique, bad gear, an involuntary tendency to copy others, a simplistic result. The rather forced extreme Satanist imagery also fits this description of rebellious kids.

Cynyc Nota: 7.5