The mix is very classic-sounding, and will not irk the more traditionalistic metalheads whatsoever. Really, the musicianship here is solid all around. The bass playing pops into the forefront at cool moments, and holds a firm presence in the mix throughout. If you asked me to pick a highlight for this album I would just tell you to fuck off because every song is amazing. …and then there’s the other half of this release. Gnarly, tortured guttural vocals, reverb drenched and muddy production, Lovecraftian space-oriented lyrics, and most important of all: Riffs. Rounding themselves into a four-piece now with the addition of Jeff Barrett as their full-time bassist, the group’s full-length debut is released August 18, 2016 on Dark Descent Records. Then we have the epic finale which is almost as long of a track as its name, “Awakening from the Dream of Existence to the Multidimensional Nature of Our Reality (Mirror of the Soul)”. It wasn't until I sat down and focused on everything for this review that I really appreciated it. I hadn't heard of these guys until this album, their first full-length LP, was released, and despite the positive reviews, I still never gave it a chance. Refined musicianship is a central part of the album, understated and playing towards the progression of compositions as opposed to self-indulgence and colourfulness, and the band demonstrate familiarity with forms both ancient and contemporary. We were promised more of everything. In this review, I plan to cover why that was. The next bit of information I got was that the album was only four tracks which really threw me for a loop. For just one word used in a title, Chaoplasm is picture perfect. Basically rhapsodic in structure, it takes the listener on a whirlwind journey through different death metal environments. Last year's Interdimensional Extinction EP was great and showed an enormous amount of potential for the young band, but I had no idea they'd drop something this jaw-droppingly massive. However, they still literally recorded four tracks, for each record of the two records! “The Giza Power Plant” takes a more reflective, progressive approach but hits with no less impact. The album has everything one might look for in a death metal record. Blood Incantation big back patch. "Hidden History of the Human Race" is one of those albums that sound exactly as one would expect looking at the cover: Bruce Pennington's sublime art was the perfect choice to represent the unique brand of atmospheric death metal Blood Incantation have instilled in this 36 minutes long package. It won’t stick in your head beyond flourish and deathly tic but it will plant itself directly around the cerebellum and feed tendrils along the edges, quickly taking control and acting as your newest, shiniest Rosetta stone for the world of classic death metal’s continually evolving central languages. I’m not seeing any of this with Blood Incantation. The ensuing transition between ‘Nespithe’-apropos riffs, towards “Invocation of the Continual One”-esque lava before a slick-as-fuck flip towards ‘Here in After’ riffs and beyond… that confident whipping of riffs for the first 4-5 minutes of the final song is where Blood Incantation really pull out all of the stops to the point that it begins to sound like they’d intended the song to be an education, or a ‘greatest riffs’ of death metal, plucked from history and sent into space as an Arecibo message for the continuation of death metal beyond humanity. A devastating sounding drum kit hits the nail on the head of the string work. Slave Species of the Gods 2. Take for example The Giza Power Plant, where the song transitions seamlessly from a technical yet slamming mosh riff, to the sandy plains of ancient Egypt, and then into a psychedelic cosmic passage all within the span of about two minutes. A general example of this is appears evident when I realized there doesn't seem to be actual endings to any of the songs (aside from the last track- whose title is so ridiculous I can't even bring myself to type it out and arguably being the strongest point on the entire album), they just seem to kind of stop, and at points where it's hard to tell if the song should be over or not. As for their second epic song, represented in this record, the long Awakening from the Dreams of Existence to the Multidimensional Nature of Our Reality (Mirror of the Soul) is pretty damn similar to Vitrification of Blood. Finally we have Isaac Faulk with a style I’d call “compact” to make it concise. This makes the guitar and bass stretch back and forth so badly that it's difficult to enjoy because it's difficult to establish a flow. "Hidden History of the Human Race" is not only a serious contender for the album of the year spot, but also one of the most intriguing and original death metal releases of the decade! Arguably, the title track of that album might be one of the best death metal tracks of the decade. Demonic Possession 8. On November 22, in two days, the second full album of the American Death metal band BLOOD INCANTATION will be released. The latter creates a nice respite from the chaos with an almost Opeth-like instrumental that never strays too far from being just a little bit evil. It’s slightly better knowing the ideas are more original than the alien or the absurd Anunnaki mythology and conspiracies. And for this reviewer, unfortunately this was perhaps a stumbling block on which this multi-tentacled creature finally tripped itself up… there is really no reason why “Awakening…” should be a single song. It's used more as a backing filler as opposed to an upfront presence, which robs it of getting to be its own instrument with its own identity, when it could have helped amazingly in actually altering and deepening their spatial field; a missed opportunity so massive it can't be understated. If you're the type of person who only enjoys the first three Death albums this might not be the album for you. The third shot of the Blood Incantation artillery arrives and those from Denver, Colorado present Inner Paths (to Outer Space), a glorious instrument that progresses slow to finally end up in an energetic exhibition of all the instruments. The song finishes out with a great old school death/doom riff. After a couple hard years of much troubled effort trying to put out the average selling Interdimensional Extinction EP in 2015, the unexpected happened when the band seemingly became an underground sensation overnight as they dropped their debut full length Starspawn. The musicianship is incredible, the songs are all killer, and the album has a whole is just such an engaging listen, that it's hard not to wanna listen to this album over and over again. The boys simply are