Tracklist
album info:
Verified yes
Discs1
GenreMetal
Rank−
Released1995-05-23
Record labelCentury Media Records
Charts
AddedJuly 4th, 2005
Last updatedMarch 17th, 2018
AboutRebellion
by Samael
Type: EP
Release date: May 23rd, 1995
Catalog ID:77099-2
Version desc.:Limited edition, Digipak
Label: Century Media Records
Format: CD
Limitation: 5000 copies
Reviews: 3 reviews
Rebellion is at the very least an interesting little median between Samael's strongest albums, a relic from a time when most bands still seemed to care about releasing short-form works that had some unique content and genuine value. At the time it was easily the most experimental and varied of their recordings, if only because they saw fit to really test the waters beyond metal with some of Xytras' evocative, ritualistic ambient music with beats (something they'd further extrapolate with Era One/Lessons in Magick #1). But I also remember this for its iconic serpentine yin-yang cover imagery and for having a few pretty decent, harder hitting tunes which mark that transition from Ceremony of Opposites to the sheer brilliance which lay just past it...
Of course, two of these are the re-recordings of older tunes, "After the Sepulture" and "Into the Pentagram", which I'm sure somehow infuriated someone, but strangely did not suffer from being given a Passage-like makeover with the upgraded production. Not that I have a huge problem with the original incarnations, but these are crafted well enough that I can't say I'd mind if the process was applied to a bunch of their other seminal material. The bass and vocal effects sound superb, the rhythm guitar tone meatier (ala Ceremony) and the melodies and atmosphere really ramped up. The other heavy piece here is "Rebellion" itself, a rousing piece which canters along with the same, menacing and grooving cadence present on Ceremony only with the synthesizers creating that cosmic mystique which so enamored me to the following album. I'll say it: when I first experienced the EP, that was my hands down favorite tune of the band's career up to its day, but I've since retrogressed to enjoying a few of its predecessors more ("Baphomet's Throne", "Black Trip", etc). Still, really dig some of the unexpected progressions in the keyboards, and it still sounds bad ass.
The EP is rounded out with a cover of Alice Cooper's "I Love the Dead" which is integrated rather well into the Samael sound. Hearing Vorphalack's goofy rasp hit the melody in the chorus is admittedly quite hilarious. That tune always reminded me of high school, but can you imagine showing up to Prom with this guy? Inverted crucifix in his cumberbun?! Lastly there are the two versions of "Static Journey", the first of which feels like an electrified Dead Can Dance, all martial bombast and synthetic industrial sounds used to convey an almost Predator-like threat that develops along an axis of clanking pipe-work and even a pulsing, inevitable techno beat. Basically this tune sets up the instrumental/alternate version of Passage, and the hidden version at the end of the disc features Vorph doing his best Laibach/Das Ich impression to boot. Again, a little unintentionally silly sounding, but still pretty excellent (the instrumental take in particular).
These days, this is conveniently attached to the 2001 CD reissue of Ceremony of Opposites, and I think aesthetically it matches up pretty well with the content of that full-length, but even in its original format this was not at all a waste of money for any Samael fan who was content to follow the group's gradual transformation. Considering the promotional detritus maxi-singles they'd put out for future efforts, this one had the courtesy of standing on its own two feet, even if one of those feet was re-recorded/cover material. I still break it out from time to time, though it's obviously wanting when compared to its immediate full-length neighbors.
-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
During the mid-nineties Samael released three EPs, all in between albums and all filled with little surprises. Rebellion was the title for the second one, released just a year after the magnificent Ceremony Of Opposites. It has some good looking cover art and features five tracks, the usual amount for this type of release, plus a hidden track with an alternate version of "Static Journey".
The material presented here is nothing outstanding and most of it isn't even new, with the exceptions being the title track and "Static Journey". The most interesting part of this record is exactly "Rebellion" which opens it fiercely and furiously and marks a songwriting transition between the two albums recorded a year before and later, namely Ceremony Of Opposites and Passage. For the first time in the band's career the drums are programmed and the black metal of early days is now virtually shed with the harsh vocals being the last remnant of it. This song shows the leap in songwriting that the band made from one album to the other and already showcases the transition to the more electronic based sound with heavy riffs of the following year. As for the other new track "Static Journey", it's just a really weird piece of electronic music. I can hardly describe the alien like textures the keyboards spew out and this goes on for six minutes. What I can say about this song is that it shows the band embracing their electronic side and oddly enough it has a sort of sci-fi movie soundtrack vibe.
