Heavy-hearted in the Midwest since 2011
Colorado’s Blood Incantation have taken Death Metal to a whole new level. Sure, there’s the growling vocals and the breakneck drumming. As well as the chugging rhythm guitars and lightning fast guitar solos to boot. But guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Paul Riedl sees more in this musical world than who can play the fastest and belch up vocals […]
Read More Blood Incantation : Absolute ElsewhereQuintessence quite simply means “the purest form of something”. It’s the essence that gives something its magic. The essential center that holds those secrets that only the universe whispers when you need to hear them the most. It’s that hum in your head that calms the static when it encroaches too close to your being. […]
Read More Paul Riedl : QuintessenceWell we have made it yet to another year-end list season. It’s been a long-ish year for me, but there has been plenty to soundtrack the angst-y days and anxiety nights. What do I do to cope with the mental anguish and shadowy unknowns? Well, I listen to music. I exercise as well, but the […]
Read More Complex Distractions Presents : Favorite Albums Of 2023(Ambient/New Age/Drone Edition)It’s been a few years since I’ve sat down to do a mid-year album review for Complex Distractions. Not sure why I’ve let that go by the way side. Granted, it’s a lot of work for me. Making lists the old fashioned way, by pen and paper; ranking albums in accordance to my adoration and […]
Read More Complex Distractions Presents : Favorite Albums Of 2023(Mid-Year Edition)Paul Riedl has proven to be one of the preeminent sonic purveyors of New Age bliss and cosmic ambient vibes. His late night zone out recordings are in stark contrast to his work as frontman for the cosmic death metal band Blood Incantation. Though the band’s last release, 2022s Timewave Zero, was all brooding analog […]
Read More Paul Riedl : Ocean of PeaceHey hey folks. We’re in the countdown now. Not only are we five days away from baby Jesus, three wise men, and all that jazz, but we’ve gotten to the top 20 favorite albums of the year. Whose favorite albums? Well mine, of course. Who am I? Well I’m your friendly neighborhood hermit who enjoys […]
Read More Complex Distractions Presents : Favorite Albums Of 2022 Part III(20-11)Outside of the cosmic metal of Blood Incantation, lead singer/guitarist Paul Riedl conjures deeply meditative, thoughtful, and transcendent electronic music. A man alone with analog sounds and a need to connect to the universe in both an intellectual and spiritual way. Even behind the death metal swells, tempo changes on a dime, and the jagged […]
Read More Paul Riedl : Ambient Mixtape Vol. 5 [The Water Tape]Analog sound wizard Paul Riedl returns once again with another volume of his heavy synth/cosmos head trips with Ambient Mixtape Vol. 4. He continues the heady sonic journey with SFI Recordings, blasting our psyches with 9 musical excursions into what sound like deep space drifts. Late in 2021 Paul dropped Ambient Mixtape Vol. 3, which […]
Read More Paul Riedl : Ambient Mixtape Vol. 4It’s been a year, hasn’t it? I mean if we’re being honest it’s been quite a couple of years; pandemic, nearly a million deaths from Covid in the US alone, protests, science deniers, attempted insurrection, fascism disguised as nationalism disguised as patriotism, and of course the return of the McRib. But besides all of that, […]
Read More Complex Distractions Presents Top 30 Albums Of 2021 : 10-1Musician Paul Riedl has made a name for himself in the death metal scene with his bands Blood Incantation and Spectral Voice. Riding a wave of sonic doom and cosmic psychededlia, Riedl has put his stamp on extreme metal. But when he’s not writing pummeling riffs Riedl is making a different kind of cosmic psychedelia. […]
Read More Paul Riedl : Ambient Mixtape Vol. 3