Watch Blood Incantation’s Timewave Zero Album Release Show

Thanks to albums like Absolute Elsewhere and Hidden History of the Human Race, Denver’s Blood Incantation has established themselves as one of the most acclaimed death metal bands in recent history. But in 2022, they set aside their blast beats, punishing riffs, and ghoulish vocals, and instead, piled high their synthesizers to record Timewave Zero.

Eschewing their usual death metal stylings, Timewave Zero found Blood Incantation diving headlong into ambient space music à la Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream. It’s trippy and psychedelic in the extreme, a soundtrack for peering into the depths of space and beyond, to alternate dimensions and states of consciousness. (Not surprisingly, it contains my favorite Blood Incantation music.)

On February 26, 2022, Blood Incantation marked Timewave Zero’s release by performing the album in its entirety at Denver’s Gothic Theatre. Fortunately, they recorded the performance in 4K for posterity. It might seem odd to describe watching four dudes lurk behind an array of synthesizers as “entrancing,” but I can only imagine how otherworldly it felt to be there in person, what with the laser light show, candles, smoke, and all.