Customer Reviews

Era One + Lesson Inmagic 1

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With every new release, be it an EP or a full length album, Samael has evolved and matured their sound to new heights and explored musical territory not heard in their previous efforts. While primarily an extreme metal band, Samael is no stranger to softer music, having released an alternate edition of their album Passage titled "Xystras Xtras" in which all the songs were recorded using only keyboard. The two disc set Era One / Lesson in Magic #1 is much closer in style to Xystras Xtras than to heavier albums like Ceremony of Opposites, with many of the songs being entirely instrumental. Samael fans interested in checking out this release should be warned ahead of time that while Era One has moments of brilliance, it is certainly not up to the usual high standard set by these pioneers of metal. There is some dispute as to whether or not this material was even ever meant for release. It seems that Samael had a bit of a falling out with their record label, Century Media, and decided they wanted to move on to bigger and better things. Unfortunately, they still were under contractual obligation to give Century Media two more full length albums, so Era One was quickly thrown together. The fact that this album isn't even listed in the Discography section of Samael's official web site speaks volumes about the quality.

The opening title track is an entirely instrumental composition that piques the interest with multiple instruments and sound effects gradually being added on top of each other while continuing the same basic set of notes until reaching a fast paced crescendo laced with tribal drum beats. The next track, Universal Soul, sets the tone of the rest of the album with the ever present galactic themes that Samael focuses on. The lyrics continue to be of the same uplifting and inspirational nature of the Reign of Light album, but the vocals have taken a nose dive, dredging along in an uninspired manner that borders on being overtly boring. The problem isn't that vocalist Vorph has eschewed his trademark black metal growl. Many a metal band has used clean vocals with spectacular results. Opeth, Mortiis, Amorphis, Katatonia; they've all done it and with much grace. The motivation behind the vocals seems to be completely lacking here, as though Vorph were distracted or not particularly interested in what he was singing about.

A few of the tracks on the Era One disc, such as Sound of Galaxies, manage to be catchy despite the vocal issues, sticking around in the listener's head for some time after the song ends. This quality did not extend to the second disc, Lesson in Magic #1, which has almost no variety at all. The entire disc sounds like one unnecessarily long song, with none of the musical innovation that Samael has become famous for. Considering the dubious nature of this release, perhaps this was Samael's way of giving Century Media the middle finger. It certainly wasn't indicative of the direction the band was moving musically, as the next album, Solar Soul, had none of the repetition or boring pitfalls of Lesson in Magic #1.

While Era One might be useful as background noise for meditation or some sort of artistic endeavor, it is lacking in the pounding fury and chaotic melody typical of Samael albums that demand repeated spins in the CD player.

As a long time fan of Samael (since Blood Ritual first appeared on the scene), I've always anxiously awaited every single album they've put out so when they announced the Era One project I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy. Well, due to record label problems, it took a year or two for it to finally come to market but I can whole-heartedly say that it was worth every second of the wait. Samael have definitely grown over the years and their style has changed drastically. While many fans haven't liked the changes Samael have taken in the evolution of their music, I've always thought that each album gets even better. Era one is no exception. It blends much of the feeling we had from Xytras' "Passage" with more of the industrial feeling we have gotten with their newer work such as "Reign of Light". My hat goes off to Samael for, in my opinion, probably one of their best albums to date.

01. Era One - 4.5/5 - Sounds like a direct hold-over from Xytras' Passage but gently leads you in to the beginning of a very hard and heavy album. Excellent intro.

02. Universal Soul - 3/5 - I felt like this one was a b-side from "Reign of Light". Good song, but not nearly as catchy as the rest.

03. Sound of Galaxies - 5/5 - This song makes a very radical departure from the Samael we're all use to. Strong techno beats and repetative chorus will stick in your mind for days to come.

04. Beyond - 3/5 - Purely programmed music. Easily forgettable.

05. Night Ride - 5/5 - Another hard hitter on Era One. Lots of techno sounds but with excellent vocals.

06. Diamond's Drops - 4.5/5 - Very catchy tune that again, you'll be singing for days to come in your head.

07. Home - 3/5 - Meh. Another repetative programmed track like Beyond. Had to do a double take to see if it wasn't the exact same song again just louder. Pass.

08. Voyage - 5/5 - Whoa. Now THIS is a different sound for Vorph in that he actually SINGS! I absolutely loved the clean vocals for a change. Totally new direction that I hope we see lots more of in the future. Has a very Middle-Eastern sound to it that's also quite different for Samael.

09. Above as Below - 3.5/5 - Nothing special. Very slow song with some strong beats. Definitely looks dull when compared to the rest of the album.

10. Koh-I-Noor - 4/5 - Has lots of programming going on, but it makes for an excellent closing track for Era One. It really sums up the album and pulls in the themes from all the previous tracks.

