English
Last Updated on 11:19 by Nikos Nakos
Genre: Death Metal/Progressive
Country: U.S.A.
Label: Century Media
Year: 2024
About a year ago I discovered “What’s In My Bag?” on YouTube. An award-winning video series featuring artists and tastemakers sharing what they found shopping at Amoeba. Well if you find time check some of your favorite bands in order to see what are their choices when they hit a record store. And yes Blood Incantation have a video there which is more than exegetical for what we should except from these guys from Denver. The through Fates Warnig to Morbid A gel and after Mother Universe 1972’s same titled album to Osaka Kitajima you can see a multilevel music background and a plethora of influences for the Mike high quartet. The list is endless, Santana, ambient electronic Steve Hillage solo project Four Ever Rainbow to Abigor and Tears for Fears, Yukihro Takahashi, classic 1984’s Eloy’s “Metromania” , Candlemass, Anime soundtracks and Gong and c’mon find a 15 minutes gap in whatever you do and watch this video and you can find a lot interesting things to spend quality time after the opportunity for music knowledge that opens wide for you. Even though the video is one year old still it is so closely associated either compositions of 2024’s Absolute Elsewhere (which takes its title from the mid-70’s prog collective (best known as a celestial stopover for King Crimson drummer, Bill Bruford). After the triumph after triumph in which Hidden History of Human Race seemed to be their pick, many feared that the only way to go is down for Blood Incantation as 2022’s Timewave Zero was disappointed a lot of their listeners as they couldn’t balance ambient elements (that dominated the sound) at the expense of death metal parts. Recorded at Berlin’s legendary Hansa Studios the LP is a cosmic returning to their death metal roots without hesitation of using a full of ambient, electronic, space rock and progressive elements that work like bullets they carry under their belts, that are honoring their prog heroes during every second of the album. Featuring only two quiet lengthy songs that are divided in three parts called tablets Absolute Elsewhere is so carefully crafted including the last detail in every note that has the charisma of using the words Tangerine Dream (there’s a guest appearance from Tangerine Dream’s Thorsten Quaeschning on “The Stargate [Tablet II]” or Pink Floyd next to Morbid Angel and whoever hears that understand that this isn’t a joke but the most brave and accuracy progressive album of the year. Probably one of the most important death metal album in the last decade too…
I guess there are no limits in expression in artistic terms and if you don’t push your boundaries you can’t claim any progressive feather in your cap. Yet most bands out here seems to coercing themselves in order to add more and more incongruous elements to their songs something that mostly sounds awful if not ridiculous. Absolute Elsewhere is absolutely awesome moving always in an extreme environment but also in different directions with lodestar the purpose of creating unique soundscapes carrying along all of their influences from Human-era Death’s barrage of riffs and the Morbid Angel aura with psychedelic, shoegaze meets jazz meets fusion dive into the 70’s ocean of delight that Yes and Pink Floyd have created. So Absolute Elsewhere is top notch Surrealism or the most ambitious effort of the year? …or both? Probably in my humble opinion the best album of the year (no matter what genre) still I would bet my money on death metal fans loving it more than progressive ones.
