It has been hard to avoid this Coloradan death metal band lately, each and every release being showered with praise even from mainstream music publications. They've admittedly produced some solid albums, particularly debut Starspawn in 2016 and its follow up Hidden History of the Human Race in 2019. Still, the band made a huge misstep with their ambient 'EP' Timewave Zero, over an hour of boring synth noodling, and the news that their third full-length proper would build on this influence and feature none other than pioneering German electronic prog outfit Tangerine Dream raised eyebrows! And as ever, the hype is overblown, although fans of progressive influences in death metal should be sure to at least listen to Absolute Elsewhere for its ambition if nothing else.

Split into two halves (titled The Stargate and The Message) of three tracks or 'tablets' each, the best moments are those of pure death metal such as in The Stargate [Tablet I] which whooshes in with a grandiose and ominous take on the genre. A slightly jarring switch to dub-sounding electronica around the two-minute mark is interesting but a little uneven, as is the ensuing synth soloing; all pleasant enough for what it is, sure. Yet it doesn't really fit the death metal section and is only saved by a switch to more Pink Floyd-styled guitar soloing before crashing back to death metal for the final section.

Sadly the hullaballooed Tangerine Dream featured-The Stargate [Tablet II] is just a glorified interlude, trippy keyboard bubbles and sampled voices talking about space travel with what sounds like synth flute that builds into a crushing death metal cacophony as it leads into [Tablet III]. This is a heavier if still prog-tinged piece that messily throws everything from spoken vocals and acoustic strums in, even some clean singing with an Akercockean feel, ending triumphantly before dissolving into ambience. It and the following The Message [Tablet I] with its Immolation-esque vibe are the album highlights for sure, the switch back to electronic-focused groove and Floyd-esque spaciness on the following [Tablet II] probably the smoothest transition between genres present. And [Tablet III] closes the album with an eleven minute epic that manages to keep your attention well with plenty of prog-tinged and keyboard-enhanced death metal if lacking in electronic bleeps and bloops.

Maybe there's a lesson there? This will definitely introduce some listeners to the likes of Pink Floyd and Tangerine Dream and it's a solid attempt at adding experimentation to death metal in a year where many bands tend to play an unexciting and interchangeable style. Yet Blood Incantation's influences aren't incorporated into the death metal but placed alongside it, sometimes rather clunkily, and in no way shape or form is this album preferable to listening to the originals or even earlier, more death metal-focused albums from the Coloradans. Kudos for having the ambition to try, yet Absolute Elsewhere remains very overhyped for as solid as certain moments are.