SAMAEL: 'Most Of The Recording' For Next Studio Album 'Is Done'

In a new interview with Sam Acevedo of El Planeta Del Rock, frontman Vorph (real name: Michael Locher) of Swiss industrial metallers SAMAEL spoke about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the band's next studio album. Asked what fans can expect from SAMAEL's new music, he responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We've tried, with [2007's] 'Solar Soul' particularly, to try to focus back on what we thought were the most important things in the band. Because the two previous albums, [1999's] 'Eternal' and [2004's] 'Reign Of Light', we were trying to experiment to have a larger spectrum in the band. And that's great too.But at some point we were afraid to get lost into into having songs so separate from one another. And we focused back consciously with 'Solar Soul' and we kept this for [2011's] 'Lux Mundi'. I think with [2017's] 'Hegemony', we started to open it a little bit more again — not too much, but it's kind of making the floor, the ground zero for the next album, which is the one we are working on now.'

He continued: "We've been [working] on this album for a long time. We had already songs before COVID. Waldemar [Sorychta] came in Switzerland. We checked the songs together. Waldemar, our producer, who did produce most of our albums, actually. And then during COVID, all those songs had kind of their second incarnation; we changed everything. We were actually meeting every month to play together and to check the songs together, because we had no shows, but we wanted to keep the synergy and to see each other was something important. And so during that time we had a lot of discussion about what we wanted to do, how we wanted the sound to be. And then, even after that, there is maybe a third incarnation for some of the songs. Xy's [drummer Alexandre 'Xytras' Locher] still doing a lot of editing at the moment. Most of the recording is done. So we will mix this this fall, if everything goes well. And hopefully early next year we can at least have one new song that we can present. Yeah, that's the idea."

Asked how hard it is for him to choose the themes for his lyrics in light of the fact that the entire world "seems to be sinking right now", Vorph responded: "Well, I guess some of it is in the album probably. But, as mentioned, I guess most of the lyrics, they were written, like, three years ago or something. And then, of course, I corrected things, I changed [them], because some of the songs, they've changed. And then, all of a sudden, you change the title of the song and then everything went to another [direction] and I start to rewrite the lyrics. Some of it I kept. So, through all those changes, I think it's also kind of a reflection of what we're living — when I say at the moment, it will be like three years ago or now. Things haven't changed, really, and maybe not even for the best when they changed."

In June 2020, SAMAEL announced the addition of bassist Ales Campanelli to the group's ranks.

A former member of SYBREED, OBSYDIANS and THE ERKONAUTS, Ales had been playing with SAMAEL guitarist Thomas "Drop" Betrisey for many years. He was no stranger to the machines-versus-humans music of SAMAEL and had known the band since its early black metal days.

Campanelli made his live debut with SAMAEL as part of Tohuwabohu, a worldwide, pay-what-you-want streaming metal event, in June 2020.

Ales joined SAMAEL as the replacement for Pierre "Zorrac" Carroz (SCARS DIVIDE, HEROD),who had played with the group since July 2018.

Longtime SAMAEL guitarist Marco "Makro" Rivao left the band in April 2018 "to do something different." Bassist Drop has since taken over guitar duties in the group.

SAMAEL's latest album, "Hegemony", was released in October 2017 via Napalm Records.

Photo credit: Johan Vergères