Alamo Drafthouse hosted an exclusive Fan Event coast to coast across the nation on May 20, screening Denver-based death metal band Blood Incantation’s new documentary, All Gates Open: In Search of Absolute Elsewhere, and a Q&A with the band. The screenings were preceded by a 20-minute pre-show featuring their 20-minute epic music video for “The Stargate.”A quote from the band from the press materials, “We are deeply grateful to Alamo Drafthouse for their collaboration on this special event and look forward to sharing with our fans this feature-length, in-depth film showcasing the creation of this album, which so greatly transformed our lives.”
The screening was followed by a live Q&A, broadcast from Alamo Drafthouse Sloans Lake in Denver, which featured the band. Similar to the documentary, the Q&A offered insight into the 2023 recording sessions at Berlin’s legendary Hansa Studios. The documentary first explored how the band members collaborate and how the studio space shaped their creative process. Afterward, during the Q&A, the band discussed their experiences and expressed relief and happiness at completing the projects after a lengthy effort, especially for attendees less familiar with their full history.
I especially liked how the band arrived at the studio, excited by all the equipment. They seemed thrilled to have items from their list at their disposal. It must have felt like having your wish list fulfilled.
The 73-minute documentary shows the making of Absolute Elsewhere as it follows the band’s evolution from atmospheric death metal pioneers into expansive, cosmic territory, with cinematography that mesmerizes on the theater screen.
To provide additional perspective, the following is a quote from the press materials related to the documentary’s production.
“The creation of ‘Absolute Elsewhere’ was truly a monumental process – taking several years and dozens of people to manifest it – and to see the results of its ambition continue to blossom is truly humbling,” said Blood Incantation. “Being huge fans of music documentaries ourselves, we knew at the outset that any attempt to capture this project fully would require a workload of epic proportions.”
“Back in Berlin during July 2023, it was a real joy to have the documentary crew with us throughout the album sessions (and much more), chronicling many small yet important moments of the creative process, and were truly impressed by the final product’s warm and welcoming comprehensiveness; covering everything from rehearsals and preproduction, to collaborating with our musical inspirations, and diving deep into the personal philosophies behind the music. We were thrilled to be able to include the making-of documentary as a bonus item for the limited 4-disc deluxe artbook version of the album, yet we couldn’t escape feeling that perhaps burying it in such a specialized format might have limited our fans’ access to it. To that end, we are honored to be able to present ‘All Gates Open: In Search of Absolute Elsewhere’ in its ideal context – in theaters, in tandem with the standalone release of its accompanying soundtrack on 2LP and CD, both of which include the documentary on Blu-ray.”
The All Gates Open (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) will be released on June 5, coinciding with the documentary’s public release.
Fans can visit AlamoMart.com for a collectors’ set that includes a t-shirt, soundtrack, and more. Supplies are extremely limited.
Source: Alamo Drafthouse, band website