Blood Incantation is probably the most divisive critically-acclaimed metal band to come along since Deafheaven dropped that pink album in 2013. You either love Blood Incantation’s ever-evolving fusion of death metal, psychedelic rock, and midnight-bong-session soundscapes, or you complain that they get categorized as death metal but don’t sound exactly like early Deicide.
Purist gatekeepers aside, this Denver crew is one of the most original, virtuosic, and visionary bands, with some of the most diverse influences, to hit the metal scene in a long time. And if you think the band’s chemistry is some kind of fluke, just check out their multitude of side projects, most notably death-doom juggernaut Spectral Voice, spaghetti-western-influenced Wayfarer, or frontman Paul Riedl’s vast assortment of ambient projects.
This is a no-bad-albums band, but we’ll do our best.
5. Interdimensional Extinction (2015)
A re-release of the band’s original demo, this is (very relatively speaking) as close to meat-and-potatoes OSDM as you’re gonna get from their discography thus far, though it’s already hinting at the psychedelic realms that are gonna hit full-force soon after. The lead guitar work, especially on “Hovering Lifeless,” is the kind of shredding that, in lesser hands, would seem wanky and lifeless, but that just absolutely works for this material. Bonus points for having the coolest cover in their discography. A Saturn-like planet where the rings seem to be made not just of ice and vaporized rock, but also skulls? Pretty much a perfect visual capture of what these guys are all about.
Play it Again: “Hovering Lifeless” and “Obfuscating the Linear Threshold”
Skip It: “The Vth Tablet (of Enuma Ellis)”
4. Timewave Zero (2022)
If you want to see metalheads absolutely lose their minds, read or watch some of the reviews/reactions to this album. Despite the band being pretty upfront about the fact that they had something very different from their previous work in the offing, the release of a two-track ambient synth album was just too much for some listeners, even the ones who DON’T begrudge Blood Incantation for not sounding like early Deicide. Moody, deceptively-complex, and recorded analog on a veritable arsenal of Moog products, this one is jarring to hear for the first time, especially if you ignored the press releases and thought you were getting more Gorgutsian tech-death, only to get 40 minutes of Brian Eno meets Bernard Xolotl meets one of those 10-hour “fall asleep in 5 minutes” YouTube videos. But as a spaced-out dark ambient record? This shit slays.
Play it Again: “Ea”
Skip It: There are only two tracks, and “Ea” is slightly better than “Io,” so do with that what you will.
Honorable Mention: Luminescent Bridge (2023)
This is a two-track EP (or “maxi-single” if you prefer, which we do not) with one more-or-less death metal song and one more-or-less ambient song, the latter of which includes a straight-from-the-80s guitar solo with the harmonized tone of hair metal but a melodic solemnity that would have fit perfectly with a montage of scenes from “Top Gun” or “Iron Eagle.” They toured on this thing opening for Gorguts, Mayhem, and Cannibal Corpse, if that gives you some sense of what an eclectic oddball record it is.
Play it Again: “Obliquity of the Ecliptic”
Skip It: Look, again, it’s only two tracks, so our powers of deduction give us a very obvious candidate. But also, c’mon, who doesn’t like an Iron Eagle montage soundtrack?
3. Starspawn (2016)
Technically their first full-length, this is practically a dissertation on the awesomeness of complex death metal with a thick layer of cosmic psychedelia. It has a certain sense of purity, as the band recorded it before they had a ton of hype to live up to. We’d also call it their most accessible album; no matter what sub-subgenre you prefer, this should be regarded as the Blood Incantation album that every death metal fan can agree on, unless you’re just looking for a reason not to.
Play it Again: “Chaoplasm”
Skip It: We don’t really recommend that
2. Absolute Elsewhere (2024)
This record is going to be near or at the top of so many year-end lists. At least one reviewer has described it as “Morbid Floyd,” given that there are parts that sound like “Altars of Madness” and parts that sound like “Shine on You Crazy Diamond,” and that’s a pretty apt description, but it still doesn’t capture just how off-the-wall and original this album is. Listen closely and you’ll find everything from Yes to King Crimson to Krallice to 2nd-wave black metal to (OMG) Deicide influencing the proceedings. The band continues to show their ambient soundscape bona fides with a guest appearance by the legendary Tangerine Dream. Tempo shifts, of which you’ll find plenty, might be a hallmark of tech-forward metal, but Blood Incantation ups the ante by being unafraid to have just as many tonal shifts. There are lots of pretty decent death metal albums that start the intensity at 10 and stay there until the final note. This is not an issue on Absolute Elsewhere. It’s one of the most sonically-diverse releases the genre has ever seen.
