Two years after breaking away from metal entirely with the dark ambient suite
Timewave Zero
, Denver-based psychedelic death metal quartet deliver the true follow-up to 2019's widely acclaimed breakthrough
Hidden History of the Human Race
.
Absolute Elsewhere
expands on the group's cosmic impulses, incorporating far more of their non-metal influences than their first two albums, particularly '70s space rock, prog, Krautrock, and Berlin school electronic music. Consisting of two songs ("The Stargate" and "The Message") divided into three "tablets" each, the album is a headstrong rush of slashing riffs, complex time signatures, tripped-out growling, and wild, surreal left turns. The first time it switches from aggressive pummeling to spacy prog, there are layers of hypnotic organ, analog synth soloing, and dubby atmospherics. The second track includes burbling arpeggios courtesy of
Tangerine Dream
's
Thorsten Quaeschning
, layered with sci-fi dialogue, then dissolving and moving through other dream stages rather than being snapped awake. The beginning of "The Message" switches from airy melodies to manic blastbeats and contorted riffs on a dime, and the second tablet moves from sounding influenced by
Rush
to a gorgeous slow, atmospheric section which sounds like a dead-on
Pink Floyd
homage. The third tablet breaks for a moment with hippie-ish flutes, then kicks into a searing final section with an orchestral-sounding climax.
Blood Incantation
belong to the class of bands such as
Gorguts
,
Demilich
, and
Sigh
who push extreme metal far beyond its conventions, and
is a towering achievement which exceeds all expectations. ~ Paul Simpson