Hegemony
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| Studio album by Samael | ||||
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| Label (s) | Napalm Records | |||
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Format (s) |
CD, download, LP |
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Title (number) |
12 |
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running time |
47 min 18 s |
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Hegemony ( German " Hegemony " ) is the eleventh studio album by the Swiss dark metal band Samael . It was released on October 13, 2017 via the Austria- based music label Napalm Records .
Emergence
Work on the album began following its predecessor Lux Mundi , which was published in 2011 ; In 2013 almost all songs were finished in their structure. Then there was a one-year break because keyboardist Xy was asked by the city of Sion to write the music for a castle lighting. The experience gained in the context of dealing with a classical orchestra then flowed into the work on the album Hegemony . The creative process in cumulo took four years. In February 2015, the band announced that Thomas “Drop” Betrisey, who had played a few concerts as a substitute musician in 2014, is now permanently replacing the previous bassist Christophe “Mas” Mermod and is a permanent member of the band.
The recordings took place as described in the booklet in Switzerland The Cube and Roystone studio instead, production initiated Waldemar Sorychta and Xy. The mix was done by Stefan Glaumann (previously worked for Rammstein and Clawfinger , among others ) in Sweden, while Svante Forsbäck (previously among others, Royal Republic and Northern Discipline ) did the mastering in Finland .
Samael then signed the contract with Napalm Records in January 2017. As part of the promotional measures for the upcoming release, a lyric video for the song Angel of Wrath was released in June 2017 , a video for the song Black Supremacy in the second half of September and an animated " 360 ° Video “for the title track Hegemony .
Cover and title
The red cover shows an eye in the middle of a triangle; Red lightning strikes the eye. The bottom line of the triangle is interrupted by the album title, below it is the band name in the full width of the line.
The cover was designed by Patrick Pidoux, who also designed the covers of the three previous albums. The band only influenced the details. For singer Vorph it is "a symbol of dominance and control". He likes the symbolism of lightning that attacks the eye and that the cover doesn't appear static as a result.
From the point of view of the most recent from metal.de, both the title and the cover paint a "quite dystopian picture" and trigger two associations with the eye enclosed in a triangle:
- to the eye of providence found on the US dollar bill ,
- on George Orwell's novel " 1984 ".
Songs
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(Texts title 1–11: Vorph, music titles 1–11: Xy, text and music title 12: Lennon / McCartney ) |
The opening number Hegemony is industrial black metal with heavy use of synthesizers, which is also reminiscent of Behemoth and Dimmu Borgir .
The second piece, Samael, is “a band hymn” with a “stomping verse” in which the strings come to the fore. The song exudes a “positive, yes philanthropic vibe” that is reminiscent of the solar soul era.
The following number, Angel Of Wrath, is “cosmic, cold and mighty” and is thus in the tradition of Born Under Saturn and Rain from the 1996 album Passage . Characteristic here are keyboard fanfares, driving guitars, jagged drum samples and “commanding vocals”.
With “cosmic breadth and depth of detail”, Rite Of Renewal and Red Planet follow in the footsteps of the 1999 album Eternal .
Black Supremacy picks up on the band's Black Metal past and uses the electronics more intensely than on the rest of the album. The "uncompromising hardness" of the drum computer revives the style of Above (2009).
Murder Or Suicide is equipped with an "abysmal piano under a nasty bass rumble" and moves at a medium tempo.
This World is "sonically more experimental" than the pieces on the first half of the album.
Against All Enemies is distinguished from the other pieces by a spoken word passage reminiscent of Rammstein .
An essential feature of the song Land Of The Living with its "heroic" atmosphere is that a triangle is used there.
Like the title track, Dictate Of Transparency stands out with its “great, albeit quite catchy, refrains” and its “catchiness”.
The song Helter Skelter , originally by the Beatles and first released on the White Album (1968), forms the conclusion of the studio album .
reception
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In the review of Metal Hammer , the album receives five out of seven possible points and the author comes to this conclusion:
“[...] Samael don't have much new to say on HEGEMONY; but why should they, when they can refine their very own style and work out the best possible songs? "
A little more differentiating, but underlining the core message of the Metal Hammer , the reviewer from laut.de also expresses himself :
“The predecessor is a measly mouse compared to the inflated symphonic industrial tracks of 'Hegemony'. [...] Samael took their time with 'Hegemony', but didn't come up with any surprises like 'Above' recently. Rather, they pumped their trademarks full of steroids and ring in the apocalypse. If the string carpet is not too kitschy for you and you can forgive minor slip-ups like a Rammstein-Spoken Word in the otherwise very powerful 'Against All Enemies', you will be very happy with it. "
The review by Dark Scene from Austria also emphasizes that the album is essentially a cross-section of the band's musical work:
“The tenth record (let's leave out the atmospheric 'Era One' experiment) is perhaps not the very best in SAMAEL's 30-year career. She can still be strong as a bear and impressive, especially since she skilfully combines all of the influences and band trade marks of her long career. "
The reviewers of the online magazines metal.de and Time for Metal , who consider Hegemony to be a "solid" album, are more skeptical :
“A basic problem with 'Hegemony' is unfortunately the relative harmony of the songs. Even if you like them, you miss a certain variety. [...] 'Hegemony' may not necessarily go into permanent rotation, but it is a solidly delivered album. "
"The big hit is missing, Hegemony is definitely a solid album."
Web links
- SAMAEL - Hegemony (360 ° Animated Video) on YouTube
- SAMAEL - Angel Of Wrath (Official Lyric Video) on YouTube
- SAMAEL - Black Supremacy (Official Video) on YouTube
- Samael on the Napalm Records website
- official website of Samael
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Angela: Samael - Interview with Vorph and Xy about "Hegemony". In: metal.de. October 8, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017 .
- ↑ SAMAEL: More 'Hegemony' Album Details Revealed. In: blabbermouth.net. August 3, 2017, accessed December 23, 2017 .
- ↑ Nadine Schmidt: Samael - first photo from the new line-up. In: metal.de. February 26, 2015, accessed December 24, 2017 .
- ↑ TV: SAMAEL - Inked A Deal With Napalm Records. In: terrarelicta.com. January 24, 2017, accessed December 24, 2017 .
- ↑ News: SAMAEL - "Angel Of Wrath" Lyric Video. In: darkscene.at. June 25, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017 .
- ↑ News: SAMAEL - With a new clip. In: darkscene.at. September 18, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017 .
- ↑ Steve Goldby: Samael Unleash 360 ° Video For Title Track Of Forthcoming Album, 'Hegemony'. In: metaltalk.net. October 6, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Angela: Samael - Hegemony - the album review on. In: metal.de. October 8, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Rene W .: Samael - Hegemony. In: time-for-metal.eu. December 5, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c d e f Manuel Berger: Black Industrial with a symphonic flavor enhancer. In: laut.de . October 13, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c d e f Sebastian Kessler: Review: Samael - HEGEMONY. In: metal-hammer.de . October 13, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017 .
- ↑ Haris Durakovic: Review - SAMAEL - Hegemony. In: powermetal.de. October 15, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2017 .
- ^ Daniell: Samael - Hegemony review. In: metalstorm.net. October 22, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2017 .
- ↑ Samael - Hegemony. In: hitparade.ch. Retrieved December 23, 2017 .
- ↑ DarksceneTom: Review: SAMAEL - Hegemony. In: darkscene.at. November 4, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017 .