PHLEBOTOMIZED - Immense Intense Suspense & Skycontact

June 18, 2014, 9 years ago

(Hammerheart Records)

Greg Pratt

Rating: 7.0

review phlebotomized

PHLEBOTOMIZED - Immense Intense Suspense & Skycontact

There was always something weird and lovable about these Dutch death metallers back in the mid-'90s, and this reissue of their two full-lengths shows why. Immense Intense Suspense, originally released in 1994, always reminded me of early PYOGENESIS (heh, haven't typed that word out in a while), but with more quirk (hello, violin and prog-metal ambitions). With long songs that extend and explore, this is a challenging listen; unfortunately, while the band had quirk and personality, they lacked in subtlety (those changes mid-song are more jarring than guiding) and songwriting finesse (hum me a PHLEBOTOMIZED tune right now, I dare ya). Skycontact is heavier, weirder, more aggressive, yet less death metal, and features song titles like 'I Lost My Cookies In The Disco' and 'Dizz-tance'. Opener 'StoleShowSoul' cuts to the bone oddly close to MESHUGGAH; meanwhile, 'Achin'' is a groovin' '70's-death-metal tune, which is fun. But by the time 22-minute closer 'I Hope You Know (In 4 Parts)' comes along, man, not sure who's still paying attention. But, you know, maybe you should be; as far as huge, multi-part songs go, it's pretty good. So, lots of points for trying to reach, even if complete recognition and acceptance in the extreme scene, along with a fully realized sound, was always just out of this band's grasp.



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