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Absolute Elsewhere
Two pyramids on a mountainous planet in space, with a pair of moons visible against a starry sky in the distance
Studio album by
Blood Incantation
ReleasedOctober 4, 2024 (2024-10-04)
RecordedSummer 2023
StudioHansa Tonstudio
Genre
Length43:39
LabelCentury Media
ProducerArthur Rizk
Blood Incantation chronology
Luminescent Bridge
(2023) 		Absolute Elsewhere
(2024)
Singles from Absolute Elsewhere
  1. "The Stargate"
    Released: September 27, 2024

Absolute Elsewhere is the fourth studio album by American death metal band Blood Incantation. It was released on October 4, 2024, through Century Media.[1][2][3]

Background

[edit]

The album is named after the progressive rock group Absolute Elsewhere.[4][5]

The album was recorded during the summer of 2023 at Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin.[2][5] Arthur Rizk, who previously worked with the thrash metal band Power Trip, produced the album.[2][5] The band stated in an interview that they hired an extra €9,000 worth of synth equipment to record the album.[2] Lead singer and guitarist Paul Riedl stated "Absolute Elsewhere is our most potent audial extract/musical trip yet; like the soundtrack to a Herzog-style sci-fi epic about the history of/battle for human consciousness itself, via a '70s prog album played by a '90s death metal band from the future."[5][6]

On September 27, 2024, the band released "The Stargate", the first song on the album, accompanied by a short film directed by Michael Ragen and produced by Mindy Kelly.[7][8][6][9][10] The band released a 73-minute documentary titled All Gates Open: In Search Of Absolute Elsewhere alongside the album.[9][11] Thorsten Quaeschning of the German electronic music band Tangerine Dream contributed synths to "The Stargate [Tablet II]".[12]

Musical style

[edit]

The album has been described as death metal,[3][13] progressive metal,[3] and progressive rock.[3][13] The album consists of two tracks, both exceeding 20 minutes in length. Each track is divided into 3 sections, called "tablets".[3][10][14] The album is over 43 minutes long, making it the band's longest studio album to date.[11]

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic92/100[15]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[16]
Kerrang!4/5[14]
Metal Hammer[3]
Pitchfork8.5/10[17]

Absolute Elsewhere received widespread acclaim upon release. According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Absolute Elsewhere received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 92 out of 100 from 7 critic scores.[15]

Reviewing it for AllMusic, Paul Simpson described it as, "a headstrong rush of slashing riffs, complex time signatures, tripped-out growling, and wild, surreal left turns." and concluded, "Blood Incantation belong to the class of bands such as Gorguts, Demilich, and Sigh who push extreme metal far beyond its conventions, and Absolute Elsewhere is a towering achievement which exceeds all expectations."[16]

Dom Lawson of Metal Hammer gave it four and a half stars, stating "Blood Incantation's new album is two songs long. It's also pure prog-death perfection and one of the best metal albums of 2024."[3] Pitchfork's Sam Goldner gave it a score of 8.5/10, writing: "Just when it can't seem to get any bigger, it all gets swept away, echoing out to some arcane, far-off land, where fantasy is alive and the riffs roam free."[17] Nick Russel of Kerrang! gave it a score of 4/5 and wrote "There are moments that do spooky, cunning, Morbid Angel-styled death metal better than Morbid Angel over the past decade, and there are bits, such as the second movement of Tablet II, that could have been written by Pink Floyd at their most cosmic."[14]

Year-end lists

[edit]

A number of critics and publications listed Absolute Elsewhere in their year-end ranking of the best heavy metal albums of 2024, often inside the top ten.

