Phlebotomized are a seven-piece death metal band from Rozenburg, Netherland… Read Full Bio ↴Phlebotomized are a seven-piece death metal band from Rozenburg, Netherlands. They formed in the 1990 They combined the styles of death/doom, technical death and avant-garde death with some grinding parts. They split up after the release of Skycontact in 1997. Prior to Skycontact, they had released two demos and EPs as well as Immense Intense Suspense - the album often regarded as their finest work. What points out the band most, is the use of the violin as a constant instrument which is very rare in the death metal scene and the use of synthesizers in the background.

Originally, they were a death/grind band called Bacterial Cancer, then Bacterial Disease. They changed their name to Phlebotomized and their style around 1990.

They reunited in 2013 and Immense Intense Suspense & Skycontact has been reissued as a double album in 2014.

Mustardgas
Phlebotomized Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

[2C2H4 + S2Cl2 - C4H8Cl2 + S]

Introduced as weapon during World War I
Both used by Allies and Germany
Among the chocking chlorine and phosgene
Was the blinding mustardgas, it's colour yellow-green

Unreliable weapons, primitive minds,

Rebounding the attacker, primitive times
Throw another one into air,
Hould the course alter would be fair?
The experience is felt, gasmasks for air,
Down in the trenches the dead are the bare
Patriotic pride stop at nothing,
Dying to see the opponent suffering

Introduced as weapon during World War I
Both used by Allies and Germany

Unreliable weapons, primitive minds,
Rebounding the attacker, primitive times
Patriotic pride stop at nothing,
Dying to see the opponent suffering

Die, in a confrontation, as it comes down
You will never see the light of this declining world again

Die, by the gas, as it comes down
You will never see the light... you're dead

Ypres, Verdun, Somme & Passchendael,
These were the places battles dwelled

Gunnery rumbling, gloomy expressions,
Plunging thousands into depression

Overall Meaning

The song Mustardgas by Phlebotomized deals with the use of mustard gas as a chemical weapon during World War I. The song begins by talking about how mustard gas was introduced as a weapon during the war and was used by both the Allies and Germany. It's described as being among the chocking chlorine and phosgene gases and is characterized by its yellow-green color. The lyrics suggest that the use of mustard gas was a primitive and unreliable weapon and that its introduction into warfare was a reflection of primitive minds.

The lyrics then describe the experience of being attacked by mustard gas, with soldiers needing gas masks to breathe and the dead lying bare in the trenches. The song suggests that patriotic pride was the driving force behind the use of mustard gas, with some soldiers dying to see their opponents suffer. The chorus of the song repeats the idea that soldiers will die in confrontation, either by the gas or in some other way.

The song concludes by naming some of the places where battles took place during the war and describing the impact of the war on those involved. The lyrics refer to "gunnery rumbling" and "gloomy expressions" that plunged thousands into depression.

Line by Line Meaning

Introduced as weapon during World War I
Mustard gas was first used as a weapon during World War I

Both used by Allies and Germany
Both the Allies and Germany used mustard gas as a weapon

Among the chocking chlorine and phosgene
In addition to chlorine and phosgene, mustard gas was also used as a weapon

Was the blinding mustardgas, it's colour yellow-green
Mustard gas is a yellow-green colored gas that causes severe burns and blindness

Unreliable weapons, primitive minds,
Mustard gas and other chemical weapons were not always reliable, and were used by people with primitive ways of thinking

Rebounding the attacker, primitive times
Mustard gas and other chemical weapons had the ability to rebound and affect those who used them, and this was a sign of the primitive times in which they were used

Throw another one into air,
A new canister of mustard gas is released into the air

Hould the course alter would be fair?
If the course of the battle were to change due to this new canister of mustard gas, would that be considered fair?

The experience is felt, gasmasks for air,
Those who are exposed to mustard gas feel its effects, and must wear gas masks to breathe in clean air

Down in the trenches the dead are the bare
In the trenches, death is all around and bodies are left exposed

Patriotic pride stop at nothing,
People were willing to go to great lengths to show their patriotism and defeat the enemy, even if it meant using chemical weapons

Dying to see the opponent suffering
There was a desire to see the enemy suffer and be defeated, even if it meant using inhumane weapons like mustard gas

Die, in a confrontation, as it comes down
People are likely to die in battle, whether it be from mustard gas or other weapons

You will never see the light of this declining world again
Death is final, and once someone dies in battle, they will never see the world again

Die, by the gas, as it comes down
People could die from mustard gas as it was dropped on them

You will never see the light... you're dead
Death is final, and once someone dies from mustard gas, they will never see the world again

Ypres, Verdun, Somme & Passchendael,
These were the locations of some of the most devastating battles in World War I

These were the places battles dwelled
These locations were where bloodshed and fighting were rampant during the war

Gunnery rumbling, gloomy expressions,
The sounds of gunnery and the expressions on people's faces were both gruesome and depressing

Plunging thousands into depression
The horrors of war drove many people into deep bouts of depression

Contributed by Addison N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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