Passage (Samael album)

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Passage
Studio album by
Released19 August 1996 (1996-08-19)[1]
Recorded1996
StudioWoodhouse Studios (Hagen, Germany)[2]
GenreSymphonic black metal, industrial metal
Length42:17
LabelCentury Media
ProducerWaldemar Sorychta
Samael chronology
Rebellion
(1995)
Passage
(1996)
Exodus
(1998)
Singles from Passage
  1. "Rain"
    Released: January 2009
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Rock Hard9.5/10[4]
Sputnikmusic[5]

Passage is the fourth album by Swiss industrial metal band Samael, released on 19 August 1996 through Century Media.[1]

On this album, the band opted for more intensive use of keyboards and industrial sounds, drifting from their black metal roots and progressing in a different direction. Lyrically the band abandoned satanic themes and veered more towards the occult and the cosmic.

While it differs from its predecessors, Passage can be credited for thrusting Samael from the underground scene and giving the band a much larger international audience.

The album was originally recorded with a 17-song track list but was later cut down to 11. The remaining songs can be found on the album Exodus. A second edition was later offered containing 10 classical piano compositions from the album on a second disk.

In 2007, a remastered, re-packaged, special edition was released containing the album's original 17 song track list.

Over a decade after its original release is still considered by many to be a pillar in the black/industrial metal genre.

A video for "Jupiterian Vibe" received regular airplay on MTV's Headbangers Ball.

Track listing[edit]

All lyrics are written by Vorph; all music is composed by Xy

No.TitleLength
1."Rain"4:01
2."Shining Kingdom"3:37
3."Angel's Decay"3:37
4."My Saviour"4:09
5."Jupiterian Vibe"3:23
6."The Ones Who Came Before"3:42
7."Liquid Soul Dimension"3:42
8."Moonskin"3:57
9."Born Under Saturn"4:18
10."Chosen Race"4:08
11."A Man in Your Head"3:43

Personnel[edit]

Samael[edit]

  • Vorph – vocals, guitar
  • Kaos – guitar
  • Masmiseîm – bass
  • Xy – keyboard, synthesizer, live & programmed drums

Technical personnel[edit]

  • Waldemar Sorychta – production, engineering

Chart positions[edit]

Chart (1996) Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[6] 84

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Samael - Passage Release Details". centurymedia.com. Century Media. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  2. ^ "Samael - Passage". samael.info. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  3. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. Samael: Passage at AllMusic. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  4. ^ Mühlmann, Wolf-Rüdiger (1996). "Samael: Passage". Rock Hard (in German) (112). Rock Hard Verlags- und Handels- GmbH. ISSN 1437-8140. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  5. ^ Willie (February 7, 2008). "Review: Samael – Passage". sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  6. ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 16 October 2016.