Blood Incantation Release Cosmic New Album Absolute Elsewhere
Photo: Julian Weigand
Denver-based death metal band Blood Incantation has returned with their highly anticipated album, Absolute Elsewhere, out via Century Media.
Side one, "The Stargate," opens with a cosmic storm of heavy riffs and synth-driven atmospheres, culminating in a spiritual, meditative journey. Featuring Tangerine Dream's Thorsten Quaeschning on synths, the track evolves from violent and meditative to expansive and cinematic. The band's ability to mix extreme metal with progressive rock shines through with the interplay between synths, mellotrons, and crushing guitar work.
Side two, "The Message," pushes the band's genre-bending approach even further, with intricate melodies and mind-bending atmospherics that conjure cosmic transcendence. Drawing comparisons to the interplay of David Gilmour and Chick Corea, this album section elicits a mystical, otherworldly experience. Additional contributions from Nicklas Malmqvist and Malte Gericke add to the ethereal soundscape that defines Absolute Elsewhere as a defining moment in the band's career.
Clocking in at 45 minutes, Absolute Elsewhere is Blood Incantation's longest album, exponentially expanding upon the formula established by their previous works like Starspawn (2016) and Hidden History of the Human Race (2019). The album's name and themes are inspired by the obscure 1976 progressive rock album In Search of Ancient Gods by Absolute Elsewhere, which explores theories of extraterrestrial influence on human evolution.
Recorded at the legendary Hansa Studios in Berlin, a space that has seen iconic albums from Brian Eno and Tangerine Dream, Absolute Elsewhere carries the weight of its progressive influences. The studio's atmosphere and the band's collaboration with producer Arthur Rizk helped shape the album's dense, cosmic sound. Special guests on the album include Thorsten Quaeschning and Nicklas Malmqvist, whose synthesizer and mellotron work takes the band's sound to new heights.
Absolute Elsewhere also comes packaged with an exclusive 73-minute feature film, All Gates Open: In Search of Absolute Elsewhere, which documents the band's recording at Hansa Studios during the summer of 2023. The film will be available on Blu-ray as part of the deluxe edition of the album, which also includes a documentary soundtrack with 60 minutes of exclusive new music, the 2023 maxi-single "Luminescent Bridge" on CD for the first time, and both Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround sound mixes of the album. Exclusive liner notes, interviews, and behind-the-scenes photos are also included in the deluxe package. Watch the trailer below:
The band is set to embark on a North American tour this fall, with a show at Toronto’s Lee’s Palace on November 30th. Get your tickets HERE, and peep the full list of tour dates below.
Oct 04: Boulder, CO - Boulder Theater * (Record Release Show)
Nov 07: Portland, OR - Hawthorne ~
Nov 08: Vancouver, BC - The Rickshaw ~
Nov 09: Seattle, WA - Substation ~
Nov 11: Berkeley, CA - Cornerstone ~
Nov 12: Los Angeles, CA - The Regent Theater ~
Nov 13: Tucson, AZ - 191 Toole ~
Nov 15: Austin, TX - Come and Take It ~
Nov 16: Dallas, TX - Echo ~
Nov 18: Atlanta, GA - Masquerade ~
Nov 19: Tampa. FL - The Orpheum ~
Nov 21: Asheville, NC - Orange Peel ~
Nov 22: Richmond, VA - Canal Club ~
Nov 23: Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage ~
Nov 25: Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts ~
Nov 26: Brooklyn, NY - (Absolute) Elsewhere ~
Nov 27: Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall ~
Nov 29: Montreal, QC - Fairmount ~
Nov 30: Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace ~
Dec 01: Detroit, MI - Magic Stick ~
Dec 03: Chicago, IL - Metro ~
Dec 04: Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line ~
Dec 05: Omaha, NE - Bourbon Theater ~
* w/ Steve Roach
~ w/ Midwife
