Blood Incantation returns to violence.
After a very surprising EP two years ago, Isaac Faulk (drums, Lykotonon, Wayfarer, Stormkeep), Paul Riedl (guitar/vocals, Chthonic Deity, Leech, Spectral Voice), Morris Kolontyrsky (guitar, Black Curse, Spectral Voice) and Jeff Barrett (bass, Spectral Voice) unveil Absolute Elsewhere, their third full-length.
Thorsten Quaeschning (Picture Palace Music, Tangerine Dream), Nicklas Malmqvist (Hällas) and Malte Gericke (Ra Al Dee Experience, Sijjin, ex-Necros Christos) are also credited.
The album is structured around two movements, The Stargate and The Message, each divided into three distinct segments called Tablets. The Stargate initially attempts to blend the cosmic, soaring keyboard sounds of the previous EP with more complex guitar, bass and drum parts, but Technical Death Metal takes us by surprise in one fell swoop towards the end of Tablet I, reaffirming the band’s heaviness. The ranting fits perfectly into the mix, but also disappears when Tablet II throws us back into space, in the company of synthesizers but also an intriguing vocal sample and strange tones before the four musicians unleash themselves again for a minute of pure violence. Tablet III immediately begins with dissonant violence, but this is tempered by more hazy, heady influences and effects, especially towards the end, when the instrumental is swallowed up by nothingness.
The Message follows on from Tablet I with a more melodic approach, regularly tinged with intense saturation, giving way to the band’s roots, whether at full speed or in slower, suffocating passages. The fury lasts until Tablet II, when it is replaced by the lightness of groove, reappearing from time to time between two waves of gentleness, but they don’t last, leaving the musicians to unleash themselves again with Tablet III, where the first impression is one of pure aggression. A moment’s wavering calms the atmosphere before being swept away again, the track’s length allowing it to alternate moods at will, offering us epic sounds before they fade away in their turn.
Violence is always present on Blood Incantation, but the band doesn’t shy away from incorporating it into its recent experimentation. If you’re looking for something unusual and surprising, Absolute Elsewhere is for you!
85/100