Album Review: Blood Incantation – “Absolute Elsewhere” (Progressive Death Metal)

Written by Kep

Evolution. We demand it of the bands we love—and the bands we love to criticize—even as we cling doggedly to the sounds that first hooked us. And we’re a damn picky bunch, us fans. Do too much or get too far out of the box and we might jump ship; do too little and you’ll hear the “they just make the some album over and over” accusations. It’s often a lose-lose situation: we want bands to dare to venture into uncharted territory while also remaining the same. Expectations are the unmanageable specter of fame. 

Blood Incantation, though, have never cared much about what anyone thinks of their musical direction, and their evolution has been decisive and intentional from day one. They promised that Absolute Elsewhere would be the culmination of everything they are and have been: a true synthesis of all things Blood Incantation. But what does that mean, exactly? I won’t pretend that I myself haven’t been critical of some of their past choices; Starspawn and Hidden History of the Human Race are amazing albums that I love dearly, but the ambient Timewave Zero EP isn’t for me. No disrespect intended, of course, as art is art and they can and should create whatever they want. For my part, I can appreciate a bit of spacey ambient from time to time in appropriate ratio to other elements—and for the record, Blood Incantation are remarkably skilled at creating those immersive synth textures, which is why I so enjoyed the Luminescent Bridge release, neatly split between cosmic death and that colorful pulsing ambient. 

But Blood Incantation are far more than just a death metal band that also does spacey ambient, and Absolute Elsewhere is a beacon of true hybrid progressive cosmic death. Paul Riedl and Morris Kolontyrsky have pared down some of the sheer complexity in their riffage, at least in spots; the guitars here are less serpentine and more (forgive me for using this particular word) accessible than on Hidden History. It’s highly effective, too, especially when executed with eerie and emotive melody, an element more frequently used here than anywhere else in their discography. That repeating descending line near the beginning of “The Stargate [Tablet III]”, for example, that worms like a parasite down into your ear. There’s a section of long line tremolo riffing sourced straight from atmospheric black metal a few minutes deep into “The Message [Tablet I]” that’s so full of longing it could make you misty-eyed, and the final subtle melody of “The Message [Tablet III]” that closes the entire album is one I’ll probably be humming for years. The pure bludgeoning stank face riffs feel even more effective surrounded by these melodies and moods; if you’ve listened to “The Stargate” pre-release, isn’t it oh so satisfying to drop into that massive death groove at its end? There are passages of dry blasting beneath clean tone guitars in “The Message [Tablet I]” that feel almost nostalgic, interrupted by utterly clobbering walls of crushing weight. So many of these moments stand dramatically out for the incredible way they play off of one another.

Every section and every element works in harmony, the band showcasing their ability to form a magnificent, cohesive whole from contrasting and disparate parts, elevating their songwriting to unbelievably stratospheric levels. Folded into the beckoning spaces of this freshly refined songwriting, blending and warming the harsh edges of cold, unfeeling brutality, are lush passages of prog, psych, and Krautrock, plus ambient, and bits of the sort of acoustic prog Opeth sometimes trades in. There’s no question about it: Blood Incantation have officially become a progressive death metal band now. And they’re fucking good at it too, deftly blurring the lines between influences and passing so seamlessly from idea to idea that you almost don’t realize the transition is happening until it’s over. Take the disarming, almost homey lilting psych rock moment in “The Message [Tablet II]”, backed with Mellotron from guest synth player Nicklas Malmqvist, where clean vocals croon about voices calling from afar, slowly building, losing its lilt and beginning to feel more full and urgent, speed slowly increasing, chaos level ratcheting up unbearably before a wicked drum fill leads to the charging death metal opening of “The Message [Tablet III]”. It’s gripping stuff, and as a listener it’s next to impossible not to be swept up into it. 

The more distinct left turn transitions hit like sledgehammers also. The daydream-y middle portion of “The Stargate [Tablet I]”, for example, feels like a reverie. Those burnished warm tones in laid back 6/8, the space cadet synth solo that melts into answering guitar, building and then dissolving into the ether; then the sudden onslaught of blast beats and tumultuous violence to jar back to reality. They execute deft musical development of all sorts, as remarkable an ability to creatively get from point A to B as you’ll hear. Whether it’s shifting from asymmetrical 5-beat meters into something more standard and back again or disassembling a riff-led death metal attack into and rebuilding its pieces slowly into groovy prog made in Alpha Centauri, it’s next level. 

On top of all that, I think that Absolute Elsewhere is the best album I’ve heard this year from a production standpoint. Eternal Champion’s Arthur Rizk continues to make his case as one of the best engineers in metal with a mixing masterclass here, absolutely nailing each and every one of Blood Incantation’s numerous textures and stylistic shifts. It’s not just that the psych rock sounds great, or that the Morbid Angel worship is impeccable, or that the Opeth acoustic-and-synth-melodies are spot on, or that each passage of spacey keyboard instantly transports you to another dimension. It’s that each section is balanced to perfection within itself and against every other moment on the album, to a degree that I don’t believe I’ve ever encountered before. This is a true pinnacle of metal production, hands down.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The newest evolution of Blood Incantation’s sound is nothing short of masterful, and Absolute Elsewhere strikes me as an album we’ll be looking back at ten years from now, marveling at how unique it still feels. This is a record that is far better than the sum of its parts, which are substantial, and that’s a testament to the band’s abilities and vision. In anyone else’s hands the ideas in Absolute Elsewhere would likely have been a scattershot mess. Blood Incantation, though, have given us not just their best album yet: it’s up there with the most daring the genre has ever seen.