Blood ritual

A blood ritual is any ritual that involves the intentional release of blood.

A common blood ritual is the blood brother ritual, which started in ancient Europe and Asia. Two or more people, typically male, intermingle their blood in some way. This symbolically brings the participants together into one family. This can be an unsafe practice where blood-borne pathogens are concerned; the use of safe, sterilized equipment such as a lancet can mitigate this problem.

Body piercing can also be part of a blood ritual. Though piercing does not always cause bleeding, it certainly can. Piercing has been practiced in a number of indigenous cultures throughout the world, usually as a symbolic rite of passage, a symbolic death and rebirth, an initiation, or for reasons of magical protection.

Blood rituals often involve a symbolic death and rebirth, as literal bodily birth involves bleeding. Blood is typically seen as very powerful, and sometimes as unclean. Blood sacrifice is sometimes considered by the practitioners of prayer, ritual magic, and spell casting to intensify the power of such activities. The Native American Sun Dance is usually accompanied by blood sacrifice.

Blood Ritual (album)

Blood Ritual is the second album by the Swiss heavy metal band Samael, released in 1992 on the Century Media Records label.

Background and recording

When Samael's one-album-only contract with Osmose Productions expired the group signed with Century Media which, in the words of vocalist/guitarist Vorphalack, offered them a "rather interesting" deal. The long time between Worship Him and Blood Ritual, explains Vorphalack, was due to negotiations between them and the label. The band to chose to record their new record in Germany rather than their Switzerland due to the expensive studio time of their native country.

Music

Vorphalack argued that the main change between Worship Him and Blood Ritual was the record production and not the music. According to him there are songs in their sophomore album that pre-date their debut.

Track listing