Hi, everyone.

Eathony Chiptano here, the Internet's busiest music nerd. It's time for a review of the new Blood Incantation album, Absolute Elsewhere.

Yep, here we have the newest and third full-length LP from Denver, Colorado metal outfit, Blood Incantation, who, in the span of several short years, has become one of the hottest commodities in the death metal community, mostly due to the buzz that surrounded their 2019 album, A Hidden History of the Human Race, which proved that if you really want to make metal heads go mad, all you need to do is put out a record that is equal parts prog rock, death metal, and sci-fi.

I'm being reductive and silly, but while I didn't necessarily love Hidden History. It was a record that set itself apart from many of the other more cut and dry death metal releases of 2019 and the 2010s in general by offering some very interesting esthetic and narrative bells and whistles. It seems like the band really read into the audience reaction to these elements of their songwriting, and with this new LP over here, have just fully leaned into them.

It's led, honestly, to one of the most interesting metal records I've heard this year. We have six tracks on this thing that are split up into two major parts, "The Message" and "The Stargate". Each of these two parts are worked into three different songs or "tablets." So again, you've got these two separate major sections that work in three tracks each. And even though they are in different halves, there's still a lot of aesthetic and musical and narrative cohesion among these two sections that run at a very trim 44 minutes.

Ultimately, the first half of the record seems to be making a point about how temporary life is, the inevitability of death, and it's posited that there's more longevity in philosophical ideas and points of view, consciousness in the abstract as opposed to a single life that may be conscious. There are additionally some thought experiments about different forms of life and time across the universe, and then enters a "stargate" that pretty much becomes like a tool or a metaphor for potentially exploring or transcending time, life itself.

The second part asks a pretty major and blunt question, though, right at the kickoff. What does it mean to be human, essentially? And after asking this question, the lyrics insist that a listener should try to, I guess, like, awaken their souls and go beyond their baseline animal instincts by potentially being a part of something greater than yourself, willing yourself into that with lyrics like, "Recognize one's place within the dance / know thy beat in time and whence." From here, we have the album recommending that listeners try to sow seeds of peace and generosity.

So, yeah, some pretty thoughtful and major lyrical themes across this record, but that's not to overshadow the musical ideas across the album, which also make it a powerhouse. The various tracks and passages across this record are methodically orchestrated, epic as hell. I would actually say the first half of this thing is pretty much perfection.

Tablet 1 of "The Stargate" shifts from dissonant, spacey, progressive rock to just pounding death metal passages. Then a super mellow three, four changeup with progressively building guitars, which reaches a peak with an amazing synth solo that has some dual harmonized sections, an amazing guitar solo, too. Then after all of this, an enveloping death metal finale that swallows the entire track whole.

Now, Tablet 2 of "The Stargate" is really the breather of the three tracks, and it actually features Tangerine Dream. Yes, progressive electronic outfit, Tangerine Dream, surprisingly, who, of course, helped Blood Incantation assemble this synth odyssey that sounds like it's built off of some of the musical ideas that were led out of from the last track, which again, cool cohesion. Then as the instrumentation becomes more pronounced, we shift into some flute-based progressive rock that gets more and more discordant and intense tense and distorted to the point where it begins to take on more of a death metal aesthetic.

And then that crashes into the final section of "The Stargate", which kicks off as a very thrilling, atmospheric, heavy piece of death metal with melodic guitar leads and those traditionally gruff Cookie Monster style vocals that still have quite a bit of an intelligibility to them, which I can really appreciate, especially as bone-chilling lyrics such as "Siphon my flesh through the Stargate!" come bellowing out.

From here we have chilling spoken word passages, vaguely exotic guitar sections that have hand drums pumping away in the background, and a crushing finish, too. Really one of the heaviest moments on the entire record. There's so much flow and cohesion narratively and musically among these tracks. They really run like a short film of sorts. And that's just the first half, again, of the record.

The second, in my opinion, has its lulls, but it's still pretty awesome. Now, remember, this section of the album is not "The Stargate", but "The Message", the first tablet of which has these watery guitar arpeggio passages that fit against some drums that I feel like are a mismatch. It just reads as very flat to me and possibly a wee bit lifeless. Of course, these sections contrast very well to the more chaotic and aggressive death metal sections. And while the arrangement and the contrast, generally speaking, is nice, I just feel like these more low-key spots could have been more interesting, especially given just how much musical and technical talent seems to be at Blood Incantation's fingertips.

Still, this track does go into a very strong second half that brings us into Tablet 2, which is a bit of pastiche, much like Tablet 2 of "The Stargate" was, with the inclusion of Tangerine Dream. But in the case of this track, we kick off with this very groovy movie, oddly timed, prog rock jam that feels a little Russian-inspired, and then eventually, buss into the super dramatic guitar cords and organs and cleanly-sung vocals that are really straight out of the Pink Floyd playbook. It's like total Roger Waters vibes all the way, to the point where it does get maybe a bit too derivative.

But I will say the record does stick the landing with an intense transition into Tablet 3, which works as this thrilling and even fusion of speedy heavy metal, prog rock, and death metal, which, instrumentally and mix-wise, is elevated to a point where the whole track sounds as wide and as massive and as panoramic as the universe itself. Like, whatever layers or textures or synths are being thrown on top of these death metal guitars on this track just sound otherworldly. And the song really just takes you on a journey with a 10 plus minute run time that eventually fades into this starry abyss. And I love that this track and numerous others on the record incorporate so many different changes and musical ideas and reference points, and yet they all work together very well.

It doesn't come across like Blood Incantation is trying to be a novelty act or just merely impress us with how many different sounds or ideas they can pull off. Rather, they are stringing them all together very carefully with a super fluid, cohesive narrative. So as a result, it comes across like a very complete vision and not like a, ho, ho, ho, look at how many random things we can do.

But yeah, you can really tell the band put a lot of thought into the progression and the major ideas and themes of this LP. And again, it's just resulted in a great album with a few moments here and there that feel like spin-offs of the band's very obvious prog influences. But for the most part, the tracks on this record are packed with great musical ideas, progressions, playing, production, arrangements. The way these tracks and pieces flow and move are constantly engaging and thrilling. The whole concept and lyrical narrative that pull these two sections and the entire record together are really just like the cherry on top.

But yeah, I can guarantee this is one of the most impressive death metal records that you're going to hear this year if you give it a shot, which is why I'm feeling a decent to strong 8 on it.

Anthony Fantano. Blood Incantation. Forever.