Yes, there’s a lot of hype and anticipation any time cosmic death metal band Blood Incantation does anything, and for good reason. The arrival of their third full-length album “Absolute Elsewhere” brought with it nervous anticipation of what exactly this thing would be. Last time we had heard from the band was “Timewave Zero,” their ambient EP that wasn’t really a surprise but definitely led some to wonder where death metal stood in their universe. Turns out it’s still right in the fucking center, though there are plenty of passages that prove “Zero” wasn’t a lark, as they combine two worlds and create the most magnificent thing in their catalog.
“The Stargate” is the opening track, running 20:20 and spread over three tablets. The first opens in a whir, a propulsive rush that tears apart and mangles its way to the stars. The playing is vicious and channeled, simmering into a synth haze that feels like it transports you five decades into the past, a heavy Floyd-esque excursion that is a tenet that returns often. “All life is temporary unless its consciousness,” vocalist/guitarist Paul Riedl howls, the leads smearing slow-falling ash that washes into the second tablet that simmers in the great beyond. The rest of the suite continues the morbid journey. “The Message” runs 23:23, also divided into a triad of tablets, entering with catchy guitar work that feels strangely inviting. The fluidity multiplies as the playing grows more forceful, howls battering as a beastly explosion pulls at eyes. The tempo hulks, the leads diving and shimmering, raging into the second portion where sci-fi keys envelop like a sea of galactic matter. Clean singing again adds a different texture, and a welcome one, Weidel calling, “Can’t you hear them? The voices calling your name?” as it feels like the alien grandson of “Dark Side of the Moon.” The keys continue to ice the trails, the vocals continuing a smooth pathway, hypnotic visions taking over your dreams as you head into final third of this piece that rampages and destroys at dawn.
“Absolute Elsewhere” arrived amid a galaxy of expectations as Blood Incantation have become the flag bearers of the cosmic death metal movement, and they could not have been more up to the task of building onto their modern legend. It’s the best heavy metal record, from a pure artistic standpoint, that I’ve heard all year and one of the most impactful and soon-to-be-influential creations in the past decade. (Oct. 4)
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/BloodIncantationOfficial
To buy the album, go here: https://centurymedia.store/collections/blood-incantation
For more on the label, go here: https://www.centurymedia.com/
Meat Mead Metal 