Review Summary: descend into sleep
Phlebotomized were a band who gained recognition for only one album;
Immense Intense Suspense, a moderately unique splicing of death metal convention with violins and the mildest tinge of plain old rock 'n' roll – perhaps the clearest indication of what was to come in this, its distant cousin
Skycontact.
Quickly growing tired of the horror theatrics of traditional death metal in a way not so unlike the widely beloved Chuck Schuldiner, Phlebotomized began to write material nearer and dearer to their hearts: music that looks forward and not back, and helps them do the same as individuals. Music without an agenda, but a big heart and a jaded mind aching for release.
Stoleshowsoul both establishes the basic template for the record and conjures up an atmosphere of thinly veiled lucidity, the story of the music not yet having plunged into dreaming. It segues into
Achin', beginning to strip away the veil and then into the hypnotic trance that is
Sometimes as it transitions to the dream world in full before eventually presenting its centerpiece in the form a four part suite:
I Hope You Know.
This suite comprises of half the track list and wraps up the album as a whole, folding in on itself as it drifts in and out of sleep, telling a story of life in a way that can only be described through dreams – or music. Lyrics and themes are reprised and repeated, the girthy steel of their core sound carrying the weight of the load, the honeyed sound of the keys and strings acting as passengers, giving way to introspection without self-indulgence.
Running together as a loosely described concept album and lurching from one track to the other in dreamlike transit, Phlebotomized never discard their death metal origins and instead use them to convey entirely different things. Fuzzy, power chord-laden riffs interwoven with synthesizers and their characteristic violin work tell the story as the lyrics serve as elaboration, uttered through desperate crooning and churning growls.
Skycontact is a record that clearly recalls classic influences in bands like Pink Floyd and Metallica but fails to be anything but unique, lost in time and known to few, solidifying its place in the world as a deeply personal expression of a band who had something to say and only one way they could do it. A record deserving of attention it will never get, and perhaps it's better that way.
I'm off to an island of my dreams...
Far away from home, with nobody else but me
