Blood Incantation - Interdimensional Extinction EP (2015)

Blood Incantation is one of the foremost entities to reap the death metal whirlwind of the last decade, expanding upon the cosmic sound of groups like Morbid Angel, Gorguts and the unknown Timeghoul through intelligent songwriting and really honing down their material to what counts. Hell, not including their ambient distractions and a handful of the demo tunes, they've only got about 14 metal tracks from this Interdimensional Extinction EP all the way to the present on the major releases, but they've made a huge splash regardless, landing themselves onto big tours, topping a myriad of years' end lists from various bloggers and publications, and already establishing some genuine staying power within the genre, assuming they stick with it (more on that later).

I didn't quite clamp on to Interdimensional Extinction at first, it was Starspawn that really drew me into the band's sound, but in retrospect, as I revisit this, I think it might be their best-produced of the extreme material, a compelling burst of slightly technical, progressive death metal which calls on anything from their Floridian forebears to hints of the old Finnish scene. The songwriting is varied, from faster melodic sequences to flailing leads and a few concentrated, mid-paced elements which might even channel a little epic death/doom ("Hovering Lifeless"). There's a little Moog playing here too which definitely exerts the nerdier prog inspirations, and its presence helps place this album into the sphere of related works like Spheres by Pestilence with all its synth-guitars, even though it's nowhere near as out there and not quite so original. This is more playing around in a swirling, pure death metal context and just putting out some feelers into the unknown, like a rocket hurtling to an eldritch universe and making first contact with the spawn of the Old Ones existing there.

What's most impressive to me about Blood Incantation is how they create such an otherworldly sound while remaining so organic. Listening through their first few releases, I always get the impression they can pull this off quite closely in the rehearsal space or on the stage, there's an honesty, where a lot of spacier bands will pull out every studio trick possible or wank off their technical wizardry. The Coloradan trio does none of that here, it's pure raw talent, and warmer tones, with a genuine pump to the rhythm guitars, clear and blazing leads that don't attempt to polish themselves off too much, maintaining just a trace of the unhinged. The drums are very good and there's also a fretless session bassist, the latter reminding me of Tony Choi when he was doing Pestilence of Cynic although I'll admit I can't quite tell the difference with the frets or not in some cases. But in this mix, everything shines, there's nothing repressed and its easy to hear how they've cultivated so much respect.

Interdimensional Extinction is easily one of the better 'introduction' EPs in death metal this last decade, and going back to it I think it might even be one of my favorite releases from the band, if not the singular favorite, though it's not as corpulent or escapist as Starspawn. It's just the right blend of grounded and weird, with a lot of haunting details like the vocal clamor at the end of "Subterranean Aeon", or the creepy clean guitars that herald "Hovering Lifeless" while the snappy, jazzy drums attack right into the blasting, ensuing mayhem. Absolutely worth picking up now as the EP is much more readily available than when the band first broke out.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10]

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