Blood Incantation "Timewave Zero" Cassette

Blood Incantation needs no introduction for those who are in the modern death metal scene. Forming in 2011, the band would gain mainstream attention in 2019 with their second studio album 'Hidden History of the Human Race", which was critically acclaimed from fans and critics for being a nice blend of old school death metal acts like Morbid Angel, prog rock-esque styling influenced from Pink Floyd and Rush, and even themes of the Anunnaki Mythos being prominent in the album, especially on the 18 minute epic "Awakening from the Dream of Existence to the Multidimensional Nature of Our Reality".
So when it was time to create another release, the members of Blood Incantation shocked everyone when they announced that their next release wasn't going to include any death metal, but instead be a full-on ambient release. Eventually, it would be revealed that this new release was an EP titled "Timewave Zero", and would include only a handful of tracks that last for over 15 minutes. Now that it has released, there seems to be a divide over whether or not this EP is good. Being a big fan of ambient music myself, I can predict that even if the overall reception of this album is poor, it'll eventually gain a cult following.
What do I mean by that? Well let's look at the first song of the two on here, which is "Io". This particular track starts off strong with a droning sound that gets louder until the other synths kick in. The overall composition of the track is very slow and enduring, but the synths and keyboards that play have a calming and soft sound that sounds exceptionally fantastic when it's dragged on, especially on the first part of the track. The keyboards on the second part is my personal favorite on this track as well, since they sound deep, but also melodic, giving off an atmosphere of peace and harmony. I also love the more traditional instruments being played on the third part, as it gave the atmosphere a more archaic feeling. Io is very slow-paced, but those who have the patience to listen to it all are rewarded with hearing a mix of new-wave keyboards and ancient instruments to bring in feelings of being lost in space.
The next track, "Ea", is more or less the same as Io in terms of its slow composition, but the tone of that track is noticeably different. From the first synths that play, we can already infer that the vibe of this track is gonna be more somber and depressing, since the synths on the first part sound more deep and weak. The atmosphere on this track is actually slightly better on here than in the previous track, since the mood feels a bit more sincere and direct. The third part on this track in particular is probably my favorite moment on this EP. It mixes the new-wave synths with the traditional instruments, which both flow together to create a feeling of sadness and nostalgia, which works beautifully. My only slight complaint on this track is that while the atmosphere on Ea is great, it kind of gets a little weak on the fourth part. Not that it's bad or anything, but it doesn't have the same momentum as the earlier parts. Otherwise, Ea is also another strong track that has an emotional and epic atmosphere.
So overall, I thought this EP was pretty great. The synths and keyboards sound nice, the traditional instruments also work with the more vintage sound, and the atmosphere on both tracks are executed well. The EP has just came out, and the reception so far is a bit mixed, but I have a feeling that people are gonna have a lot more appreciation of this EP in the future. It's unknown where the band's gonna go from here, and while I'm sure they're gonna release another death metal album in the future, at the same time, I also won't mind them continuing to experiment in the ambient genre.

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