One of the most talked-about bands in the extreme metal scene today, Blood Incantation finally included Greece in their tour — and as expected, their Athens live show was at least very interesting. Their unique progressive/cosmic death metal sound, as heard on their acclaimed latest album “Absolute Elsewhere”, had fans raving and eager to pay for the chance to see them perform live. Naturally, we at Myth of Rock couldn’t miss this one, so on October 16th, we headed to FLOYD to witness the American pioneers in action.
by Dimitris Zacharopoulos
photos by Dimitris Zacharopoulos
When we arrived, the venue was already packed with metal fans, all buzzing with anticipation for Blood Incantation’s sonic experiments. Whether it was the band’s choice or not, the music playing through the speakers before their set was pure progressive rock — we even heard Eloy! It was the perfect prelude to Blood Incantation’s appearance, and when they finally walked on stage, right on schedule, they were greeted with loud and warm applause from the Greek audience.
Before that, we had the chance to see the special guests of the night, Esoteric. The British funeral doom metallers played their somber songs for about forty minutes and left a good impression. They had passion, chemistry, and delivered flawlessly. The crowd seemed to enjoy their set, though it was clear most people were waiting for Blood Incantation.
When the time came, the prog death pioneers launched into their strange and fascinating brand of death metal, choosing to play their latest album in its entirety first. This way, they presented their intriguing musical identity — it really felt like watching Morbid Angel jamming with Pink Floyd at times! Blood Incantation were stunning, both in their brutal death metal passages and in their progressive rock segments. Personally, I was thrilled by the prog moments — seamlessly tied to the band’s core death metal sound, performed with soul and purpose. They proved they have vision and a strong sense of direction.
Throughout “Absolute Elsewhere”, psychedelic visuals were projected on the video wall, completing the space rock experience. After the full album performance, the Americans played a few older tracks — and those were mind-blowing as well!
Now, on to the negatives. First, there was little to no interaction between the band and the crowd. The five musicians simply played their set; the frontman threw in a few supposedly funny remarks, and that was it. Second, their performance lasted only about an hour and fifteen minutes. Don’t get me wrong — their sound was great, their playing tight — but it felt like they were there out of obligation rather than genuine enjoyment.
All in all, we had a good time and witnessed an impressive band at a strong point in their career, one that clearly has much more to offer. Blood Incantation showed they are prog death metal masters who play with passion and skill, yet they still need to work on connecting with the audience and maybe add a couple more songs to their setlist. We left FLOYD happy — but not blown away. It was a good prog live show, though not one that will stay in our memory for long.
