Album Club 2019: Blood Incantation - Starspawn

Anteater · 05-03-2019, 09:12 PM

Blood Incantation - Starspawn

From metal master Blarobbarg. Get reviewin'

P.S. I'll be looking at gathering Round 3 submissions over the following week. Be preparrreeddddddd

Zhanteimi · 05-05-2019, 05:16 AM

7/10

Ever see that movie Event Horizon? The ship comes back from another dimension where it gained a malevolent sentience. This is the music of that ship. I can hear it filling up and echoing down the empty corridors and across the cold blackness of the void. But no matter how much the music expands, it can, because of the perceived infinity of space, be no more than an infinitesimally small herald of what lies beyond.

Blarobbarg · 05-05-2019, 10:47 AM

Yo! I've been unavailable because of graduating, I'm so happy this is getting its turn! Can't wait to post my thoughts and hear y'all's.

Blarobbarg · 05-05-2019, 03:54 PM

This is the soundtrack to a science fiction horror film that leans on high art, where the aliens win in the end and humanity is extinguished. These are the sounds that are beamed from some distant star that convince terrestrial governments to abandon the planet and fly somewhere far away.

This is, frankly, a perfect death metal album. It indulges in progressive, experimental tendencies without becoming unlistenable. It retains the brutality and viciousness of its genre but still has moments of melody and beauty. And perhaps best of all, it does not overstay its welcome the way so many extreme metal albums do- at a trim 34 minutes, it leaves you breathless and wanting more. If this band has a weakness it’s that they haven’t released a followup to this masterpiece.

I give this, without hesitation, a 10/10.

**Exo** · 05-07-2019, 08:59 PM

So I'm not a huge death metal fan. I think it's more of me not growing up listening to much of it or not really being familiar with classic albums but I've never really been turn off from the genre, more like just not tuned in. Anyway, enough of that stupid pre-story bullsh*t...

There is some really nice guitar work going on during the duration of this record. Hectic moments give way to some nice space-metal airy-ness without overdoing it. There's some really f*cking beautiful rhythm moments on "Hidden Species" about two minutes in that I went back and listened to a bunch of times to satisfy the groove. Groovy it was.

The two closing tracks weren't particularly great to me but certainly not something that I disliked. Overall I liked the record and REALLY liked the mid point. Good album Blaro!

7/10

WWWP · 05-07-2019, 09:59 PM

So I didn't actively dislike it, but it didn't do anything for me. I just can't connect with this kind of metal for whatever reason. The guitar work and drumming is cool I guess? I have no idea. It all sounds skillfully played, it's very fast, but tbh nothing about the sound or the atmosphere of the album stands out to me. I am interested in the alien film though.

6.66/10

Zhanteimi · 05-07-2019, 10:57 PM

I have those moments, too.

OccultHawk · 05-08-2019, 10:13 PM

Blaro if it weren’t for the fact that bat introduced me to Exhorder and even though I think I had already heard Dark Angel he’s the one that made me realize how completely unassailable they are but outside of that you’re definitely my go to guy when it comes to metal. Bat with metal is kind of like me with free jazz. He loves the genre so much that he might not always be as discriminating as he should be. Everything you recommend shreds. Now, I’m still soldiering through your 2018 top 50 and all the metal you list there is mostly 10/10 or at worst 9/10. 2018 was some kind of year because goddamn was there a lot of great metal AND jazz released. But your 2018 metal picks are all so great because they’re frightening and startling. Just when you think there’s nothing new under the metal sun another band figures out a way to shake you to the core. This album doesn’t hit as hard as those do, however. The lead guitarist seems to be influenced as much by Lifeson and Gilmour as he is by the staple death/thrash guitarists. Unfortunately, he’s not up to that standard technically and it leaves you feeling like they didn’t exactly achieve what they set out to do. Another thing is occasionally they spotlight the drumming but the drummer isn’t freaking me out with the mad skills that you almost take for granted in metal these days like Olympic snowboarding or something. And I know I’m being really persnickety but the jumping around time signatures is very Gorguty. Except with Gorguts there’s this interconnected guitar flow with patterns inside patterns. One thing here that I really like though is the relationship between the vocals and the rhythm guitar. It’s like they put an effect on the vocals that’s also on the less dominant guitar and they blend into one bad ass sound. It’s hard to come up with an effective signature sound in metal but they’re on to something really awesome here. I’m not as enthusiastic as you about this record but I’m giving it a very respectable 8/10.

The Batlord · 05-09-2019, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

Blaro if it weren’t for the fact that bat introduced me to Exhorder and even though I think I had already heard Dark Angel he’s the one that made me realize how completely unassailable they are but outside of that you’re definitely my go to guy when it comes to metal. Bat with metal is kind of like me with free jazz. He loves the genre so much that he might not always be as discriminating as he should be.

1. **** being as discriminating as I should be. I highly doubt you want to curate your own jazz taste any more than you do either. I just bump what bumps cause it gives me bumps.

2. Have you listened to Arkangel yet? Have you listened to Eternal Nightmare yet?

OccultHawk · 05-09-2019, 04:27 PM

After you pushed Blind Guardian on me I became less enthusiastic about your suggestions.

