BLOOD INCANTATION — Interdimensional Extinction (review)

BLOOD INCANTATION — Interdimensional Extinction album cover

EP · 2015 · Death Metal

4/5 · 2019-12-10
siLLy puPPy

BLOOD INCANTATION started out in Denver, CO back in 2011 when they were beginning their more psychedelic take on classic Morbid Angel’s groundbreaking “Domination” era mix of eruptive guitar riffs with angular off-kilter deliveries, eerie detached vocals growling in spectral aggression with a touch of the modern day Nile styled atonal chugging of the rhythms with a bass and drumming style to offer the most primo classic death metal bombast in full force.

The band started out with Paul Riedl (vocals, guitar), Isaac Faulk (drums) and Morris Kolontyrsky (guitars) and released three demos and before the addition of Jeff Barrett on fretless bass who would join the other three on the band’s full-length albums, the trio released this debut EP titled INTERDIMENSIONAL EXTINCTION with session musician Damon Good as the fretless bassist. Recorded in 2013 and released two years later, BLOOD INCANTATION took its time in crafting the perfect debut that focused on Lovecraftian fantastical themes inspired by the otherworldly artwork of Bruce Pennington.

INTERDIMENSIONAL displays the band’s knack of taking the Morbid Angel / Nile stylistic approach out of the ancient history books and into the realms of out space with psychedelic atmospheric cloud covers that offer a darkened shadow producing effect around the atonal riff clusters that collide much like the particulates of Saturn’s rings. This EP only featured four tracks but pretty much laid down the foundation that BLOOD INCANTATION would build upon and in the process popularize a new strain of psychedelic death metal by adopting some of the atmospheric properties that the black metal world has been dabbling in for quite some time.

Given the epic nature of BLOOD INCANTATION’s works, this truncated release actually feels like a sampler because it feels like it goes by way too fast. While the band usually opts for spaced out Floydian intros, INTERDIMENSIONAL wastes no time bursting into tech death bombast and saves the spiciness for the extra touches like the atmospheric backdrops and the melodic guitar solos that erupt from the din while Paul Riedl’s vocals add a ghoulish haunt from the turbulence. As a trio, the band had already mastered their unique twisted approach of melding Watchtower styled mangled riffs into digestible chunks that mimic aspects of Timeghoul, Demilich, classic Death and of course Morbid Angel and Nile.

This is a strong compelling debut which in retrospect displays a tight knit unit that was destined for greatness. The secret of BLOOD INCANTATION’s style is that it evolved just a tad beyond its influences at this point before putting the psychedelic features on overdrive as on the newest album “Hidden History Of The Human Race,” nor did it overplay the progressive aspects. All in all, i couldn’t ask for a better first slap in the face than this nice slice of stellar tech death wizardry. Beautifully designed and intricacy intermingled, BLOOD INCANTATION clearly cast the proper spells and the demons aligned to fuel the astral inspiration in all its glory. Yay!