Select year-end rankings for Absolute Elsewhere
Publication/critic Accolade Rank Ref.
Decibel Top 40 Albums of 2024 2 [18]

Track listing

[edit]
Absolute Elsewhere track listing
No.TitleLength
1."The Stargate"
  • I. "The Stargate [Tablet I]"
  • II. "The Stargate [Tablet II]"
  • III. "The Stargate [Tablet III]"
20:18
  • 8:20
  • 5:08
  • 6:50
    • 2."The Message"
  • I. "The Message [Tablet I]"
  • II. "The Message [Tablet II]"
  • III. "The Message [Tablet III]"
    		• 23:21
  • 5:56
  • 5:58
  • 11:27
    • Total length:43:39

    Personnel

    [edit]

    Blood Incantation

    • Paul Riedl – vocals, guitars
    • Isaac Faulk – drums, percussion
    • Morris Kolontyrsky – guitars
    • Jeff Barrett – bass

    Session musicians

    Production

    • Blood Incantation – production
    • Arthur Rizk – production

    Charts

    [edit]
    Chart performance for Absolute Elsewhere
    Chart (2024) Peak
    position
    Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19] 17
    Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 78
    Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[21] 95
    Croatian International Albums (HDU)[22] 21
    Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[23] 94
    Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[24] 42
    German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[25] 20
    Polish Albums (ZPAV)[26] 67
    Portuguese Albums (AFP)[27] 81
    Swedish Physical Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[28] 18
    Scottish Albums (OCC)[29] 37
    Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] 16
    UK Album Downloads (OCC)[31] 15
    UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[32] 3

    References

    [edit]
    1. ^ "Absolute Elsewhere, by Blood Incantation". Blood Incantation. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
    2. ^ a b c d Doran, John (September 30, 2024). "Expanding the Circle: Blood Incantation Interviewed". The Quietus. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
    3. ^ a b c d e f g Lawson, Dom (September 30, 2024). ""Absolute Elsewhere is a mind-blowing masterpiece." Blood Incantation's new album is two songs long. It's also pure prog-death perfection and one of the best metal albums of 2024". Louder. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
    4. ^ Hickman, Langdon (September 30, 2024). "Blood Incantation : Absolute Elsewhere | Album review". Treble. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
    5. ^ a b c d Corcoran, Nina (June 26, 2024). "Blood Incantation Announce New Album Absolute Elsewhere". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
    6. ^ a b Keenan, Hesher (September 27, 2024). "Blood Incantation Release 20 Minute Short Film, Along with Side A of Absolute Elsewhere". MetalSucks. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
    7. ^ Sacher, Andrew (September 27, 2024). "Blood Incantation Release Side A of new album 'Absolute Elsewhere' with short film". Brooklyn Vegan. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
    8. ^ Baldin, Benedetta (September 29, 2024). "You can listen to Blood Incantation's first half of the new album "Absolute Elsewhere"". Chaoszine. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
    9. ^ a b "Blood Incantation Share New 20-Minute Song "The Stargate" With Short Film: Listen". Stereogum. September 27, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
    10. ^ a b Bellino, Emily (September 27, 2024). "BLOOD INCANTATION Releases "The Stargate" Short Film, Streams First Half of New Album". Metal Injection. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
    11. ^ a b Goretooth, Smokey (July 28, 2024). "Blood Incantation Announce Documentary 'All Gates Open: In Search Of Absolute Elsewhere'". MetalSucks. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
    12. ^ "Opening the Gates with Blood Incantation". Stereogum. October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
    13. ^ a b Thrower, Thomas (October 2, 2024). "Album Review: Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere". Ghost Cult Magazine. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
    14. ^ a b c "Album review: Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere". Kerrang!. October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
    15. ^ a b "Absolute Elsewhere by Blood Incantation Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
    16. ^ a b Simpson, Paul. "Absolute Elsewhere - Blood Incantation | Album". AllMusic. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
    17. ^ a b Goldner, Sam. "Blood Incantation: Absolute Elsewhere". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
    18. ^ Decibel Magazine staff (November 12, 2024). "SPOILER: Here Are Decibel's Top 40 Albums of 2024". Decibel Magazine. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
    19. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
    20. ^ "Ultratop.be – Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
    21. ^ "Ultratop.be – Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
    22. ^ "Lista prodaje 43. tjedan 2024" (in Croatian). HDU. October 14, 2024. Archived from the original on November 1, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
    23. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
    24. ^ "Blood Incantation: Absolute Elsewhere" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
    25. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
    26. ^ "OLiS - oficjalna lista sprzedaży - albumy" (in Polish). OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Note: Change the date to 11.10.2024–17.10.2024 under "zmień zakres od–do:". Retrieved October 24, 2024.
    27. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
    28. ^ "Veckolista Album Fysiskt, vecka 41". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
    29. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
    30. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
    31. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
    32. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
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