SAMAEL - Worship Him (12" LP)

"Worship Him" holds a special place in the realm of extreme metal. It epitomizes the very essence of what drew many to the genre in the first place, a sinister, morbid, and nihilistic allure that defied all boundaries. At a time when this music was meant to be vile, disgusting, and evil, Samael's debut album, "Worship Him," achieved just that.

The album, released at the cusp of the late '80s and early '90s, remains an embodiment of the amalgamation of extreme qualities. Its sound resonates with pure darkness and primitive brutality, akin to the earliest days of extreme metal. The core of the album's riffing takes inspiration from the likes of Venom and Hellhammer, but strips away any traces of light or positivity, leaving behind a relentless and malevolent essence.

The heart of the album lies in its brutal and morbid riffs. They blend the morbidly antagonistic devil worship of Venom with the life-draining doom and gloom of bands like Hellhammer and early Celtic Frost. These riffs possess a bulldozing quality, both in their power and their sound, suffocating the listener in a relentless barrage. The album's music, shrouded in darkness, holds no place for fun or party-like qualities. It's the exact kind of sonic malevolence that seekers of extreme metal were drawn to.

Not only the core of the riffs, but the entire songwriting and production processes are meticulously crafted to suck any life-affirming elements from the music. The song structures are straightforward yet incredibly effective in their destructiveness. The percussion feels like ancient war drums, adding a fervor to the worship of darkness. The vocals, characterized by their irreverence, enhance the blasphemous aura. The production strikes the perfect balance, cutting through the air like a razor blade while drenching the atmosphere in utter darkness.

Samael's brilliance was short-lived, with subsequent albums taking the band in different directions. Nevertheless, this debut remains a timeless masterpiece in the realm of extreme metal, capturing the genre's unrelenting essence like few others.