Play it Again: All of it. This is a concept album in the purest sense, and should be an immersive start-to-finish experience
Skip it: Would you skip a track on Dark Side of the Moon? No? Exactly.
1. Hidden History of the Human Race (2019)
Not very original of us to choose this for #1, but more than five years after the band dropped this hyped-to-hell-and-back album, it still holds up just fine, thank you very much. It roars out of the gate with “Slave Species of the Gods,” an unapologetic early Morbid Angel-influenced number accompanied by Riedl’s inimitable death growl. This is followed by some delightful squeak-squawk guitar riffs courtesy of Morris Kolontyrsky on “The Giza Power Plant,” a track that ultimately sounds like it’s from “…And Justice for All,” if Kirk Hammett had followed George Harrison’s example and studied middle eastern and Indian music for awhile. The whole affair is beautifully complemented by the rhythm section. Isaac Faulk’s blast beats and Jeff Barrett’s twisty fretless bass parts provide an indispensable counterpoint, not just a backdrop, to Riedl and Kolontyrsky’s guitars. The ambient interludes are just the right length to add atmosphere without seeming like they’re padding out the runtime, and the closing track “Awakening from the Dream of Existence to the Multidimensional Nature of our Reality (Mirror of the Soul)” is a 17-minute beast.
This album might not have the musical diversity of “Absolute Elsewhere,” but it’s a career-defining monster, and if you somehow haven’t heard it…get on that.
Play it Again: All
Skip It: None
This should be a surprise to absolutely nobody who’s watched this series. As risk-averse as he is pragmatic, Mark wouldn’t even entertain the idea of becoming a soccer hooligan if a girl he fancied required it. Yes, he begrudgingly tagged along at the destructive protest in the JLB building, but that was really more of a spur-of-the-moment occurrence, and he was really half-assing it to show his colleagues he wasn’t part of management. We know his true nature.
Ian is Mark’s infant son, and the fact that he’s so young at the conclusion of the series is only the second reason he ranks at 39. Come on, he’s Mark’s son. It’s not happening at any age. The only reason he’s nominally more likely than his father is that Mark doesn’t have full custody, so some outside influence might creep in.
A true intellect, Zahra would be far more likely to watch a foreign film or read Romantic literature than to even glance at the telly if she happened to be in a room with a soccer match playing. It’s true that she’s lived with Ben, who’s definitely not as high-brow, but she doesn’t really love him and wouldn’t be at risk of succumbing to any sway he may have.
Let’s be real, Stu used to be a monk, for Christ’s sake! It is true that he ended up punching Jeremy, but that was clearly out of self-defense and not something he’d ever willingly do. Frankly, it’s kind of a shame given how much of a hunk he is. Strictly with respect to physical form, we could totally see Stu fucking shit up as a hooligan.
Dull, strict, boring, and a possessor of a spot that you could make a night out of popping, Robert Grayson would be far more inclined to spend any free time he may have studying up on the latest bath fittings while enjoying a cup of tepid tea. While an errant shit in a display toilet may unleash his dark side, we’re going to confidently claim that even that is unlikely to turn him into a drunken tough guy.
Sickly and pitiful, Gerrard’s idea of a good night is comprised of playing with his cybermen action figures and, erm, himself while frequenting Dobby’s Facebook photo albums. Also, he’s dead, so there’s that. Come to think of it, by default we probably should have put him at 40, but his spirit is probably a little bit more likely to resort to hooliganism than the handful of people preceding him in this list.
Mark’s roommate and Met City Bank coworker in the show’s final season, Jerry is very similar to Mark, but appears to have a bit more of an untapped sinister side. He’d be more inclined to sit back with some William Morris while engaging in some civil back-and-forth about proper thermostat settings, but the way Mark and Jeremy “got rid” of him leads us to think he could maybe be convinced to cause some trouble.
Ah, the one that got away. Shoe salesperson turned historical author/lecturer, April is not the type to down a pint while concurrently smashing someone’s head in. She is given to spontaneity, however, as displayed by her public bathroom tryst with Mark after her relationship with Angus went awry, but we’re confident that that’s about as unhinged as she gets.
