BLOOD INCANTATION “Timewave Zero”

By Dr. Abner Mality

From somewhere beyond the galactic rim comes a new kind of BLOOD INCANTATION. The sci-fi death metallers, well known for their brutal yet spacy mayhem, have taken the plunge into the ambient emissions of the cosmos itself on “Timewave Zero”. Expect no brutality of any kind here...there’s almost no guitar whatsoever and vocals are completely absent. Instead we have soothing, mysterious soundscapes of deep space.

I’ve always loved weird, spacy stuff myself, so I’m pretty well primed for “Timewave Zero”. Think of some of KLAUS SCHULZE’s trippiest synth work when listening to this. The album is split into two massive songs, “Io” and “Ea”. Each track is further subdivided into four movements, but for what reason, I have no idea. Each movement slides imperceptibly into the other, creating one seamless track for you to meditate on. “Io” starts softly, almost barely there, gradually working its way to something more substantial, with layers of sound. But the track never really “takes off”...there’s a climax, but it’s not what you’d call thunderous.

“Ea” follows basically the same path, but I think is maybe a little more active. No “riffs” but more “motifs”. From the second movement on, this one gets very spacy indeed and for the first time, guitar is noticeable, if still subdued.

Needless to say, this is no metal album. Strange to see a band wearing bullet belts and T-shirts from MORBID ANGEL and IMMOLATION playing this soothing kind of space ambience, but we live in an age of weirdness. I suspect BLOOD INCANTATION will be back heavier than ever with their next album. Until then, put this on the headphones the next time you go stargazing…

CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS

BLOOD INCANTATION