Having displayed their orchestral dexterity in composition, Phlebotomized founding member Tom Palms (guitars) felt the need to explore new sonic grounds. There is something quite remarkable about the music that gives it a special quality, mainly when the synth and the piano are combined, like in the opening track ‘Burn My Heart’ which offers the gothic death metal appeal to fans of early The Gathering and Dan Swanö. Though much of the pacing of the songs feel right, the triple guitars of Tom Palms, Dennis Bolderman and Thijs van der Sluijs provide richness and saturate the music with powerful riffs.

However, their sense of cohesion is showcased in a number of tracks like ‘Alternate Universe’ and ‘Lachrimae’ which are both saturated in rich symphonies. The adept aspect of the septet perfectly reflects the musical grandiosity. Although the sound production is not as modern as other symphonic death metal bands like SepticFlesh, it still sounds polished. Phlebotomized drifts into the lush atmospheric avant-garde death metal and with beautiful touches of the synthesizer, courtesy of Rob op ‘t Veld who delivers breathtaking and dreamy undertones, hence weaving otherworldly dreamscapes in the track ‘Desolate Wasteland’.

The septet explores dark themes that somehow sound a bit gothic to me, but the role of the drummer Alex Schollema truly manifests in the track ‘Destined To Be Killed’ where he strikes flurries of blast beats. The diverse songwriting and the composition conjure up a surreal atmosphere while the contrasting fast sections of the drums bring some dynamic pacing. The growls of Ben de Graaff are noteworthy throughout the album and his deep growls are backed by guitar melodies, ‘Pillar of Fire’ is highlighted by detailed symphonic passages, which when the piano takes a shift into the avant-garde, the guitar riffs and the piano shows the opulent breadth of the musical arrangement.

The guitar harmonies and the mid-pacing drums execute some powerful double bass lines with plenty of twists and memorable piano lines with the switching roles of the clean vocals and the guttural growls soaked in a refined and elegant manner. The poignant moments of opening moments of ‘Burn My Heart Reprise’ boast melodic guitar riffs derived from the bygone era of the nineties, adding a melodic death metal feel to the song. Next is ‘Death Will Hunt You Down’ which blends unique melodies with their twisted sound. Phlebotomized proves to have a knack for writing melodic death metal riffs. The fast sections are full of catchy drum patterns and the sound of the guitars rumbling through the haunting keyboards seems to work fine all the way through. Even the bass guitar of  André de Heus works in tandem with the drums and the guitars.

‘Clouds of Confusion’ carves impressive sonic structures filled with haunting themes that serve as a dark backdrop. ‘A Unity Your Messiah Pre Claimed?’ fuses plenty of atmospheric elements and brutal drumming, including some quirky guitar riffs that bare the dark haunting vibe of the synthesizer, and there are some tempo changes in the song when the clean vocals are minimally used. The major issue with that song is that the riffs sound very generic and fail to interest me. The same can be said about the following song ‘Dawn of Simplicity’ which starts quite well with the slow dark intro of the guitars. Despite the hints of death/doom metal the song is mediocre at best.

Instrumental details such as the drums, guitars and keyboard are juxtaposed with off-kilter songwriting. The final track ‘Context Is For Kings (Stupidity and Mankind)’ is enriched by the atmospheric style of melodic death metal. The blending of the musical textures with bombastic polyphonic synth sections gives the music a cinematic flair and the slower passages allow the guitars to shine before the drums assault with stomping aggression.

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