Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere Review

Directly from the opening sounds of Blood Incantation’s third full-length Absolute Elsewhere (a reference to the ’70s prog rock band whose lineup included legendary Yes/King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford), you are transported back to the cosmos.

The album marks a return to death metal for the Denver band after diverting to more experimental and ambient music on their Timewave Zero EP in 2022 and single “Luminescent Bridge” in 2023.

Of course, if you know anything about this band by now, they play by their own rules and when one thinks about progressive death metal, Blood Incantation are the very best at what they currently do. The moments of keyboards and particular riffs bring about a sense of 1970s progressive oddities on top of more familiar names like Pink Floyd and Rush, all without sacrificing any of their overall heaviness.

In a sign of truly progressive music, the band has clearly defined movements where they display death metal sections that gallop and crush upon repeat while underscoring the progressive, melodic and unusual moments that have made the band a unique entity since hitting the scene with their 2015 EP Interdimensional Extinction.

Side two of the album, titled “The Message,” shows no signs of slowing down on both the heavy and technical sides of the band. They dabble in some the vilest extremes while also feeling as though the underground metal scene time traveled to the burgeoning UK prog scene of the late ’60s with a few riffs that wouldn’t be out of place on Dark Side of the Moon or Animals. The bass, being high in the mix among all the frenzied guitars and omnipresent drumming, showcases a band that is firing on all interstellar thrusters achieving heights yet to be reached by the band to this point.

With Starspawn and Hidden History Of the Human Race to their credit, it becomes harder and harder to believe that there was still more work to be done by this transcendental troupe and yet here we are. On Absolute Elsewhere we have seen “The Stargate” and received “The Message” and this is Blood Incantation’s best work to date, one that will surely be topping many lists at the end of the year.

(released October 4, 2024 on Century Media Records)