Apart from these two new tracks we're also treated with an Alice Cooper cover and two reworked songs, one from each of the first two albums by the band. The first is "After The Sepulture" from the second album Blood Ritual and the revamping done here is the equivalent to an industrial facelift. The song is taken out of its dark environment and brought into the year of 1995 while being given a production treatment similar to the title track. The song is cut short by a whole minute and sounds perfectly suited for this record and era of the band. Same can be said for their dark hymn "Into The Pentagram" which undergoes the same aesthetical treatment and appears here shortened by more than two minutes. The Alice Cooper cover is actually very interesting with Vorph's clean singing commanding the show and demonstrating that his low tone is good enough to undergo such adventures.
This EP is worth it if you're curious about the evolution undergone by the band between the two albums, and it offers two good songs in the title track and cover. The rest of the material is passable as the old tracks seem too lightweight behind their new coat of electronic make-up and "Static Journey" is just weird. Alas it's worth it for Darwinist purposes alone but I can still recommend it if you want to complete your Samael collection. For the casual listener though it's doesn't pack much apart from the two mentioned songs.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
The 1995 EP release by Samael is extremely up to Par with the rest of the band's releases. The overall sound of this album is tuneful. Many of the riffs are extremely catchy and heavy sounding. This release is rather like a combination of old Samael tracks; especially classic tracks like, "Baphomets throne," and "Born under Saturn."
Rebellion is a very good powerful opening track. Very good harsh vocals and strong rumbling guitars combine, to create a good song. The only thing I don't practically like about the track is the way he says, "rebellion."
After the sepulture starts with a good base line with good drums and then pumps into powerful riffs and repeating beats. This song has a very good middle section. This song is the best on the EP.
I don't like I Love The Dead, I think it is a stupid song and I hate the way he sings it, I find this song rather sick.
Static Journey is an average song.
"Into the pentagram," is an excellent remake of the old version. In the old version I never really paid much attention too it. But when I heard the new version I loved it. When the line "into the pentagram," I love the way the guitars come in with a steady beat.
This short release is one of the best EP's ever released. I highly recommend it to anyone who is a death/industrial metal fan; especially if you like previous releases by Samael
by Samael
Type: EP
Release date: May 23rd, 1995
Catalog ID:77099-2
Version desc.:Limited edition, Digipak
Label: Century Media Records
Format: CD
Limitation: 5000 copies
Reviews: 3 reviews
Rebellion is at the very least an interesting little median between Samael's strongest albums, a relic from a time when most bands still seemed to care about releasing short-form works that had some unique content and genuine value. At the time it was easily the most experimental and varied of their recordings, if only because they saw fit to really test the waters beyond metal with some of Xytras' evocative, ritualistic ambient music with beats (something they'd further extrapolate with Era One/Lessons in Magick #1). But I also remember this for its iconic serpentine yin-yang cover imagery and for having a few pretty decent, harder hitting tunes which mark that transition from Ceremony of Opposites to the sheer brilliance which lay just past it...
Of course, two of these are the re-recordings of older tunes, "After the Sepulture" and "Into the Pentagram", which I'm sure somehow infuriated someone, but strangely did not suffer from being given a Passage-like makeover with the upgraded production. Not that I have a huge problem with the original incarnations, but these are crafted well enough that I can't say I'd mind if the process was applied to a bunch of their other seminal material. The bass and vocal effects sound superb, the rhythm guitar tone meatier (ala Ceremony) and the melodies and atmosphere really ramped up. The other heavy piece here is "Rebellion" itself, a rousing piece which canters along with the same, menacing and grooving cadence present on Ceremony only with the synthesizers creating that cosmic mystique which so enamored me to the following album. I'll say it: when I first experienced the EP, that was my hands down favorite tune of the band's career up to its day, but I've since retrogressed to enjoying a few of its predecessors more ("Baphomet's Throne", "Black Trip", etc). Still, really dig some of the unexpected progressions in the keyboards, and it still sounds bad ass.
