Photo by Joe Dilworth
Released as a supplemental 12-inch maxi single last year and complimenting the band's incendiary instrumental album, Timewave Zero, Blood Incantation delivered a staggering assertion of musicality and artistry with the 9-minute epic, "Luminescent Bridge".
The track served as audacious about face, contrasting the complex, death metal mayhem of Side A's -"Obliquity of the Ecliptic" with a Side B that delves into the band's penchant for the ethereal. The composition touts dynamic layers of synth, fused with unconventional instrumentation in what amounts to a sonic journey that reaches the brink of infinity.
Ahead of the band's highly-anticipated performance at this year's Roadburn Festival in the Netherlands, Blood Incantation has teamed with director Miles Skarin to craft a music video that best encompasses the otherworldly scope of the single.
Detailing how the composition came together, the band explained how the track ultimately took on a life of it's own.
“Originally conceived as an acoustic interlude in the tradition of ‘Meticulous Soul Devourment’ and ‘(Mirror of the Soul)’, ‘Luminescent Bridge’ quickly became something entirely different upon entering Rocky Mountain Recorders in March 2023.
Compelled by a tangible air of creativity, we forwent acoustic instruments entirely and ended up implementing several spur-of-the-moment ideas - such as drums, grand piano and even trombone - to create a vast, dynamic tapestry of textures both alien and familiar, yet remaining quintessentially Blood Incantation in feeling and atmosphere.
Drenched in analog and digital synthesizers, multiple tape echoes and soaring electric guitar, this intended outro to a subsequently abandoned 7” EP became a towering landscape of otherworldly sonics, earning its place as the title track for our latest maxi-single release.”
In much the same way the composition swelled in scope, the band understood that the accompanying visual would need to compliment the same ambitious vision. “With this expansive energy in mind, we knew the eventual music video would similarly have to be something completely new for us, further evolving our imagery and aesthetic into new realms as we make our way towards our imminent third album.
Thanks to the masterful VFX and cinematography of our friends Miles Skarin and Alex Pace who also worked on the music videos ‘Inner Paths (to Outer Space)’ and ‘Obliquity of the Ecliptic’, and the ‘Timewave Zero’ live Blu-Ray, respectively - we are able to present to you the official video for ‘Luminescent Bridge’.
Director and visual effects artist Miles Skarin expanded on the narrative of the project. "When the Stargate Research Society asked us to help visualise a recent extrasolar communication they had received, we knew this would be a project of epic proportion. The data packet they sent to us from Colorado contained footage of Blood Incantation's interstellar expedition to a distant star system. What we saw after decompressing the video stream blew us away, not only had they captured a beautiful cinematic exploration of the exoplanet's sand dunes, but we can see their journey across the expanse of space was successful."
Skarin also explained how the right personnel and shared artistic influences ultimately loaned itself to everyone operating in lockstep. "Alex Pace's cinematography from this location was stunning and provided us with everything we needed. Due to the solar radiation exposure, the data from the interstellar voyage was difficult to decipher, so we have used our artistic abilities in VFX and 3D animation to reconstruct the visual of crossing the Luminescent Bridge, first depicted by the artist Steve R Dodd."
Blood Incantation performs consecutive nights at Roadburn - first taking on Timewave Zero in full, then returning for a second showing which will include select essentials from the band's celebrated catalog.
More news from Blood Incantation is expected soon.