Gail is a strictly no-bullshit person. She’s extremely professional when managing the Mexican restaurant (from which she ultimately fires Mark,) or getting stuff done as a member of the Apollo House association meetings. She hates Jeremy with the fire of a thousand suns for his affair with her partner Elena, but she’s not likely to take it out on anyone but him.
Gog’s definitely spiteful and has a huge chip on his shoulder from the abuse he withstood at the hands of Jeremy while at university, but he’s much more likely to release his anger with passive-aggressiveness and obnoxious displays of self-importance. Is he likely to manipulate you into maybe buying him a kabob while discussing a song he’s hiring you to write for a Honda commercial? Yes. Is he likely to pass out in a pool of his own vomit while following his favorite team around Europe? We don’t think so.
Sophie’s mom Penny really just doesn’t seem like the type. She’d be more interested in hating her drunken husband Ian or making jam than moving to the city (which probably terrifies her) to chug ale and start fights. She is more adventurous than one would expect, as indicated by her sudden affair with Jeremy, but we’re pretty sure that’s where it ends.
You’d better believe The Orgazoid would have been further down this list had we set it 15 years earlier in the show’s canon. However, he’s sober now (good for him!) and pretty much only interested in drinking smoothies and paying Jeremy for sexual favors these days (um, not so good for him?) Let’s hope he behaves a bit more ethically towards his next handyman.
Representative at “publisher” British London, Greg is by no means a morally upstanding citizen. He takes Mark for a ride on publishing (or, rather, printing out) “Business Secrets of the Pharaohs,” although he ends up partially redeeming his reputation with Mark (though definitely not his character) by printing a fraudulent Life Coach certificate for Jeremy. Slimeball? Yes. Hooligan? Not so much.
Much like Gail before her, Stephanie is all business. She used to work in public relations, but pivoted after her divorce and is now studying for her master’s degree. She likes to talk shop while drinking wine and listening to Van Morrison. She’s probably pissed that Mark walked out on her while she was presumably planning on putting the moves on him, but that’s not going to culminate in anything beyond an icy stare if she ever sees him.
A genuinely nice and mild-mannered guy, Matt is rightfully upset at Mark for getting him fired with a fabricated story of him defecating into the gym’s swimming pool, but he presumably got his revenge with some organized judo at the episode’s conclusion. Also, he’s a black belt, so he knows how to artfully avoid altercation and will likely only engage in extreme circumstances. Not the scuffling type.
Eternally sunny and likely to express displeasure with a snarky comment thinly veiled behind a smile, Big Suze would likely not be offended by the idea of becoming a soccer hooligan. She’d probably just respond with “well, that sounds lovely! I’ve never thought about doing that myself, but I hope you have a wonderful time!” She likely still hates Jeremy (but curiously not Alan Johnson) for the “Indecent Proposal” fiasco, but that’s just going to show itself with more snarkiness.
Mark’s sister is perpetually horny for Jeremy, but beyond that she’s pretty centered around her career as a lawyer (or whatever the fuck they call those in England) and her son Joshy. Maybe she’d be interested in becoming a soccer hooligan if you found some free time on her calendar and penciled it in for her, but still not very likely.
Jeremy’s life-coaching client and male part of his three-way love affair, Joe is largely nondescript. He’s very young and has never even listened to the Beastie Boys before, and we don’t really know how he spends his free time beyond administrating surreptitious under-the-dinner-table footjobs and exhausting Jeremy with all-night raves. Save this, he’s pretty banal, so we’re going to err on the side of caution and assume the rest of his life isn’t nearly as exciting.
A sketchy person to say the least, Natalie does like to get drunk, as demonstrated by her proclivity for “Irish wine” the night she stays over Mark and Jeremy’s flat. We won’t tell you how the night ends for Mark (hint: it’s bad), but suffice it to say Natalie is more likely than a lot of characters to become a soccer hooligan. Still, though, it’s still not something we’d place money on.
Known for her relatively brief fling with Jeremy during her relationship with Gail, Elena is a full-time legal secretary who makes extra money on the side dealing weed. She does have a bit of a reckless side, as shown by her disciplinary issue with watching porn at work. Could that show itself in her smashing her bar glass over the head of a fan of her rival soccer club? Doesn’t really seem like it, but we’ve seen crazier things happen.
