Biography: Switzerland's Samael has evolved from a run-of-the-mill black metal band into one of Europe's most original and innovative metal bands by introducing industrial, gothic, and countless other influences into their extreme sound. Formed in the late '80s by Vorphalack (guitars/vocals), Xytras (drums/keyboards), and bassist Masmiseim, Samael was heavily influenced by first-generation black metal bands such as England's Venom and Swiss compatriots Celtic Frost. An extremely raw, self-financed EP called Medieval Prophecy caught the attention of French-based Osmose Records, which agreed to release the band's first full-length album, Worship Him, in 1991. The record's poor production values and unremarkable black metal did little for the band, but the following year's much more mature Blood Ritual was another story. The album found Samael incorporating keyboards and different guitar textures to their sound, and a permanent keyboard player (Rodolphe H.) was drafted soon after. After signing with the Century Media label, the band returned to the studio with renowned black metal producer Waldemar Sorychta (famous for his work with Tiamat) to record 1994's impressive Ceremony of Opposites. Samael began to find their unique voice on this record, combining swirling keyboard melodies with their brutal guitar attack to create what they called "macabre operettas." The stakes were raised even higher on 1996's groundbreaking Passage, which saw Xytras (now simply Xy) taking over keyboard duties as well as programming all his drum tracks. This unconventional mix of black metal brutality and synthesizers resulted in one of the decade's most original and extreme metal releases, and was followed by extensive touring (including the band's first American shows). After producing two albums by labelmates Rotting Christ, Xy reconvened the group to record 1999's Eternal, with additional guitarist Kaos. The album contains even bolder experiments with technology and confirmed the band's position as forerunners in their field.
