Blood Incantation’s “Absolute Elsewhere” (2024) Album Review

After 13 years, cosmic death metal maestros Blood Incantation have only released 4 studio albums. In the same length of time, previously reviewed band (metal gods) Judas Priest came out with 10. However, as 2024’s Absolute Elsewhere proves, each time they descend from their flying saucers and come in peace with new material, they change the game. Compared to other subgenres, death metal listeners generally know what to expect: blast beats, high-speed tremolo picking, and growled/guttural vocals throwing a blanket of unintelligibility over ham-fisted, obscene lyrics. Following most of these guidelines, there is no doubt Blood Incantation fall under the purview of the genre. How the band, comprised of guitarists Paul Riedl & Morris Kolontyrsky, bassist Jeff Barrett, and drummer Isaac Faulk, manage to differentiate themselves from the often-homogenous scene is their (sometimes polarizing*) experimentation. Amidst Absolute Elsewhere’s sensational reviews lies the first time I’ve seen “progressive death metal” and “krautrock” mentioned on the same webpage. Following the light-speed epic of 2019’s Hidden History of the Human Race and the synth-driven introspection of 2022’s Timewave Zero*, the band’s most recent release strikes an incredibly tasteful blend of intense death metal and 1970s sonic exploration, creating an experience reviewers have described as transcendent. The album is split into two 20+ minute tracks, wrapping up just below 44 minutes of total runtime. Highlighted on the track “The Stargate [Tablet II],” Absolute Elsewhere enjoys some of most expert psychedelic meandering, inspiring comparisons to old school Pink Floyd as the band musically emulates floating weightlessly over a distant star. When the music inevitably explodes with intensity, the album enters the spacey, science-fiction influenced style of death metal Blood Incantation’s burgeoning fanbase knows and adores. This dance of 70s prog-rock ambience and crushing, cosmic extremity is over before you know it, leaving in its wake wild acclaim across the metal landscape and exultant cries of “masterpiece.” If it’s any indication of the album’s quality, the only badmouthing I’ve seen of Absolute Elsewhere was a disgruntled Redditor at the very bottom of an r/MetalForTheMasses board. Personally, I share the opinion of reviewers across the web. Blood Incantation’s October 4th 2024 release, Absolute Elsewhere, pushes the conventions of its genre. It is a triumph for not only heavy metal, psychedelic rock, ambient, or progressive, but for music. As they return to stars, we can only hope these extraterrestrial visitors will visit again in the not-too-distant future, bearing gifts for years to come. 

-Jonathan Key