INTERDIMENSIONAL EXTINCTION

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!

"Interdimensional Extinction" is an EP release by US, Colorado based death metal act Blood Incantation. The EP was released through Dark Descent Records in August 2015. Blood Incantation formed in 2011 and released three demos before being signed for the release of "Interdimensional Extinction".

"Interdimensional Extinction" features 4 tracks and a total playing time of 18:05 minutes, which serves as a good length and amount of material to introduce Blood Incantation to the world. Stylistically the material is technical/progressive death metal. It´s a combination of old school death metal elements and more contemporary elements like dissonance and an atmosphere of controlled chaos that many other contemporary artists also use. Lead vocalist/guitarist Paul Riedl has a decent sounding growling style, but his vocals are not placed very high in the mix and I also miss a bit more emotion from his performance. The vocals have a tendency to become a little monotone. The instrumental part of the music is both interesting and challenging, but a few more hooks or memorable moments would have been welcome. It´s details though, and overall the quality of the music is high.

The EP features a powerful, detailed, and well sounding production, which helps heighten the listening experience, and upon conclusion "Interdimensional Extinction" is arguably a good quality debut release by Blood Incantation. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)