Blood Incantation

Lore & Background

Blood Incantation's debut album, Starspawn, was released in 2016 through Dark Descent Records and received critical acclaim from music publications such as Decibel and Stereogum. They supported Immolation on their tour of North America in the fall of 2019. In the spring of 2023, they supported Obituary on their US tour along with Immolation and Ingrown. They also played at Milwaukee Metal Fest in May of that year. In the fall of 2023, they supported Cannibal Corpse on their North American tour along with Gorguts and Mayhem. In the summer of 2025, they toured North America with Krallice, Pallbearer, Steve Roach, and Cynic. They are scheduled to tour North America in the spring of 2026 with Emperor.

Reader's Guide

Blood Incantation's significance lies in their fusion of death metal with psychedelic and progressive elements, a style that Stereogum described as 'psychedelic death metal.' Their sound features 'a psychedelic take on classic death metal' and melds 'technicality with tectonic riffs, cavernous vocals and eerie, Dødsengel-like moments of caustic stillness.' Later releases incorporate elements of progressive music, krautrock and space rock. The band's lyrics mainly deal with topics such as space and death. Their debut album Starspawn (2016) received critical acclaim, and they have since released several studio albums, including Hidden History of the Human Race (2019), Timewave Zero (2022), Absolute Elsewhere (2024), and All Gates Open (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2026). They have toured extensively with major death metal acts, supporting Immolation, Obituary, Cannibal Corpse, and Emperor, and have performed at Milwaukee Metal Fest.

Did You Know?

• The band supported Immolation on their North American tour in fall 2019.
• They are scheduled to tour North America in spring 2026 with Emperor.
• The band's bassist Jeff Barrett plays fretless bass.

Origins & the Denver Core

Blood Incantation took shape in Denver, Colorado, in 2011, when guitarist-vocalist Paul Riedl and drummer Isaac Faulk began building what would become one of the most distinctive voices in modern progressive death metal. The original duo was joined shortly after by second guitarist Morris Kolontyrsky in 2012, and the rhythm section was completed in 2015 when Jeff Barrett stepped in on fretless bass. That four-piece configuration has remained the band's constant core ever since, with all four members still active as of the present day. On stage, the group has occasionally expanded: keyboardist Nicklas Malmqvist filled that role in 2024, and John Gamiño has handled keyboards and backing vocals since 2025. What makes the lineup notable is its stability in a genre where personnel churn is common; the same musicians who laid the foundation in a Colorado rehearsal space are still the ones writing, recording, and performing the material nearly fifteen years later.

Sonic Identity & Lyrical Focus

The band's sound has been described as a psychedelic reinterpretation of classic death metal, a pairing that initially seems contradictory. BrooklynVegan has consistently labeled their output psychedelic death metal, while Stereogum's Aaron Lariviere acknowledged the apparent paradox before praising the way the fusion actually coheres. In practice, the music layers screaming vocal leads over churning atonal guitar work, drawing on the bright melodic sensibility of late-era Death and the alien, aggressive textures of Morbid Angel's Domination period. Technical precision sits alongside massive, tectonic riff structures and cavernous vocal delivery, punctuated by eerie stretches of caustic stillness. As their catalog has grown, later recordings have woven in elements of progressive rock, krautrock, and space rock, broadening the sonic palette considerably. Lyrically, the band gravitates toward themes of outer space and mortality, giving the music a cosmic, existential weight that complements its dense instrumental architecture.

Touring & the Road to Headline Status

Since their debut, Blood Incantation has steadily climbed the support-slot ladder in North American metal touring. In the fall of 2019, they opened for Immolation across the continent. The spring of 2023 brought a US run alongside Obituary, sharing the bill with Immolation and Ingrown, and a May appearance at Milwaukee Metal Fest. That same autumn, they joined Cannibal Corpse, Gorguts, and Mayhem on a North American tour. By the summer of 2025, the band was touring with Krallice, Pallbearer, Steve Roach, and Cynic—a lineup that spans progressive, post-metal, ambient, and death metal. Looking ahead, they are scheduled to tour North America in the spring of 2026 as support for Emperor. The trajectory is clear: from opening for a single established act to sharing stages with multiple genre titans simultaneously, Blood Incantation has positioned itself as a band that belongs in the same conversation as the most respected names in extreme and progressive metal.

Discography & Creative Arc

Blood Incantation's recorded output spans from early demos to a forthcoming film soundtrack, tracing a clear arc of ambition. Three demos between 2013 and 2014—titled Blood Incantation, Demo II, and Astral Spells—laid the groundwork, followed by a 2015 split release with Spectral Voice. The EP Interdimensional Extinction (2015) and the live recording Live Vitrification (2018) bridged the gap to their debut full-length, Starspawn, which dropped in 2016 on Dark Descent Records and earned praise from publications including Decibel and Stereogum. Subsequent studio albums—Hidden History of the Human Race (2019), Timewave Zero (2022), and Absolute Elsewhere (2024)—expanded the band's palette with each release. The EP Luminescent Bridge appeared in 2023. Most recently, an original motion picture soundtrack titled All Gates Open is slated for 2026, marking a significant step beyond the traditional metal album format.