in a league of their own, and know how to make good shit without it sounding like a big wank fest on their instruments (which is more then I can say for a lot of prog bands), and that's very important with this kinda music. Yep, he growled once: “Dude, perfect.” Within minutes we’re shoved into some killer Finnish tech-death riffing to kick of the final song, which is more or less two songs, a full Side B with a quasi-interlude. Paradoxically, I think this album suffers for the same reason it succeeds. The result is a neverending succession of killer guitar riffs, melodies, tremolo picking and arpeggios that enhance the atmosphere, with the occasional frenzied guitar solo to spice up things even more. His work is by far the subtlest but it plays a vital role in keeping the riffs punchy and directed. When it comes to this final track, it has its great moments, its epic moments, and its memorable moments, but the song is just too long to stay interesting the entire time. Blood Incantation is a progressive death metal band from the state of Colorado. I'm almost certain this album will top AOTY lists for 2019 and be featured on many decade lists and could potentially become as influential as the Immolation, Timeghoul, or even Yes and King Crimson albums that influenced it. Chaotic, unpredictable, but damn confusing to like. with the walls closing in, it's great to see a band like Blood Incantation consistently pushing the limits of possibility within the genre; hear the acoustic interlude in "The Giza Power Plant" contrasted with the furious double-bass thunder that soon follows to best understand the diverse qualities that define Hidden History of the Human Race. Hailing from Denver, Colorado, Blood Incantation is an American four-piece death metal band formed in 2011. After the intro, everything feels so out of place and difficult to fathom the song’s direction. With no clearly defined choruses to be found on the entire album, the general unpredictability of the thing really adds to its appeal. It’s metal that dreams, big and fantastical. Both guitarists home in on a particular set of tonal coordinates but carefully diverge at key moments with subtle counterpoint, exploring a wide range of possibilities across the scales. It's worth mentioning that this was the single on the album and is also the "softest" track, so to speak. One of the dominant aspects of this song is the mad drumming, with catchy, melodic riffs. The structure of this 18 minute ‘song’ makes as much sense as the title of it (which is too silly to quote in full). I just find that there could have been some minutes chopped off on the last song and maybe added in one more to match "Starspawn". The heavy parts are heavy. I am not going to give any recommendations since there are only four songs. And it also features the same analog production quality the debut had, making it sound like a classic death metal album from the late 80s/early 90s. Despite its title, its actually quite lovely – which is not to say it doesn’t belong here: it’s a welcome reprieve from the general madness of Starspawn - a brief dirge before returning for the harshness of the title track. The music is really complex, yet somehow it doesn't become a parody of itself. The most interesting moment in the track is the synthesizer interlude incorporating sequences similar to Pink Floyd's On the Run. It’s definitely one of the best death metal albums of the year, which I honestly didn’t expect going into this. The Vth Tablet (Of Enûma Eliš) 2. It just sounds like Blood Incantation jerking themselves off with riffs (without creating anything mind-blowing) just so they can get to the ambient moog synth that creeps in at the 5 1/2 minute mark. This particular section is more the mid-to-late career Death. It was after I sat down that I truly understood the genius of this album. After that promising opening, ‘The Giza Power Plant’ drops the ball in my opinion, especially when an orientalist melody pops up for color. Personally, I'd like to see them leave death metal behind next time and move into pastures new. Although the album sits at 37 minutes, two minutes longer than its predecessor, it felt shorter. At least all the tracks are better, yet this doesn’t change the fact that they continued with this poor choice regarding the available amount. Inner Paths (To Outer Space) After several tours of North America and Europe supporting legendary classic death metal acts, along with a new EU deal with Century Media to take things to the next level, the band finally reentered the studio to record their sophomore LP. Worldwide shipping! Before I delve into the thick of what troubles me so much about the release, I'd like to briefly go over a few things that stuck out to me about the album as positives. Chthe'ilist are a death metal band from Québec, Canada. Again, this is not Bolt Thrower, where you’re dwelling on a meaty riff long enough to let it sink into your bones: the songs tend to be whirlwinds of frenetic, uncontrollable energy. The bass matches the guitars fairly well but there's not much to write home about. To be clear, not necessarily drum parts or choice. Blood Incantation take that transformational energy the furthest. It started to feel like because of this it got lost between subjectivity, mainly because of its theme, I believe, and objectivity. The riffs are awesome and the biggest part of why this is an instant modern classic, but there's a lot to be said for the atmosphere. Awakening from the Dream of Existence to the Multidimensional Nature of Our Reality (Mirror of the Soul) is the last song on the album, the longest and one of the longest titled songs I remember ever seeing. At least they maintain consistency and originality. The drum performance by Isaac Faulk is incredibly spastic and blisteringly fast at times, yet disciplined and subdued when need be. “The Giza Power Plant” is where I first began to feel like Blood Incantation had struck upon their own ‘thing’, a technical crawl of a song that kinda dips into mosh-death grooves in between its descending arabesque leads; A heavy focus on receding atmospheric swells isn’t too far removed from what StarGazer were doing back on ‘The Scream That Tore the Sky’ although the attack is probably more loosely in line with The Chasm‘s modus late last decade, progressive but not overtly technical. Although this album is not groundbreaking or entirely original by any means, it really solidifies the death metal formula established by legends Morbid Angel, Incantation and Immolation. One of the negative things about this album is certain parts of these songs (excluding Inner Paths) drag on for too long. 80%. You Black Emperor or Explosions in the Sky album.