In this series of posts I'll discuss a random album in my collection I feel like talking about!
Where this sudden decision to buy the album came from I don't know, but I will at least say that this is one of those albums that's been garnering praise from all kinds of metal fans. The annoying elitist in me is immediately sceptical when a record is hyped by lots of casual/newbie metalheads. Not because I think the album will be "bad", but because it means they have less to compare said album to. I know that makes me sound pretentious and snobby, but it's kind of a default reaction when you've spent more than 20 years deep-diving into a specific genre. But Absolute Elsewhere seems to be lauded by all kinds of metalheads - older, younger, veterans, newbies... you name it. Of course, it doesn't take long to find plenty of critical reviews of this thing too, with people deliberately highlighting it's hype and supposed originality as well as calling the band fake hipster metal - but by and large, this is an acclaimed effort from Blood Incantation.
I went into this album expecting to be, well, not necessarily disappointed, but quite possibly confused by all the hype. Also, on paper at least, the album shouldn't really be my cup of tea. I like death metal a lot, sure. But that's only one element of this band. I like prog too, but I can hardly call it one of my favourite genres. I'm not particularly fussed by ambient, Tangerine Dream-type stuff though (not really my thing). Even if I enjoy a lot of the musical elements of Blood Incantation, when mixed together though, I shouldn't really be into it. Anyhow, right off the bat I'll say I don't love this album - it's not one of the greatest things I've ever heard by any stretch of the imagination, and I certainly don't consider it to be some kind of definitive modern metal masterpiece either like so many others seem to. But I do think it's great - seriously.
I can only praise the band for throwing all these styles into their formula and creating something that genuinely does work, and sound good to the ears. I'm a death metal fan, but only really a casual prog fan. And I almost never listen to purely ambient stuff, unless an ambient track happens to be packaged into a particular album. But with Absolute Elsewhere, I feel like Blood Incantation seamlessly transition across all these styles without it ever feeling forced or jarring. Even though they drift through death metal, prog rock, electronic/ambient compositions and even old-school 1970s psychedelic space rock-style fragments (Hawkwind anyone?) on each of the 2 lengthy tracks here, nothing ever feels out of place or like it shouldn't be there. The entirety of the album flows amazingly well, and this is coming from someone who mostly just wants ballsy riffs from his metal.
Oh yeah, you heard that right - Absolute Elsewhere is made up of 2 songs. You've got 'The Stargate' and 'The Message', with the former being 20 minutes long and the latter 23 minutes. Both songs are divided into 3 tracks however (dubbed 'Tablet I', 'Tablet II' and 'Tablet III'). So it's really 2 songs spread across 6 tracks. Any song that lasts 20 plus minutes, regardless of whether or not it's split into multiple segments, is long. But seeing as the whole album only lasts 43 minutes in total, I don't think the band ever overstay there welcome here. And there's so much going on musically across both tracks that I kind of just press play and don't even think about the way the album is formatted anyway. Let's be honest, proggy, experimental albums like this often go on for far too long. I'm glad Blood Incantation don't do this on their records.
The actual death metal that is present on the album is far from the heaviest you'll ever hear. But that's not really the point. Yes, the vocals during these segments are growled as expected, the guitars detuned and the drums frantic and full of blast beats, but I feel that death metal parts are used as a dynamic to add some intensity, energy to all the proggy/ambient music that is also to be found here. I wouldn't even say that every single heavy element on Absolute Elsewhere is even full-on death metal. There's actually some techy thrash metal on 'The Message [Tablet III]'. Yeah the vocals are death metal, but the riffs sound like thrash to me, a bit like Vektor or possibly modern day Testament? I will admit that on an individual level, the death metal/metal parts in general across 'The Stargate' and 'The Message' are not especially some of the best metal compositions you're ever gonna hear. They're totally competent sure, but if the band didn't have their progressive/experimental aspect, I'm not sure they would be taking the world by storm as a purely death metal act. But it's the way they've managed to implement these heavy transitions within the rest of the music that is extremely admirable and impressive to me. In short, no it's not the best death metal I've ever heard. Not at all. But within these songs, it all works remarkably well. And I will say that drummer Isaac Faulk is spectacularly tight throughout the entirety of the album.
And as for the proggy/ambient/experimental aspect of the songs (whatever you want to call it), well this is all just as important as the heavy stuff, and makes up A LOT of the music within this album. There's floaty, dreamy synths and mellotrons throughout both 'The Stargate' and 'The Message', and if I'm in the right mood, they make me drift away and get lost within the record. And that's exactly what they should be doing. There's also some fine instrumentation on here that isn't necessarily metal or ambient soundscape. 'The Message [Tablet I]' has lots of melodic guitars, as well as shoegaze-like moments and there's even a fair share of clean vocals throughout '[Tablet II]' of the same song. I'm hardly a prog guy even if I do listen to bands like Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, Dream Theater etc. in small doses, but there isn't any portion of Absolute Elsewhere that I find boring or tedious. A tad pretentious maybe (expected though), but I think prog will always carry that stigma to some extent! I don't have any serious qualms with the production either. Maybe the bass could stand out a little more? But that's about all I can really think of. It sounds modern and professional, but not horribly fake and overly clean like so many other bands these days. Again, the drums sound particularly powerful. I like when I can really praise the drums on an album because I don't find myself talking about drums in general much here!
As I said earlier, I don't think this is a "masterpiece". For starters, I think one song is quite a bit stronger than the other. 'The Stargate' is very good, but it didn't blow me away. 'The Message' however, is clearly the standout - at least in my opinion. This track is exceptional. And I do genuinely believe Absolute Elsewhere is destined to become a classic of the genre in the future. It's a prog album that even people who don't normally enjoy death metal should listen to at least once. Death metal is not for everyone, but it's only one of many factors of this album, and laid down in a way that I think lots of people will appreciate. That's probably part of the reason why so many people have been raving about this record, even 2 years on. Absolute Elsewhere is not a "true death metal album", nor is it a full-on ambient project either. It's a lot of things, and incredibly, it all comes together to create something great.
My personal rating is an 8.9/10. I hesitated to round off the score to a 9 because I think one song is clearly better and more memorable than the other (even if 'The Stargate' is still really good), and also because it's not an album I can see myself playing more than a few times a year. I listened to it a handful of times this week in the car on the way home from my late shift at 10pm, and it was great under those circumstances. But I can't see myself listening to it in the gym, or when I go for a run. It just isn't the sort of metal I listen to regularly. A lot of the time I just want no-nonsense riffy, arse-kicking music! I have to be in the right mood for this one, otherwise I find myself turning it off after a couple of minutes.
On a side note, I love this band's artwork. Blood Incantation have 3 albums and an EP if I'm not mistaken. Absolute Elsewhere is the only one I currently own, but I'll likely pick up the rest of their stuff at some point. Anyhow, amazing album cover. Pure cosmic, psychedelic brilliance! I don't like their logo however. Unreadable metal logos have gotten out of hand and are kind of a joke to me now, Blood Incantation's is no exception!
Adam's rating: 8.9/10
