ABSOLUTE ELSEWHERE

The Denver based BLOOD INCANTATION has wrested its way up to the top ranks of the world of technical death metal in the last decade through a meticulous melding approach of morphing the old school death metal magic of bands like Morbid Angel and Immolation with the retro space rock effects of 70s progressive rock, a trait that a few intrepid extreme metal pioneers like Opeth and Enslaved have been tinkering with for over two decades now. Finding itself at the right place at the right time just as the world of psychedelic death metal was poised to break through to the mainstream as the newest death metal strain to come of age, BLOOD INCANTATION was more than ready to slay the competition and declare themselves the kings of this adventurous hybridization that finds space rock cozily commingling with brutal death metal bombast laced with concepts of our suppressed history and science fiction (often proven to be science fact).

The band immediately made a splash with its 2016 debut "Starspawn" which showcased the band's meaty metal hooks and technical wizardry but it wasn't until 2019's "Hidden History Of The Human Race" that the band really unleashed its true psychedelic potential with heady concepts wrapped up in psychedelic death metal splendor. The band while always technical in nature also proved to craft a mighty fine progressive metal album and the stage was set for this new extreme metal royalty to wear the crown. Despite the seeming certainty that BLOOD INCANTATION was in it for the long run, along comes the curveball release "Timewave Zero" in 2022 which found the band dropping all traces of metal music like a hot potato and rather totally rocketed off into space with a pure space ambient and progressive electronic style that took more inspiration from Berlin School giants like Tangerine Dream or Klaus Schulze. Had BLOOD INCANTATION gone the way of Leprous, Opeth or Ulver and completely shifted gears midstream?

It comes as great relief (as much as i love progressive electronic music) that BLOOD INCANTATION did nothing of the sort and rather was just allowing themselves to dabble in non-metal playgrounds while recharging their batteries for the next chapter of their metal mojo jounrey. Finally in 2024 we are treated to the newest installment of the BLOOD INCANTATION universe in the form of ABSOLUTE ELSEWHERE, a crafty conceptual sci-fi saga divided into two overarching 3 sections that are called tablets: "The Stargate" and "The Message." While many were wondering if BLOOD INCANTATION had abandoned metal for the world of progressive electronic on "Timewave Zero," it seems they were simply honing their chops to bedazzle their fans with an amazing fusion of their already masterful technical / progressive death metal with the more cosmic meanderings of 70s proggy space rock and Berlin School progressive electronic. Even Tangerine Dream member Thorsten Quaeschning appears for a cameo thus cementing this new development as a major leap in death metal ingenuity.

While such a collision of disparate musical worlds can result in a convoluted unconvincing disaster in the wrong hands, BLOOD INCANTATION has proven once again that this quintet of talented musicians can achieve the seemingly impossible on the same level as Opeth and Enslaved have done in the past. ABSOLUTE ELSEWHERE seems to have attained the perfect balance between the detached technical brutality of death metal and the more chilled excursions into the cosmos in the form of heady space rock. While the juxtaposition of these two seems rather dubious, somehow this band forges the perfect bridges to allow the disparate genres to trade off without a hitch. While "Hidden History Of The Human Race" was greatly praised and lauded as some sort of pinnacle of the style, i personally found the album to not flow as coherently as i had imagined however on ABSOLUTE ELSEWHERE the band seems to have ironed out all those peccadillos and forged a veritable masterpiece of progressive psychedelic death metal like no other. While Opeth has tackled both genres independently on different albums, BLOOD INCANTATION brings it all together in a most convincing way.

I think it goes without saying that psychedelic death metal has truly come of age and no better example exists than this latest BLOOD INCANTATION bombshell which produces a bountiful buffet of psychotropic bombast and kaleidoscopic calamity throughout ABSOLUTE ELSEWHERE's six-track / 43-minute excursion into the realms of sci-fi fueled proggy death metal extraordinaire. Now if anyone told a hardened death metal fan back in the early 90s that someday a band would successfully meld the meaty metal bluster of Morbid Angel with the psychotropic expansiveness of Pink Floyd and the Berlin School scene, nobody could have imagined that such a thing was even possible but here in the calendar year 2024 BLOOD INCANTATION has taken such possibilities into the realms of plausibility with one of the most well-crated examples of psychedelic death metal to emerge. I think it goes without saying that BLOOD INCANTATION has not jumped the shark in any possible way but has only improved its unorthodox genre coalescing manyfold. For my liking there are no missteps on this one, no moments that seem out of place and even the production that links the various styles is impeccable. This is BLOOD INCANTATION's finest moment yet!

"Absolute Elsewhere" is the third full-length studio album by US, Colorado based death metal act Blood Incantation. The album was released through Century Media Records in October 2024. It´s the successor to "Hidden History of the Human Race" from 2021, although the two full-length studio albums are bridged by the 2022 "Timewave Zero" EP. Three of the four members of the band have also been busy recording the second Spectral Voice album titled "Sparagmos", which was released in February 2024. Blood Incantation and Spectral Voice share all members except for the drummers of the two bands, who exclusively play in one of the groups.

While Blood Incantation have been brewing music since 2011 and have been relatively active since their formation, it wasn´t until the release of "Hidden History of the Human Race" that they had their underground breakthrough. Almost universally lauded for it´s intricate, progressive, and abstract death metal sound, "Hidden History of the Human Race" certainly made sure that Blood Incantation were placed firmly on the death metal map. It´s an interesting death metal release, because for all its sophistication, technical playing, and complex song structures, it´s still inherently an old school death metal release, featuring a gloomy and filthy brutality.

While a large part of the playing time of "Hidden History of the Human Race" was made up of the 18:05 minutes long "Awakening from the Dream of Existence to the Multidimensional Nature of Our Reality (Mirror of the Soul)", writing such a massive progressive death metal track obviously haven´t satisfied Blood Incantation´s cravings for abstract and complex death metal constructions, as "Absolute Elsewhere" contains only two 20 minutes plus tracks titled "The Stargate" (20:20 minutes long) and "The Message" (23:23 minutes long). Both tracks are subdivided into three shorter tracks, but you still get the experience of listening to two long tracks, as the sub-tracks seque into each other.

Stylistically Blood Incantation take their music to a new level. While still featuring loads of old school technical death metal parts, the album features just as many 70s influenced tripped-out space rock parts (Artists like Tangerine Dream, Eloy, and Pink Floyd haven´t lived in vain), which have nothing to do with death metal. So how does two such different music styles co-exist? It should be impossible, but it actually works incredibly well. Blood Incantation ensure that there is a good balance between death metal brutality, technical playing, progressive song structures, and the 70s progressive/space rock influences. "Absolute Elsewhere" is epic, melodic, and atmospheric, but also brutal, dissonant, and raw. Gloomy atmospheres are followed by epic melodic moments, and laid-back psychedelic journeys into space.

The growling vocals are cavernous, but higher in the mix than on the previous releases from Blood Incantation, which is a plus in my book. "The Message [Tablet II]" features a strongly Pink Floyed influenced section with clean singing in the Gilmour vein, and although they are relatively sparse and subtle, they provide a great contrast to the brutal growling vocals, which dominate "Absolute Elsewhere". The instrumental part of the album is well performed too, and the band are arguably a talented unit. It´s the multifaceted songwriting and unconventional progressive ideas which make "Absolute Elsewhere" such an interesting release though. These days you kind of expect that bands can handle their instruments, but it´s never a given that they can write intriguing music. Blood Incantation master both disciplines with ease. Featuring an organic, powerful, and detailed sound production "Absolute Elsewhere" is a high level release on all parameters and a 4.5 star (900%) rating is fully deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).