Rarely, if ever, does death metal aspire beyond the merely physical, but for the spiritual, the supernatural, that which lies beyond to offer an experience for the listener rather than disposable, codified product.
The enigmatic BLOOD RITUAL is an obvious, illuminating exception to this rule. Blood Ritual is a pro Church of Satan band. This link underlines the power Tim Bishop draws from: self-willed Satanic might to transcend the earthen and fleshy, kabbalistic mysticism employed for music death metal, in this case to well and fully reach the Beyond.
Such is the sound of BLOOD RITUALs second and long-anticipated album, Black Grimoire. Nearly a decade in the waiting/making and each instrument recorded entirely by Bishop, Black Grimoire is the sound of death metal going beyond the physical, even beyond the supernatural. Sepulchral vocals bellow like the maw of Hell, the sound of a thousand souls damned for eternity. Downtuned riffs alternately race and rewind, the cauldron-thick speed harnessing the powers of chaos while the time-halting doom thunder eerily squirms not unlike the great serpent Ouroboros forever eating its tail. And Bishops guitar leads are nothing short of sublime: furies of splattering disorientation soon gracefully right themselves into melodious requiems that will haunt the subconscious for eternity, looming malevolently above the swirling maelstrom. In short, Black Grimoire is an experience.
Of course, such Satanic mastery doesnt come overnight. Hailing from the festering, once-grunge-filled bowels of Seattle, BLOOD RITUAL was originally formed in 1991 by Bishop, a member of the Church of Satan, as a band monikered Impiety and dedicated to authentic Satanism. After several line-ups, four devastating songs, and a name change, in 1992 BLOOD RITUAL was officially born. The band soon played several local shows, where they overwhelmed the fans and out-performed their headliners. Strange occurrences took place at these shows: Cars mysteriously caught fire, peoples crucifixes broke and fell, and some listeners went mad and began hearing voices. In 1993, BLOOD RITUAL released their first demo, entitled Cruciform Antithesis. Distributed internationally by the MORIBUND CULT, Cruciform received numerous praises and became a legendary demo. One report stated that a group of occultists tried to listen to it, and it melted their tape machine.
Over time, some BLOOD RITUAL members began experiencing strange things, such as visions. The lead guitarist took ill and had a nervous breakdown, quitting the band. Mr. Gallows, whose creepy solos made him the perfect addition to BLOOD RITUAL, replaced him. In 1995, BLOOD RITUAL returned to the studio to record their debut album for the CULT, At the Mountains of Madness. Pressing plants refusing to make the release and print shops purposely misprinting the booklet and conveniently losing the film plagued the release, delaying it until 1998. Finally unleashed, At the Mountains of Madness was hailed as one of the best death metal albums ever, also gaining notoriety as a unique work of Black Magic. BLOOD RITUAL would go on to play with headlining bands such as Incantation, Obituary, and Six Feet Under. Not surprisingly, BLOOD RITUAL was always equal to their headliners and in many instances even outshining them, making a huge impact at the November to Dismember metalfest in 2000 and wherever they have played.
Eventually, BLOOD RITUAL became the sole vision of Bishop, reaching its apex with the imminent release of Black Grimoire. Recorded at the Autopsy Room (3 Inches of Blood, DRAWN AND QUARTERED, INFERNAL LEGION) and mastered at Nettleingham Audio (Engorged, Lord Gore, SARGEIST, LEVIATHAN, XASTHUR, INFERNAL LEGION), Black Grimoire will soon be hailed as even more of a classic than its predecessor, and rightly so. To commemorate this monument of mesmerizing proportions, MORIBUND CULT will be releasing the album in a limited-edition hardbound deluxe A5 digibook with artwork done by Church of Satan Magister Rex Church.
The gauntlet has been thrown down, and the Black Grimoire has been opened. Your peril, your experience, awaits.This site is for Blood Ritual and friends. Any comments containing advertisements of any kind will be deleted.
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