Home
Passage
Passage in Bloomington, MN
Current price: $11.99
Loading Inventory...
Size: OS
While 1994's very impressive
Ceremony of Opposites
had used industrial precision, samples, and synthesizers to frame and accentuate its still dominant guitar parts, 1996's dazzling
Passage
caught Switzerland's
Samael
in the act of seamlessly and fearlessly meshing state-of-the-art electronics with religiously analog heavy metal -- no mean feat. Orchestrated by the band's drummer, keyboard manipulator, and chief songwriter
Xy
, who laboriously programmed all of his drum parts and synths -- including highly atmospheric simulated chorused vocals -- this particularly daunting undertaking effectively yielded one of the first post-industrial black metal masterpieces. Opener
"Rain"
alone already managed to pacify any suspicious members of the extreme metal community, by delivering all of the unconventional ingredients cited above in flawless cooperation with a relentless flurry of double kick drums, viciously distorted staccato riffs, and absolutely raging deathly growls from vocalist/guitarist
Vorphalack
(incidentally,
's brother). One could say that nothing that followed quite matched the song's voracious intensity, and yet less frenetic highlights such as
"Angel's Decay,"
"Liquid Soul Dimension,"
and
"A Man in Your Head"
sounded even darker and more evil and sinister, their meticulous arrangements resulting in gloriously hellish mini-symphonies. And as if these musical accomplishments weren't groundbreaking enough,
's lyrics found
in an intriguingly esoteric, often astronomical frame of mind, as evidenced by deep space ruminations like
"Born Under Saturn,"
"Jupiterian Vibe,"
and the excellent
"Moonskin."
Needless to say,
's oftentimes mystifying originality marked it not only as
's crowning triumph, but as one of the most important heavy metal albums of the 1990s, bar none. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia
Ceremony of Opposites
had used industrial precision, samples, and synthesizers to frame and accentuate its still dominant guitar parts, 1996's dazzling
Passage
caught Switzerland's
Samael
in the act of seamlessly and fearlessly meshing state-of-the-art electronics with religiously analog heavy metal -- no mean feat. Orchestrated by the band's drummer, keyboard manipulator, and chief songwriter
Xy
, who laboriously programmed all of his drum parts and synths -- including highly atmospheric simulated chorused vocals -- this particularly daunting undertaking effectively yielded one of the first post-industrial black metal masterpieces. Opener
"Rain"
alone already managed to pacify any suspicious members of the extreme metal community, by delivering all of the unconventional ingredients cited above in flawless cooperation with a relentless flurry of double kick drums, viciously distorted staccato riffs, and absolutely raging deathly growls from vocalist/guitarist
Vorphalack
(incidentally,
's brother). One could say that nothing that followed quite matched the song's voracious intensity, and yet less frenetic highlights such as
"Angel's Decay,"
"Liquid Soul Dimension,"
and
"A Man in Your Head"
sounded even darker and more evil and sinister, their meticulous arrangements resulting in gloriously hellish mini-symphonies. And as if these musical accomplishments weren't groundbreaking enough,
's lyrics found
in an intriguingly esoteric, often astronomical frame of mind, as evidenced by deep space ruminations like
"Born Under Saturn,"
"Jupiterian Vibe,"
and the excellent
"Moonskin."
Needless to say,
's oftentimes mystifying originality marked it not only as
's crowning triumph, but as one of the most important heavy metal albums of the 1990s, bar none. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia
Shop Similar Products
