Passage

Passage is the fourth album by Swiss heavy metal band Samael. On this album, the band opted for more intensive use of keyboards and industrial sounds, drifting from their black metal roots and progressing in a different direction. Lyrically the band abandoned satanic themes and veered more towards the occult and the cosmic. While it differs from its predecessors, Passage can be credited for thrusting Samael from the underground scene and giving the band a much larger international audience. The album was originally recorded with a 17 song track list but was later cut down to 11. The remaining songs can be found on the album Exodus. A second edition was later offered containing 10 classical piano compositions from the album on a second disk. In 2007, a remastered, re-packaged, special edition was released containing the album's original 17 song track list. Over a decade after its original release, Passage is still considered by many to be a pillar in the black/industrial metal genre. A video for "Jupiterian Vibe" received regular airplay on MTV's Headbangers Ball. The album was produced by Waldemar Sorychta, who would go on to work with bands such as Lacuna Coil.