CENTURY MEDIA 5th June 2026
Filmic. Well, it would be. The soundtrack to a documentary, the set is drifting slabs of sound; Rothko-ish solid pieces moving slowly, revealing textures as they pass. What you thought was monolithic colour is rich in feel and range, soothing and massaging your ears while rippling and changing.
But, hang on, Blood Incantation are a Progressive Death Metal band from Denver – what is this? Its entirely lacking in thunderous riffs, speed or screaming. Their most recent release, ‘Absolute Elsewhere’ is a strange amalgam of prog themes, spacey ideas, explosive riffing and throaty vocals.
Instead, ‘All Gates Open’ is ambient and thoughtful, pensive. Made of synth improvisations, acoustic instrumentation, and exploratory studio sessions it sits outside the bands usual direction and is fascinating for that. It’s not the first time they’ve gone a bit Tangerine Dream – ‘Timewave Zero’ surprised listeners a few years ago – but this has a special presence, moving from stillness to gentle pulse in an even quieter way, showing that music can have more power when it whispers.
Ross McGibbon