Though it seems to be the album mentioned the least frequently among fans and the band itself "Blood Ritual" would have to be my favorite release by Samael.

First the music. Sounding somewhat similar to their previous album "Worship Him" (their debut LP) nearly everything is improved and added to in some way. The riffs are as heavy as they ever were though they showcase even less speed on this album. Keys and acoustic guitar parts are even used (sparingly) in parts of the album. They utilize quite a bit more melody as well. The bass is also quite clear on this album and the crushing drums of the last album make a return. The vocals are less raspy and sound more like an unhinged, tortured shrill this time around.

The lyrics seem to indicate a central story revolving around a satanic cult led by a blood thirsty dark priest though, not every song follows this theme. For instance Poison Infiltration and After the Sepulture (two of the album's highlights i might add) seem to be separate from the aforementioned story

"Blood Ritual" has a very eerie atmosphere. The lyrics and music come together to bring you a horror filled masterpiece. There isn't a weak track on the entire album.

Pick up Blood Ritual now!

Worship Him is a black metal classic. For the most part the album is doomy and somewhat slow with lots of heavy riffs and some thrashier sections interspersed. Think HellHammer but more technical. The vocals are very raspy and suit the music quite well, they definitely have an inhuman quality to them.

The lyrics on the album are very blasphemous and full of hate. Their isn't alot of subtlety with lines like this presented: "Everybody will be punished only the children of the rebellious angel will be saved while the worshippers of the stinking pig, victims of ignorance and naivity, will remain prisoners of the carnal form and forever rot in that cursed pit that has become of earth." These kind of straightforward lyrics separate the band from alot of artists who try to be more cryptic and never take the music past a sort of grim level, while Samael went past that level and made the music sound truly evil on this recordand I think the lyrics help achieve that in large part here.

The atmosphere is very dark on Worship Him though some songs carry it better than others. Sleep of Death, and Into the Pentagram are examples of songs that are loaded with this kind of rich atmosphere. While none of them are devoid of said atmospheric qualities, the title track doesn't do a whole lot in that department and is kind of on the monotonous side.

Overall this is a great album and though I definitely put Blood Ritual over this one, Worship Him is the album that got me into Samael. A menacing, pitch black lp that belongs in every extreme metal head's collection.

I highly recommend this one.