Samael - Hegemony (2017) - Six years of waiting are now paid (with interest)

Before we start let's make it clear: the Locher brothers (Vorph and Xy) have created 2 bands called Samael. The first, black metal, was successful until the mid-90s with songs of Satanic themes, they sang about the desire to sit on the left side of the devil and poeticized the head of Jesus impregnated with nails. Despite the great success, this Samael has been dead since the thundering "Ceremony of Opposites", but its essence is still felt, albeit subliminary. The second Samael is an industrial metal band, born from the album "Passage". This one is dedicated to transcendental themes, related to the conscience, search of truth, skepticism and scientificism, basically ceased to be Satanist to be atheist.

If your interest comes down only to the first Samael this album it aint for you (too bad). "Hegemony" is industrial and took 6 years to be germinated, but every second of waiting was duly rewarded. The album is one of the best of the year and far surpasses the last two. The music is created under an aggressiveness that is mainly due to Vorph's vocal technique. Tracks like Hegemony, Rite of Renewal or Red Planet would not work without the husky mechanical vocals. The electronic drum will blow you up, every beat upholds the deep climate coming from the guitar, invitinig you to close his eyes and dance only with the neck-and-head. The industrial factor is very well applied, it does not create melody, it does not direct the rhythm, it just creates the ambiance and emphasizes the heaviness. Some black metal insurgency can be noted, as in Black Supremacy, both on the theme and speed. One of the best songs Murder or Suicide condemns the lack of coherence of ideas (a very illustrative theme for our current dichotomy) and stands out for the throbbing cadence with emotive melody. Finally, in the year of Charlie Mansons death, Samael decided to pay homage by covering Helter Skelter of the Beatles. Unlike the version of Kavadar (also very good), this one imposes more the identity of the band.

Samuel's lyrical maturity is remarkable, from a choleric rebel boy to a questioning intellectual. As only heaviness and adult thematic do not make a good album, Samael created melodies within a supreme ambiance. The hand-horned universal symbol of heavy metal have more than enough fingers to count the number of bands that make industrial metal with quality, Samael is one of them.

TrackList
1.Hegemony 03:47
2.Samael 03:59
3.Angel of Wrath 03:31
4.Rite of Renewal 04:31
5.Red Planet 03:58
6.Black Supremacy 03:51
7.Murder or Suicide 04:03
8.This World 03:43
9.Against All Enemies 04:31
10.Land of the Living 04:05
11.Dictate of Transparency 03:58
12.Helter Skelter 03:27
13.Storm of Fire 04:12

Last Conclusion: