BLOOD INCANTATION - All Gates Open

Blood Incantation are one of the few death-metal bands to have broken out of the genre's niche circle of devotees, thanks to monumental albums like “Hidden History Of The Human Race” and “Absolute Elsewhere“. This “All Gates Open”, on the other hand, revisits their cosmic side, already explored on “Timewave Zero“, in the wake of Tangerine Dream, while pushing further into purely ambient territory. It serves as the soundtrack to the documentary “All Gates Open: In Search of Absolute Elsewhere”, which chronicles the time Blood Incantation spent in Berlin in the summer of 2023, during the recording of the album at the legendary Hansa Studios. The 73-minute film is available on Blu-Ray inside the album's deluxe mediabook edition, as well as on YouTube.

While this hour of music works well in its role as a soundtrack, listening to it on its own is a different matter. The four compositions, of vastly different lengths, are evocative sonic explorations that unfold extremely slowly, inviting a kind of meditative absorption. “Balance” unspools through drawn-out, icy synth melodies, drones worthy of Klaus Schulze, and mysterious moments of galactic lyricism. Twenty-one minutes unfurl in slow motion, suspended in mystery and wonder.
“Flight”, another 21 minutes long, has a darker tone and a more dynamic development. A menacing drone opens the piece, over which a synth intones a solitary chant. Slowly the arrangement becomes more poignant, taking shape as an almost celestial, galactic orchestration. Around the twelfth minute a reverberated drum enters, a pretext for veering into kraut territory worthy of Faust.
The shorter, more transitional “Dawn” opens the way for the closing “Rain”, 14 minutes of more descriptive atmospheric music: the keyboards rain down melodies, the storm swells and then fades away.

As with “Timewave Zero”, this too feels like a minor entry in the discography. Stripped of its functional context, “All Gates Open” is atmospheric music with a pronounced nostalgic streak, once again showcasing the complex range of influences behind Blood Incantation, but at the same time unable to rival their towering masterpieces.

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10/09/2026