Customer Reviews

Ceremony of Opposites

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Though beginning as a great pure black metal band, with the addition of a keyboardist/sampler, Rodolphe H., Samael started a musical revolution/ Samael is the true father of the post black metal genre, with their sadistic mix of evil sounding synth keyboards and hash and cold satanic black metal. Differing greatly from their Norwegian counterparts (not necessarily better though), Samael have really created the sound of this album from scratch, up until here, no one had done this genre of music correctly. Guitarist / screamer Vorphalack really shines on this album. Though similar, his voice has taken on a whole new feeling of darkness on this album, unilke the brutal extremity he went the two predecessors to 'Ceremony of Opposites', 'Blood Ritual' and 'Worship Him' (though still extremely good records. To add to the alluring and powerful keyboards, Masmiseim (bass) and Xytras (drums) create such a deep and heavy atmosphere with their insturments it just boggles the mind. Not to mention the wonderfully written lyrical content. Song highlights are "Black Trip", "Celebration of the Fourth", and "Crown". All in all, Samael's third album 'Ceremony of Opposites" is a true masterpiece of black metal, that both purists and non can enjoy. A true classic that should be attained at all costs.

This is one of my favorite albums of all time. Every track here is incredible. Crown is probably my favorite song of all time of any genre. The lyrics to that track are amazing as are the lyrics throughout. This album gets my highest recommendation.
I do not know what (if any) the difference is with the import version. I had purchased this when it was originally released.

Ceremony of Opposites is a step in a new direction for Samael. Gone are the 6+ minute songs from Worship Him and Blood Ritual, opting for shorter, more direct songs that don't waste a single beat.
The first thing I noticed was that this album is relatively short. Also, the songs are very homogenous, you can listen to the entire album and the breaks between the tracks sound as though they need to be there; think of the album as a 35-minute masterpiece.
Samael has tinkered around with keyboard tracks on earlier releases, but had yet to integrate them into the regular songs; i.e. some tracks on earlier albums were keyboard only, whereas now they are an integral part of the song and help create what at the time was a very original atmosphere. The only complaint I have about the keyboards is that they sound a little bit on the weak side and need to be mixed higher, and the keyboard samples used are not very realistic sounding, but still 'fill the gaps' well enough not to knock any points off.
Vorphalack really stands out with not only his vocal performance, but also the subject matter of the lyrics themselves. Songs like Mask of the Red Death, Son of Earth and Crown really shine, not just in the lyrics but also the delivery.
The album is produced fairly well, the bass stands out, the drums a incredibly clear. The guitars, while sounding much better than on Worship Him or Blood Ritual, have a digital edge that really fits the mood, without the intensity that they have on Passage.
The first track, Black Trip, starts off as a fast-paced song, only to have the entire album slow in tempo. This is not a bad thing however, as Samael has always excelled in creating amazing arrangements without having to use blast beats every two minutes. The result is an impressive piece of work that has more than enough to sustain itself. I bought this album about 8 years ago and it still impresses me in it's originality mood as it did in 1997.

What can one come to expect from a band named after the `venom of god'? Death-Metal excellence. The slow, skullgrining riffs rip the soul asunder, & then suddenly shifts into a necro-velocity sending the mind reeling into a euphoric frenzy. The gut-wrenching guitars, the bone-pounding thunder, the growling damnation in a bestial, demonic voice.

Satanic Forces seem to flow through this band. In every blast of the drums, in every chord of the bass & guitars, in every indignant & exhaulting word, the feeling is there.

The cover features the thorn-impaled head of a bloody jesus in the midst of excrutiaton. Within the cover, one finds a rather clever depiction of the Yin-Yang, beseiged with two serpents, each with the black & white representative spheres as eggs in its mouth. This can be taken to mean the black viper as signifying the darkside, as it holds the blindlight under its power, as it thrusts upwards in domination.

Amongst other underworld topics, sado-masochism is expressed, & a tribute to dark warriors who have been persecuted from ancient to current times.

Ceremony of Opposites is a superior Black Metal production. It will bring the daemons into your household, as they pour in from your speakers. Keep an eye out for these minstrels, for their other infernal unleashings, which may form veritable chapters in a sonic grimoire of nightmarish manifestation.