Ceremony of Opposites is the third album by Swiss heavy metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 band Samael

Samael (band)

Samael is a industrial black metal band formed in 1987 in Sion, Switzerland.-Biography:Although much of their music from the mid-1990s onwards has incorporated electronic sounds which would best define their genre as industrial metal, they are an early 2nd Wave black metal band and an innovator for...

.

This is their second release with Century Media Records

Century Media Records

Century Media Records is an Independent record label with offices in the United States, Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom.- Background :...

 after leaving French label Osmose Productions. Although the band's subject matter was similar to previous releases (references of Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...

, Satanism

Satanism

Satanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...

 and Blasphemy

Blasphemy

Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...

), it also showed their first signs of interest in industrial music

Industrial music

Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...

, a direction that they would take on future albums.

It was produced by Waldemar Sorychta

Waldemar Sorychta

Waldemar Sorychta , is a German heavy metal musician, songwriter, producer and artist who lives in Dortmund Germany since 1982.- Career :He initially worked with the German thrash metal band Despair, founded in 1986....

, who also worked on recordings by Lacuna Coil

Lacuna Coil

Lacuna Coil is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. Formed in 1994, the group has had two name changes since being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal and was inspired by the combination of gothic imagery and music...

, Tiamat

Tiamat (band)

-Biography:Initially, the band played straightforward black metal under the name Treblinka. After having recorded the album Sumerian Cry in 1989, vocalist/guitarist Johan Edlund and bassist Jörgen Thullberg parted ways with the other two founding members, and subsequently changed the name to Tiamat...

, Moonspell

Moonspell

Moonspell is a Portuguese gothic metal band from Brandoa, Lisbon. Formed in 1992, the group released their first EP Under the Moonspell in 1994, a year before the release of their first album Wolfheart...

 and others.

In 2005, the album was re-issued with their 1995 Rebellion EP.

Track listing

All tracks by Vorph

Vorph

Michael Locher is a Swiss musician who provides vocals and plays guitar for Swiss industrial/black metal band Samael. He co-founded the band in 1987 with his brother Alexandre Locher on drums. Michael's musical influences include Slayer, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Venom, Bathory, and early Possessed...

, Xy

1. "Black Trip" - 3:19
2. "Celebration of the Fourth" - 2:53
3. "Son of Earth" - 3:58
4. "'Till We Meet Again" - 4:11
5. "Mask of the Red Death" - 3:04
6. "Baphomet's Throne" - 3:30
7. "Flagellation" - 3:41
8. "Crown" - 2:37
9. "To Our Martyrs" - 2:37
10. "Ceremony of Opposites" - 4:39

Personnel

• Vorph – Guitar, Vocals, Arranger
• Masmiseim – Bass
• Xy – Drums, Arranger
• Rodolphe H. – Keyboards, Samplers
• Carsten Otterbach – Artwork
• Ravel – Sampling
• Waldemar Sorychta – Producer, Engineer, Mixing
• Siggi Bemm – Assistant Engineer