In the time when black metal was still establishing itself as a genre, I still find it hard to believe that one of the first real gems is put out not by a Norwegian band, but by the Swiss group Samael! This album opens with a great moody keyboard passage and then rips into Sleep of Death. This is easily the "blackest" of all of Samael's releases. The production is very dim, yes, but keep in mind, this was 1991! The only major black metal group to have released a full-length studio album was Darkthrone (1991's Soulside Journey, which was more death metal than black metal). It wouldn't be until 1992 that most of the Scandinavian crew would start putting out actual albums. This album is pretty good, with some generic sounding songs, but nothing to get too excited about. Recommended for historical purposes or to round out your Samael collection.
