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Album: Absolute Elsewhere
Artist: Blood Incantation
Sub-Genres: #DeathMetal #ProgMetal #SpaceMetal
Label: Century Media
I first discovered Blood Incantation last semester when I saw the cover art for their EP Interdimensional Extinction while on a Stoner Metal kick. It's cool name and look drew me in right away despite never having heard of the EP or the band. It's intergalactic, foreboding, and rushing mix of Death Metal, and Space Rock had me hooked and looking for more. That's when I found it, their newest album that had come out just a month prior Absolute Elsewhere.
Before I start talking about the contents of the album I'm first going to explain how it's laid out for easy understanding. The album is 43 minutes and 43 seconds long, it is two songs with each song being broken up into three parts called "Tablets" for a combined total of 6 tracks. In classic Metal fashion every track is over 5 minutes with the final track being longer than 11 minutes.
1. "The Stargate" 20:18
I. "The Stargate [Tablet I]" 8:20
II. "The Stargate [Tablet II]" 5:08
III. "The Stargate [Tablet III]" 6:50
2. "The Message" 23:21
I. "The Message [Tablet I]" 5:56
II. "The Message [Tablet II]" 5:58
III. "The Message [Tablet III]" 11:27
The Stargate
Tablet I
The album starts off strong with a bubbling interdimensional creep and a panicked guitar that becomes a heavy rushing riff. I'm not a big fan of growly vocals but this album is definitely helping me see the light. Then all of a sudden the heavy riff is gone and the beat becomes more atmospheric and more repetitive before slowly introducing a very spacy synth background and a more up beat rhythm. By the 4 minute mark the synth has taken the spotlight and it feels like I'm listening to a whole different song, an echoey space-prog rock bonanza, just as this part reaches it's end the heavy metal riff jumps back into frame and the growling rumbling vocals follow with posthaste. After a few more minutes the song tones down again and begins the transition into the next Tablet.
That first track shows a lot of what is great about this album, it has the uncanny ability to feel so many different ways without being jarring, the first track alone transitions it's tone and instruments three times and that's just the first part of one song. This album's ability to meld genres and to do it so seamlessly makes it an incredible listen.
Tablet II
The next track takes the synth up a whole other notch, it starts off sounding almost dreamlike, but not slow, it's relaxed but still manages to keep the pace up. This track feels like what it would be like to float through space gazing over at some beautiful unknown astronomical phenomenon. The vocals on the first part of the track seem to be a sample from a movie or show but they definitely take a back seat to the music itself, they add a nice steady grounding point like a tether that keeps you from floating off and getting lost in the cosmic vastness of the rest of the track. About half way through that tether is cut getting replaced by an acoustic guitar. This is the point where the track begins it's transition into something different, the synth is still there but more conventional instruments begin phasing in and the pace starts picking up. It's not aggressive but it's moving faster then it was before, then it crescendos with a loud screech on the guitar accompanied by a scream, a riff kicks in and we are back firmly in the realm of metal.
The synth on this track was actually done in collaboration with the influential electronic band Tangerine Dream who have been putting stuff out since the 70s and have worked on a number of soundtracks for movies like Sorcerer, Legend, The Keep, and Near Dark. They do a fantastic job here and contribute to what is my favorite track in the song.
Tablet III
The third tablet picks up right where the second left off. A heavy riff on the guitar takes the lead punctuated with growly screams and vocals, it continues on like this for a while speeding up and slowing down adding and subtracting different elements as it pushes forward. About half way through again a change starts to happen, the background stays the same but the lyrics drop out and the riff goes acoustic. This part of the song gives me a jungle vibe like I'm on my way to a long forgotten temple or pyramid on the verge of finding something hidden. Suddenly the electric riff and the lyrics come back in but this time they are clear and quiet, this again is punctuated by gravely screams and shouting. The track then fades out. The final Tablet of the first song is complete.
I like this first song a lot, the way it uses it's instruments and shifts slowly from one place to another makes for a very unique listening experience. There will be times when you'll think you're on to the next Tablet but you're only half way through, and times you'll think you're half way through only to find yes you're half way through but on the next Tablet. Very trippy and very experimental.
The Message
Tablet I
This first Tablet differs a lot from the Tablets on the previous song. It starts off a lot differently giving a sort of Indie prog rock vibe before switching into death metal and back multiple times, whereas the previous Tablets change up about half way through, this one does it about every 30 seconds. I think because it changes what it's doing so frequently this track actually feels longer than it is, as it's the second shortest on the whole album. There's one part in particular at about 2:30 that really stands out, it takes elements from the previous 2 minutes and combines them into a really great sounding section even if it only lasts for a little while.
This first Tablet sets the tone for the rest of the song, it's a lot faster and changes up a lot more than the last song and you can definitely tell. I think it was really smart to make this the first Tablet of The Message, it acts as a solid boundary that says "yes lots of the tracks bleed into each other but not here, this is where we draw the line between songs".
Tablet II
This Tablet almost immediately changes tone from the previous Tablet, there is a seamless transition in between Tablets but the mood before and after the transition is very different. The pre transition mood is very Death Metal forward and the post transition mood is very Terraria loading screen reminiscent, though this quickly gets built on by additional layers and instruments until eventually the electric guitars kicks back in as well as some vocals. This time around the vocals are quiet and very clear much like The Stargate [Tablet Three]. After a few minutes of this the whole track starts to slow down and deteriorate almost like the song is melting all before a new different riff takes over. This section really screams 70s prog rock to me with it's slow, rhythmic riff and echoey vocals. I was really excited to hear something like this in a album this recent, it's a sound that I'm a big fan of and it's good to hear it in the 2020's. That part of the song makes up about half of the whole Tablet before leaping head on into the next one.
It would be fair to say that this is my favorite Tablet in the whole album, it's psychedelic Pink Floyd-esque feel is almost nostalgic for me and is something I would love to see make a comeback in the 2020's. It's not all Pink Floyd here though, there is a unique Blood Incantation charm (especially at the beginning) that makes this song stand out.
Tablet III
The final Tablet in the album is an 11 minute bulk and the longest track by far taking up almost half of The Message. It starts off abruptly after the previous Tablet and speeds off immediately, this may be the fastest we've gone all album with a steady and quick riff and even quicker drums. This track is to long to go over in more depth but I will try to explain it's vibe. This track feels like the climax and end of a story, a faster than light race to the finish across a glorious celestial finish line that would surely be what plays over the end credits if this were the soundtrack to a film.
It is very long but that make sense to me. This track did a lot and took a lot of the rest of the song. This Tablet acted as an end not just to the song but to the whole album, it tried it's best to give us a fitting conclusion and I would say that it did an excellent job. If you want to know more about what the song is like I highly recommend you go experience it for yourself.
Conclusion
In the tittle I call this album a "Space Metal Masterpiece" and while that is true it's also not the whole truth. It is a space metal masterpiece but it's also my favorite album of 2024, and is treading new ground in an alternative direction for metal in the 2020's. I really love this album and if you've read this far I encourage you to give it a listen yourself, so you can come to your own conclusions about it and help support Blood Incantation. It's a great album that I highly recommend.
Sounds Like:
Pink Floyd
Sleep
Cynic
Recommended Tracks:
The Stargate [Tablet II]
The Message [Tablet II]
Reviewer’s Name: Xander Newman
Date of Review: 1/28/2025
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