Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere (Review)

Absolute Elsewhere. A title as bold as it is mysterious. Especially for a death metal band. Blood Incantation are (or were?) a death metal band. Originating from Denver, Colorado Blood Incantation always had more to say than the casual OSDM revival band. While their previous outings, Starspawn and Hidden History Of The Modern (which were both instant classics when released) always flirted with more progressive influences and integrated ambient sections into their Morbid Angel leaning technical death metal onslaught as portraied on the latters phenomenal closer, it was 2022s Timewave Zero that fully embraced their otherworldly influences and shocked die hard death metal fans with an ambient only record, devoid of any metal influence. As bold as that record was, many fans were concerned of where the band might head with future releases. As the band followed that record up with the Luminescent Bridge EP in 2023 the fog slowly began to fade, showing the harmonization of both soundscapes into one genre-defying release, that serves as a spiritual prelude to Absolute Elsewhere.

Sequenced into two 20 plus minute tracks named “The Stargate” and “The Message” that have been divided into three Tablets per song culminating in 43 minutes in total, Absolute Elsewhere is the answer to all our questions. Make no mistake though. If you are going into this, expecting a full on death metal record, you will be disappointed. For those who appreciate progressive music that pushes boundaries and dares to go where other bands don’t, this is for you.

Starting of the extraction with “The Stargate Tablet I”, where a short synth intro transports you into a Morbid Angelesque passage with rather technical guitar scales and feral blast segments, the tempo suddenly breaks down for a calming Pink Floyd infused synthesizer section with groovy jazz rhythms, laid back guitar harmonies and a stunning solo that absolutely soothes your soul before heading right back into the cavernous growls and sharply played disharmonic riffs of Paul Riedl and Morris Kolontyrsky. Accompanied by the ever changing rhythm section of Isaac Faulk and Jeff Barrett that end the track with an infectious groove laden stomp that is supported by background synth play, Blood Incantation make it clear that they demand your undivided attention. And that was just the first section of the first song. To get into detail for every song would be like carrying owls to Athens as the influences woven into this record and its standout moments would be too many to mention.

Generally speaking though, both tracks work extremely well and there are even songs within these songs that somehow do not distract from the overall listening experience. The textures are richly emphasized by Tangerine Dream infused ambient synth sections (check the guestlist) , tribal drumming segments, spoken word and clean vocal passages that fully take the listener to another galaxy.

The sheer amount of influences that can be found throughout the record is astounding. May it be the thrash sections opening the records last segment, the eastern scale riffing segments of “The Message (Tablet III)”, Kraut Rock passages or Black Metal tremolo riff attacks in the records back half, Blood Incantation manage to make all that work and offer a truly genre-binding experience. Even catchier segments are integrated into the mix as “The Message (Tablet III)” ‘s ending of “Open The Stargate” begs to be screamed along in a live setting. And yeah, the death metal sections, as in “The Message” first and last part for example, still absolutely fuck. The records sound is absolutely massive too, thanks to the famous Hansa Studios in Berlin and sound wizard Arthur Rizk.

Absolute Elsewhere. A title as bold as it is mysterious. Especially for a death metal band. The longer I look at the title and the stunning artwork, I think the records title could also be a synonym for a self-titled record and displays exactly where Blood Incantation are right now. Dimensions and galaxies ahead of all of their peers. Well done gentlemen, you transcended (see what I did there?) the genre you helped to revive in the first place, you created a masterpiece.