Hegemony
Studio album by
Samael
Released13 October 2017 (2017-10-13)[1]
StudioThe Cube, Roystone Studio, Switzerland
Genre
Length55:40
LabelNapalm
ProducerWaldemar Sorychta, Xy
Samael chronology
Lux Mundi
(2011)		 Hegemony
(2017)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
BraveWords8/10[3]
Metal Hammer8/10[2]
Metal Injection8/10[4]

Hegemony is the tenth studio album from Swiss industrial metal band Samael, released on 13 October 2017 through Napalm.[1]

Background

In February 2017, Samael signed with Austrian record label Napalm for worldwide distribution.[5] The release year of the album coincides with the band's 30th anniversary.[6] Hegemony is the first Samael album to feature bassist Thomas "Drop" Betrisey whose recruitment the band had announced in early 2015.[7][8]

Writing

Hegemony was in the making for over four years[1] and saw a shift from the occult and spiritual themes prevalent on past albums to social and political topics.[6] "It is the first time we've been very much connected with the zeitgeist", said vocalist Vorph to Metal Hammer. While the band were working in a more isolated manner in the past, Vorph cited the strong influence of the media and technology as a reason for the different approach on Hegemony: "Somehow today, you cannot do this anymore. The news is already on your phone, it's everywhere. You cannot distance yourself, it's running after you."

With the track "Samael" Vorph wanted to explore the meaning of the band name: "I wanted to explain what Samael is as an entity. [...] There is an energy going through this band, and there are moments when we are more than four people."[6] According to Vorph, when focusing on live situations, the song represents unity, connection and a "sense of belonging that exists outside of the mainstream".

The track "Rite of Renewal" is seen by Vorph as a testimony to Russian composer Igor Stravinsky.[6] Vorph mentioned his own bias for dissonance and noise referring to dissonant elements used by Stravinsky and saw it as counterbalance to keyboard player and songwriter Xy's symphonic approach.

Regarding the whole album, Vorph said it was closely connected with predecessor album Lux Mundi: "This album, we built upon that one, and we said to ourselves, let's take it to the next level somehow."[6]

Release

In mid-September 2017, Samael premiered a video for the track "Black Supremacy".[7] A week before issuing the album the band released a video for the title track "Hegemony", commenting "we choose to open the album with this song because we thought it sets the tone."[1]

Critical reception

Revisiting Samael's musical development during their career, Cheryl Carter in her review for Metal Hammer found that "experimentation has worked in their favour through time" and that the album "sounds vibrant, accessible and deliciously catchy while housing muscular riffs and thrilling synth-led progressions". She highlighted "Vorph's dynamic voice, still huge after all this time" and concluded, "Hegemony is a slick and vital record that sounds absolutely massive and is wickedly good fun."[2]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Vorph, except where noted; all music is composed by Xy, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Hegemony"3:47
2."Samael"3:58
3."Angel of Wrath"3:29
4."Rite of Renewal"4:31
5."Red Planet"3:58
6."Black Supremacy"3:50
7."Murder or Suicide"4:03
8."This World"3:52
9."Against All Enemies"4:31
10."Land of the Living"4:12
11."Dictate of Transparency"3:58
12."Helter Skelter" (Written by Lennon–McCartney)3:26
Bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."Storm of Fire"4:11

Personnel

Samael

  • Vorph – guitar, vocals
  • Mak – guitar
  • Drop – bass
  • Xy – keyboard, programming, production

Technical personnel

  • Waldemar Sorychta – production
  • Stefan Glaumann – mixing
  • Svante Forsbäck – mastering
  • Patrick Pidoux – album cover, layout
  • Aline Fournier – band photography

Charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[9] 179
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10] 76
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] 22

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Samael: Watch 360-Degree Animated Video For 'Hegemony' Title Track". Blabbermouth.net. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Carter, Cheryl (December 2017). "Samael Hegemony". Metal Hammer. No. 303. United Kingdom: Future Publishing. p. 123. ISSN 0955-1190. OCLC 775087096.
  3. 1 2 Simms, Kelley (23 October 2017). "Samael - Hegemony". BraveWords. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  4. ↑ Deaville, Jason (15 October 2017). "Album Review: Samael Hegemony". metalinjection.net. New York. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  5. ↑ "Samael - Inked A Deal With Napalm Records". Terra Relicta. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Selzer, Jonathan (December 2017). "Fight for Your Rite". Metal Hammer. No. 303. United Kingdom: Future Publishing. p. 119. ISSN 0955-1190. OCLC 775087096.
  7. 1 2 "Samael release new video for Black Supremacy". Louder Sound. Future. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  8. ↑ "Samael Parts Ways With Bassist; Announce Thomas Betrisey As Replacement". BraveWords. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  9. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Samael – Hegemony" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  10. ↑ "Samael's Hegemony Offizielle Deutsche Charts". Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Baden-Baden, Germany: GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  11. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Samael – Hegemony". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
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