Flower metal. That's a term someone came up with to describe power metal bands that lack the most important part of that label, power. I've always thought Pyramaze fell into this category. Not sure why, but that's what was in my head. Then sometime last year the band announced that former (at the time) Iced Earth vocalits Matt Barlow had joined the band to sing on their third album, and that piqued my interest.
Matt has since rejoined Iced Earth, but none of this happened before Matt laid down vocals for Immortal, Pyramaze's third album. When samples from Immortal were first put online, I was surprised at how heavy they were. I remember commenting that the band must have consciously went for that Iced Earth sound, probably to accomodate Matt's strong vocals. (Remember, I was thinking they had been a "flower metal" band. I was wrong.)
Legend Of The Bone Carver showed up in a Newbury Comics used bin a few weeks ago, the first time I'd ever seen a Pyramaze album outside of the internet. I contemplated buying it then, but decided against it (it was $8.99, a bit pricey for a used disc by a band I was unsure about, if you ask me). It wasn't until the other day that I finally listened to some Pyramaze samples from their first two albums. Flower metal? Pffft! Hardly. Not sure what convinced me that that was their style—I'm sure the label of "Epic melodic power metal with symphonic touches" had nothing to do with it—but it's not. So I broke down (not hard) and bought Legend Of The Bone Carver, and, as they say, I am pleasantly surprised. The music is just as heavy as the samples from the upcoming Immortal. Lance King, the previous vocalist, and a fantastic one at that, is not as heavy as Barlow, but the album is still a hefty kick in the nuts. Tracks like "What Lies Beyond," "The Birth," and "Souls In Pain" shatter the notion of there being no power behind Pyramaze's music.
I strongly recommend Legend Of The Bone Carver, if you can find it. This album comes off like a more streamlined version of Pagan's Mind. Not sure how many would agree with that, but that's my early impression. An excellent album either way.
Video: What Lies Beyond
Video: The Bone Carver
Video: She Who Summoned Me
Audio: Souls In Pain
Website: http://www.pyramaze.com
MySpace: http://myspace.com/pyramaze
Note: Many of these links are external. In time, they may become obsolete.
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