The EP is rounded out with a cover of Alice Cooper's "I Love the Dead" which is integrated rather well into the Samael sound. Hearing Vorphalack's goofy rasp hit the melody in the chorus is admittedly quite hilarious. That tune always reminded me of high school, but can you imagine showing up to Prom with this guy? Inverted crucifix in his cumberbun?! Lastly there are the two versions of "Static Journey", the first of which feels like an electrified Dead Can Dance, all martial bombast and synthetic industrial sounds used to convey an almost Predator-like threat that develops along an axis of clanking pipe-work and even a pulsing, inevitable techno beat. Basically this tune sets up the instrumental/alternate version of Passage, and the hidden version at the end of the disc features Vorph doing his best Laibach/Das Ich impression to boot. Again, a little unintentionally silly sounding, but still pretty excellent (the instrumental take in particular).
These days, this is conveniently attached to the 2001 CD reissue of Ceremony of Opposites, and I think aesthetically it matches up pretty well with the content of that full-length, but even in its original format this was not at all a waste of money for any Samael fan who was content to follow the group's gradual transformation. Considering the promotional detritus maxi-singles they'd put out for future efforts, this one had the courtesy of standing on its own two feet, even if one of those feet was re-recorded/cover material. I still break it out from time to time, though it's obviously wanting when compared to its immediate full-length neighbors.
-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
During the mid-nineties Samael released three EPs, all in between albums and all filled with little surprises. Rebellion was the title for the second one, released just a year after the magnificent Ceremony Of Opposites. It has some good looking cover art and features five tracks, the usual amount for this type of release, plus a hidden track with an alternate version of "Static Journey".
The material presented here is nothing outstanding and most of it isn't even new, with the exceptions being the title track and "Static Journey". The most interesting part of this record is exactly "Rebellion" which opens it fiercely and furiously and marks a songwriting transition between the two albums recorded a year before and later, namely Ceremony Of Opposites and Passage. For the first time in the band's career the drums are programmed and the black metal of early days is now virtually shed with the harsh vocals being the last remnant of it. This song shows the leap in songwriting that the band made from one album to the other and already showcases the transition to the more electronic based sound with heavy riffs of the following year. As for the other new track "Static Journey", it's just a really weird piece of electronic music. I can hardly describe the alien like textures the keyboards spew out and this goes on for six minutes. What I can say about this song is that it shows the band embracing their electronic side and oddly enough it has a sort of sci-fi movie soundtrack vibe.
Apart from these two new tracks we're also treated with an Alice Cooper cover and two reworked songs, one from each of the first two albums by the band. The first is "After The Sepulture" from the second album Blood Ritual and the revamping done here is the equivalent to an industrial facelift. The song is taken out of its dark environment and brought into the year of 1995 while being given a production treatment similar to the title track. The song is cut short by a whole minute and sounds perfectly suited for this record and era of the band. Same can be said for their dark hymn "Into The Pentagram" which undergoes the same aesthetical treatment and appears here shortened by more than two minutes. The Alice Cooper cover is actually very interesting with Vorph's clean singing commanding the show and demonstrating that his low tone is good enough to undergo such adventures.
This EP is worth it if you're curious about the evolution undergone by the band between the two albums, and it offers two good songs in the title track and cover. The rest of the material is passable as the old tracks seem too lightweight behind their new coat of electronic make-up and "Static Journey" is just weird. Alas it's worth it for Darwinist purposes alone but I can still recommend it if you want to complete your Samael collection. For the casual listener though it's doesn't pack much apart from the two mentioned songs.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
The 1995 EP release by Samael is extremely up to Par with the rest of the band's releases. The overall sound of this album is tuneful. Many of the riffs are extremely catchy and heavy sounding. This release is rather like a combination of old Samael tracks; especially classic tracks like, "Baphomets throne," and "Born under Saturn."
Rebellion is a very good powerful opening track. Very good harsh vocals and strong rumbling guitars combine, to create a good song. The only thing I don't practically like about the track is the way he says, "rebellion."
After the sepulture starts with a good base line with good drums and then pumps into powerful riffs and repeating beats. This song has a very good middle section. This song is the best on the EP.
I don't like I Love The Dead, I think it is a stupid song and I hate the way he sings it, I find this song rather sick.
Static Journey is an average song.
"Into the pentagram," is an excellent remake of the old version. In the old version I never really paid much attention too it. But when I heard the new version I loved it. When the line "into the pentagram," I love the way the guitars come in with a steady beat.
This short release is one of the best EP's ever released. I highly recommend it to anyone who is a death/industrial metal fan; especially if you like previous releases by Samael