While not the Classic Samael in the "Rebellion" or "Worship Him" Blackmetal type, and not the new Metal/Industrial crossover of the new "Reign of Light" or "Solar Soul". This album stands alone more as a side project. The first disc containng lyrics, being "Era One", the second one is all instrumental, being "Lesson in Magic". The music i can best describe as Progressive with a good helping of electronic mixed in. Definitely different.

If you're expecting something like "Ceremony of Opposites", you'll be dissapointed. If you are open to see the range of what Vorph and Xytras can do, then definitely check this out.

This is unlike Samael's other music. It's much lighter. However, there are some gems on this CD. For example, the only song where Vorphalack sings in a melodious voice is just awesome. That song is Voyage. Sound of Galaxies is very good too. The second CD of all instrumentals is somewhat uninteresting. This album is lighter than Reign of Light. Also, Vorphalack never sings in his usual coarse voice, he sings in the deep yet clean voice which he used on Static Journey (the version with the vocals). Also, it's the same voice used at the beginning of On Earth from Reign in Light. That's the voice he uses on 99% of this album.

For some reason, only Vorphalack and Xytras are credited on this album. Masmiseim and Makro aren't mentioned in the sleeve. I guess only Vorphalack and Xytras worked on this one.

If you're looking for a heavy album, then this isn't it.

I am a fan from the first album with Samael. I LOVE that they are so experimental. Saw them in concert for Ceremony, outstanding! I'm 35 and feel like they've evolved right along with me.

Man I was so psyched for Era One. Too bad for me because this album falls flat. Flat enough that this is the first review I've ever felt the need to write on Amazon.

One of the things that was great about Samael is that they took you somewhere emotionally with their music. Over all, vocally this is soooo drab. (though kudos for going clean on one track Vorph) It is totally droning monotone otherwise.

If the vocals took us on a rollercoaster, like they should, I wouldn't mind the techno aspects, I would embrace them. We would have a balance. Here we just have blah.

Another reviewer mentioned this might just have been a quick way for Samael to get out of century media. I pray this is true.

Is it a totally waste of plastic? No. Not even close to worth the $17 I spent on it. If you are doing something like drawing, this isn't a bad disk to have spinning. But it is nothing more than forgettable background music to me. Which is a crime from one of the best bands in heavy history.

And it pains me to say that.

I've been a huge fan of Samael since the Blood Ritual days, and the first thing worth mentioning is that if you basically stopped listening to Samael at around Passage, then this is probably something you would want to skip. I'm just getting that out of the way, immediately, because this is definitely an "experimental" album for Samael....even by Samael standards.

If you have listened to their albums over the year, you can see a clear progression from Black Metal to Techno/Dance metal. I am one of the fans that likes BOTH styles (even though I do prefer the older stuff, specifically Ceremony of Opposites...which I think is the best Black Metal album of all time). So far they have not released an album that I dislike, and I don't dislike this package either.

Worth mentioning is that this package almost didn't even get released...and I can see why. It *IS* very different for both Samael and Century Media as well for that matter.

ERA ONE:
This album is a complete mixed bag. There are *AWESOME* songs like Universal Soul and Night Ride, which sound like they could be EP songs (remember how Samael used to throw an EP between each studio album...well this was recorded between Eternal and Reign of Light, so I definitely get that these were almost meant for something like that) for the main Samael material. Just add some chunkier guitar to them and you have classic Samael, even though Vorph is still using his "Reign of light voice". The rest of the album honestly I am not all that thrilled with. Era One is a great song and sounds like Xytras' classical album that came with Passage and Koh-i-noor is also a pretty good song. But the rest are so eclectic that its hard to get into the album because its all so broken up. The most jarring song is probably Voyage, where Vorph actually SINGS....its just....not right. Sorry. His "rammstein-like" voice is about as far into singing as I want from him. Please bring back the growl, VORPH!!!!!

Lesson in Magic:
A brilliant Techno album. There are no vocals, which I am sad to say is what makes this part of the package so good. Vorphs experimental vocals on era one really drag it down, whereas this is just Xytras programming and having fun. Great to have on in the background while you are working or driving. NOT Samael, though....definitely side project material.

Conclusion:
I'd say its worth the money if you are a techno fan or an open minded Samael fan of the old days. As I said, if you stopped with Passage, nothing new here....we can always hope for a more aggressive stance on the next album. I always hope for a "Reign of Darkness", myself. ;)

It seems like when a record company is about to release a stinker they give you two discs for the price of one, as if that makes up for selling junk. Ever since Eternal Samael has been my favorite black metal band - well, twosome. They put an accessible face on black metal. Unfortunately they either got lazy or are running out of ideas.

Out of nineteen songs on two discs, you get four or five good songs. Do they think they're an American band?