Apoptose's debut release Nordland received numerous accolades for its mixture of orchestral sampling and dark ambience. For their follow up the heathen German outfit have drawn inspiration from the Spanish village of Calanda, and its annual festival of drumming. It's a 36-hour orgy of drumming that takes place during Easter.
Apoptose witnessed the festival first-hand in 1998 and Blutopfer (German for Blood Sacrifice) captures his recordings and treatments of this amazing spectacle. Blutopfer features tirades of rhythms interspersed with passages of dark atmospherics. The sound of a thousand drums opens the album with deep penetrating swathes of sound on 'Apotropaion'. A sharp snare drum sound leads the procession march on 'Prozession der Augen'. Occasionally the sounds of the crowd can be heard above the thunderous beats but the rhythm takes prominence throughout Blutopfer with Apoptose furnishing the atmosphere with solemn keyboards, and huge bass shudders. Blutopfer strikes a perfect balance between documentary evidence and is an impressive recording in its own right. ©