Fear, Emptiness, Decibel: Worship Samael’s Worship Him
Before there were blogs there were these things called magazines, and the only metal magazine we still get excited about reading every month is Decibel. Here’s managing editor Andrew Bonazelli…
Who loves Swiss black metal? MetalSucks sure does—they sponsored a domestic Samael tour five years ago, and Axl has thumbs-upped recent jams “Luxferre” and “In the Deep” (from the now-quartet’s most recent LP, 2011’s Lux Mundi). And Decibel seconds that emotion! We rewind to 1991 in the December issue to induct Samael’s grim-as-fuck debut, Worship Him, into the Hall of Fame.
One would assume, given that this is early ’90s black metal, that the album title is sneeringly facetious. Not necessarily. Frontman Vorphalack told us, “If you have a Christian background, you’d think it’s about Christ. That’s not what the cover is saying. There’s ambiguity there. The song itself is about bipolar divinity, which is neither bad nor good. It’s looking at the whole—not just one side, bad or good.” Well, when it comes to Worship Him’s 10 primitive tracks—direct descendants of the likes of trailblazers Celtic Frost, Bathory and Venom—looking at the whole reveals not just good, but astonishingly good. Learn about the construction of this underdog classic, from Dominique Lang’s iconic cover art to the origin of the trio’s demonic stage names, in the December issue.
The December issue of Decibel also features Machine Head, Overkill, and Old Man Gloom, and can be purchased here. But why not just get a full subscription to ensure that you never miss an issue?
