This was their first release with a new lineup, with Tony Choy replacing Martin van Drunen on bass, while guitarist Patrick Mameli filled in for the latter on vocals.

According to Ultimate Guitar senior editor David Slavković, the album is "one of the first examples of experimentation in [death metal]," incorporating progressive elements and "slowly drifting away towards jazz fusion".

These brief interludes incorporate unorthodox timbres for death metal, such as acoustic guitar, samples of orchestral arrangements, and pianos.

Mameli steered the band towards a more melodic and technical approach, expanding on the death metal sound of its predecessor Consuming Impulse.

The resulting concept album, Testimony of the Ancients, contrasted brutal death metal riffs with melodic interludes.