The inscrutably monikered Blood Incantation burst out of Denver in 2015 with their Interdimensional Extinction EP. Expanding their sound over two breakthrough full lengths and the “synths-only” Timewave Zero, the buildup to Absolute Elsewhere’s recent release reached a fever pitch rarely seen in the cosmic death metalverse or beyond. Traveling to Berlin in the summer of 2023 to record at Hansa Studios [Tape Op #95] with Arthur Rizk [#150], Absolute Elsewhere is the band’s “big album” that delivers a million surprises across two side-long tracks. The three weeks of sessions are lovingly presented in All Gates Open, an hour long documentary about the power of collaboration, inspiration, and rare record shopping. I spoke with guitarist/vocalist Paul Riedl, producer Arthur Rizk, and assistant engineer Aidan Elias about the making of the album and the soundtrack for the documentary, of the making of the album. If that’s too much to comprehend… concentrate.
Paul Riedl
What was the band’s process in Denver leading up to the recording sessions? Your previous albums, Starspawn and Hidden History of the Human Race, were notably recorded in analog without click tracks.
PR: We did extensive pre-production in our rehearsal space for almost nine months, practicing four to six days a week for four to eight hours. This was the first time we’d recorded to a click, and we spent a lot of time refining that one BPM at a time. It’s easier to refine 20 minute songs into sections with a click track playing in a loud muffled room and shouting, “Hey, you know that part 12 minutes ago? Should that be a little faster?” We each have computers with [Apple] Logic at home for our individual projects, but we do all of our demo recording for Blood Incantation in the rehearsal room with Logic and a Mac. Someday we’ll have a big room with our own studio.
You and Arthur Rizk have a close history of collaboration through a variety of projects.
PR: Spectral Voice and Wayfarer both recorded their recent albums with him in Philly at Redwood Studios. He’s also mixed or mastered my ambient music as Hoverkraft, and done live sound for us. When Arthur was previously at Hansa recording Kreator, he would be texting us photos of gear used there by Eloy, David Bowie, or Tangerine Dream. He can incorporate “useless sounds” into a mix similar to Conny Plank, where everything is a textural component. One of the most critical things he brings to the studio is tact. He knows what to say to get the best take out of everybody without resorting to the pressure of “we’re burning tape, time is money.” He’s a tremendous creative force for anyone in the studio, in any genre.
Morris [Kolontyrsky, guitar] speaks in All Gates Open on the importance of setting up inspiring objects around the studio. The Hansa live room is decked out with the spoils of your Berlin record shopping.
PR: Our practice space at home is full from floor to ceiling of concert posters and ephemera of 50 years of music history, including our place in that continuum. Everywhere you look should feel inspiring for you to create. When we’ve recorded locally with Pete DeBoer at World Famous Studios, we’ll bring in crystals, salt lamps, and posters to try to decorate the studio like a movie set. Hansa also has a great vibe as the carpets and the space remain unchanged for 50 plus years. When Morris shows off the Eloy Ra record it’s because it was recorded in that same room. There’s a picture of Brian Eno [Tape Op #85] sitting on those sunken couches in the control room by the door open, and it’s the same door we’d go through to hang out on the roof. Being at Hansa demystifies these legendary figures and humanizes their albums and their ambitions. We also went to a Depeche Mode concert the night before we went to the studio, and they were playing to 80,000 people, performing songs recorded in those rooms.
You were booked there for 21 days?
PR: We had the entire run of the top floor studio with no other sessions going on. Every day we’d be greeted by in-house engineer Kian Moghaddamzadeh and would get to work. Prior to Hansa, we rehearsed at Noisy Room Studios for ten days, performing the two songs in full up to 60 times. By the time we recorded, Isaac [Faulk, drums] was able to perform “The Message” in one take, although we had to punch in for his shoe flying off! That entire section – from the ‘60s part, to the drum roll, up to the speed metal part – was performed in real time from muscle memory. From having done it relentlessly so many times. We were able to get that perfectly on beat without looking at the waveform or hearing the click… we were just going. We recorded drums to tape and then brought that into Pro Tools to track over. I’m biased towards live analog recording, but I think the album...
