Samael is one of those bands that prefers to follow its own course, rather than latch on to the fashionable style of the day. Their early works are strongly rooted in black metal, but by the time of Ceremony Of Opposites (one of two albums usually regarded as their best), they had forged a dark, almost doomy black metal sound, not terribly complex but haunting and effective. They turned it up a notch with the followup, Passage, with a brighter tone and a slightly increased techno presence. Passage seemed to divide their fan base, many feeling they had lost their way a bit but also many feeling it was by far their best album to date. Though they did record another album after Passage (Eternal, in 1999), the band has kept a rather low profile in recent years, leading some to believe they might have broken up altogether. But in 2004 they re-emerged, with a new album, Reign Of Light, an album which sees the band extending their use of keyboards and electronics, while still retaining the basic dark metal style that is their foundation.