Samael

Switzerland is known for giving the world two bands:  Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, and SAMAEL, hailing from the city of Sion.  Samael formed in 1987, and played in the raw old-school black/death style made famous by their fellow countrymen.  They released several excellent demos in the late 1980s, such as 1987's Into the Infernal Storm of Evil and 1988's Macabre Operetta.  These albums showcased the extreme black/death sound of early Samael.

Samael covering the classic Hellhammer song, "The Third of the Storms"

In 1988, Samael released the EP Medieval Prophecy.  This featured a pretty faithful cover of Hellhammer's "The Third of the Storms" (see above).  Samael's fame in the black metal underground only grew.  In 1989, the demo From Dark to Black just cemented their reputation.  By the nineties, Samael was releasing full-length studio albums, such as 1991's Worship Him and 1992's Blood Ritual.

The very atmospheric "Sleep of Death", off of 1991's Worship Him

Samael's very famous "After the Sepulture"--which is off of 1992's Blood Ritual

After Blood Ritual, Samael began to get more creative with their black metal sound.  Not afraid to incorporate varied tempos, electronic manipulation, and non-traditional black metal vocals, the albums since Blood Ritual have stretched the very idea of what black metal can accomplish.  1994's Ceremony of Opposities is a true masterpiece in this regard.  By the time of 1996's Passage, however, the genre of black metal is barely present in Samael's sound, and they have begun to enter a realm all their own.

"Baphomet's Throne" is Samael at perhaps the peak of their black metal creativity

This track from 1996's Passage shows the shift away from black metal...

Since the time of 1996's Passage (an incredible album in its own right), Samael has simply expanded their sound to include more and more non-black metal elements.  At this point, they are more or less a electronic/industrial metal band with occult/black metal influences.  In terms of the development of black metal, their first few years (1987-1992) are the most noteworthy.

Select Discography:

Into the Infernal Storm of Evil (demo) (1987)
Macabre Operetta (demo) (1988)
Medieval Prophecy EP (1988)
From the Dark to Black (demo) (1989)
Worship Him (1991)
Blood Ritual (1992)
Ceremony of Opposites (1994)
Passage (1996)

Next time: SCHIZO and first wave Italian black metal