View Poll Results: Pick a rating, any rating...
10	1	14.29%
9	0	0%
8	2	28.57%
7	2	28.57%
6	1	14.29%
5	0	0%
4	0	0%
3	0	0%
2	0	0%
1	1	14.29%
Voters: 7. You may not vote on this poll

05-05-2019, 05:16 AM	#2 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	7/10 Ever see that movie Event Horizon? The ship comes back from another dimension where it gained a malevolent sentience. This is the music of that ship. I can hear it filling up and echoing down the empty corridors and across the cold blackness of the void. But no matter how much the music expands, it can, because of the perceived infinity of space, be no more than an infinitesimally small herald of what lies beyond. __________________ Zhanteimi LetsTalkMusic Last edited by Zhanteimi; 05-05-2019 at 05:44 AM.

05-05-2019, 10:47 AM	#3 (permalink)
Blarobbarg Do good. Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Posts: 2,065	Yo! I've been unavailable because of graduating, I'm so happy this is getting its turn! Can't wait to post my thoughts and hear y'all's. __________________ https://rateyourmusic.com/~Blarobbarg ｡･::･ﾟ★,｡･::･ﾟ☆　^my RYM^　｡･::･ﾟ★,｡･::･ﾟ☆ (◠‿◠✿)

05-05-2019, 03:54 PM	#4 (permalink)
Blarobbarg Do good. Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Posts: 2,065	This is the soundtrack to a science fiction horror film that leans on high art, where the aliens win in the end and humanity is extinguished. These are the sounds that are beamed from some distant star that convince terrestrial governments to abandon the planet and fly somewhere far away. This is, frankly, a perfect death metal album. It indulges in progressive, experimental tendencies without becoming unlistenable. It retains the brutality and viciousness of its genre but still has moments of melody and beauty. And perhaps best of all, it does not overstay its welcome the way so many extreme metal albums do- at a trim 34 minutes, it leaves you breathless and wanting more. If this band has a weakness it’s that they haven’t released a followup to this masterpiece. I give this, without hesitation, a 10/10. __________________ https://rateyourmusic.com/~Blarobbarg ｡･::･ﾟ★,｡･::･ﾟ☆　^my RYM^　｡･::･ﾟ★,｡･::･ﾟ☆ (◠‿◠✿)

05-07-2019, 08:59 PM	#5 (permalink)
Exo All day jazz and biscuits Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: NJ Posts: 7,354	So I'm not a huge death metal fan. I think it's more of me not growing up listening to much of it or not really being familiar with classic albums but I've never really been turn off from the genre, more like just not tuned in. Anyway, enough of that stupid pre-story bullsht... There is some really nice guitar work going on during the duration of this record. Hectic moments give way to some nice space-metal airy-ness without overdoing it. There's some really fcking beautiful rhythm moments on "Hidden Species" about two minutes in that I went back and listened to a bunch of times to satisfy the groove. Groovy it was. The two closing tracks weren't particularly great to me but certainly not something that I disliked. Overall I liked the record and REALLY liked the mid point. Good album Blaro! 7/10 __________________ LastFM SUPREME POO BAH MODERATOR EXTRAORDINAIRE

05-07-2019, 10:57 PM	#7 (permalink)
Zhanteimi Mord Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Tokyo Posts: 4,873	I have those moments, too. __________________ Zhanteimi LetsTalkMusic

05-08-2019, 10:13 PM	#8 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,006	Blaro if it weren’t for the fact that bat introduced me to Exhorder and even though I think I had already heard Dark Angel he’s the one that made me realize how completely unassailable they are but outside of that you’re definitely my go to guy when it comes to metal. Bat with metal is kind of like me with free jazz. He loves the genre so much that he might not always be as discriminating as he should be. Everything you recommend shreds. Now, I’m still soldiering through your 2018 top 50 and all the metal you list there is mostly 10/10 or at worst 9/10. 2018 was some kind of year because goddamn was there a lot of great metal AND jazz released. But your 2018 metal picks are all so great because they’re frightening and startling. Just when you think there’s nothing new under the metal sun another band figures out a way to shake you to the core. This album doesn’t hit as hard as those do, however. The lead guitarist seems to be influenced as much by Lifeson and Gilmour as he is by the staple death/thrash guitarists. Unfortunately, he’s not up to that standard technically and it leaves you feeling like they didn’t exactly achieve what they set out to do. Another thing is occasionally they spotlight the drumming but the drummer isn’t freaking me out with the mad skills that you almost take for granted in metal these days like Olympic snowboarding or something. And I know I’m being really persnickety but the jumping around time signatures is very Gorguty. Except with Gorguts there’s this interconnected guitar flow with patterns inside patterns. One thing here that I really like though is the relationship between the vocals and the rhythm guitar. It’s like they put an effect on the vocals that’s also on the less dominant guitar and they blend into one bad ass sound. It’s hard to come up with an effective signature sound in metal but they’re on to something really awesome here. I’m not as enthusiastic as you about this record but I’m giving it a very respectable 8/10. __________________ 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...p-lighter.html

05-09-2019, 04:27 PM	#10 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,006	After you pushed Blind Guardian on me I became less enthusiastic about your suggestions. __________________ 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...p-lighter.html