Absolute Elsewhere

by Blood Incantation

As lead singer and guitarist Paul Riedl mentioned in an interview, this album could indeed be described as “a ’70s prog album played by a ’90s death metal band from the future.” However, this description is purely neutral, and even if it were an accurate portrayal, it wouldn’t guarantee the album’s greatness. Blood Incantation has been one of the most attention-grabbing death metal bands of the 2010s and 2020s, especially among genre enthusiasts—excluding the major bands active since the ‘80s and ‘90s. Since their second album, Hidden History of the Human Race, they’ve expanded their audience beyond death metal fans to include even indie music listeners. As if foreshadowed by that album, the band has since ventured boldly into electronic music, progressive, and psychedelic rock. The many experimental elements showcased on the two EPs released after their second album are fully present on this record, and they’ve taken it even a step further with new experiments.

This album covers an array of genres, including old-school death metal, technical death metal, melodic black metal, melodic death metal, progressive rock, and electronic music (Berlin School). However, when one album attempts to pack in so many genres, it brings to mind the countless “prog” bands that lost their balance on the tightrope between experimentation and incoherence, falling into the pit of incoherence. It seems Blood Incantation has also ultimately failed to maintain this balance. The album is composed of two tracks, each divided into three parts, with each part connected through attacca, and reprises appearing across different sections. While the intention of creating a unified whole is apparent, in reality, it’s hard to feel a strong sense of cohesion from these tracks.

The first track, "The Stargate," while not particularly satisfying, follows a trajectory somewhat predictable from their earlier work. Though there are sections of electronic and progressive rock, the song contains some excellent death metal riffs that recall the band’s earlier sound. "Tablet III," though lightly touched by progressive metal influences, is overall a decent and cohesive death metal track. However, the second track, "The Message," crosses the line from bewildering into downright confounding. All the aforementioned genres appear across its three parts, with death metal riffs taking a backseat to the others, leaving listeners to question whether this is even the same Blood Incantation they’ve known—even considering their previous EPs. The intro to "Tablet I" features a prog rock section so out of place that it makes you wonder if you've accidentally played the wrong song, followed by a clean arpeggio that feels like even it belongs in a blackgaze track. After this comes a technical death metal riff, only to circle back to the clean arpeggio and a guitar solo, then suddenly segue into a melodic black metal riff followed by a slam death riff, and back again to technical death metal before transitioning into "Tablet II." Here, after a brief electronic intro and a prog metal riff, we’re treated to a section that intentionally feels like a Pink Floyd tribute, which continues until the track’s end. This leads directly into the final track, "Tablet III," which begins with a riff so jarring it sounds more like power metal or melodic death metal, startling the listener. After that, a melodeath-like riff appears—barely enough to still call it death metal—before more prog metal riffs surface, oscillating between prog and death metal a few times before the melodic black metal riff from "Tablet I" abruptly returns to close the song.

This album, to put it metaphorically, is more of a “salad” than a “melting pot.” And not a salad where the ingredients are mixed together with dressing to be enjoyed as a whole, but one where you eat the dressing first, followed by the tomatoes, and finish with just the lettuce. Despite the appearance of many genres, most sections feel isolated from one another, failing to blend into a cohesive whole and instead appearing as mere "displays" of each style. Fans of old-school death metal, who once praised the band’s debut EP Interdimensional Extinction and first album Starspawn without hesitation, will likely find Blood Incantation’s recent direction less than welcome.