
BLOOD INCANTATION
Absolute Elsewhere (Century Media)
Is it a coincidence that Blood Incantation hail from Colorado, one of the first states to legalise recreational marijuana use? Probably not. Absolute Elsewhere is pretty out there and is unarguably their most fully realised work. It seamlessly blends their more traditional death metal approach, as heard on 2019’s Hidden History Of The Human Race, with the experimental Krautrock and synthesiser worship of 2022’s Timewave Zero.
If you ever wondered what a 70s prog record sounded like filtered through warp-speed blastbeats, Absolute Elsewhere is it. Separated into two parts – The Stargate and The Message – it demands undivided attention to consume in one sitting. Dubby passages, instrumental sections, sequenced electronics and Hammond organ may, on paper, seem like disparate elements – but where this record succeeds is in Blood Incantation’s ambitions to not only unite them, but also to make them sound like every note and beat is carefully considered and exactly where they need to be.
words GARETH MOULE