Pyramids - Pyramids - review
Pyramids - Pyramids - review
Tracklist
Disc I01. Sleds
02. Igloo
03. The Echo Of Something Lovely
04. End Resolve
05. Hellmonk
06. This House Is Like Any Other World
07. Hillary
08. Ghost
09. Monks
10. 1, 2, 3
Disc II
01. The Echo Of Something Lovely [Toby Driver/Ted Parsons/Colin Marston Remix version]
02. 1, 2, 3 [James Plotkin Remix version]
03. The Echo Of Something Lovely [Jesu Remix version]
04. Sleds [loveliescrushing Remix version]
05. Ghost [Birchville Cat Motel Remix version]
06. Sleds [Blut Aus Nord Remix version]
07. The Echo Of Something Lovely [James Plotkin Remix version]
08. Sleds [Ted Scarlett Remix version]
09. The Echo Of Something Lovely [lovesliescrushing Remix version]
A review by
Lucas April 14, 2010
Pyramids exists solely to worship that which is called 'texture' in the world of music. They chose texture as the be-all and end-all and it shows. Pyramids consists of layers upon layers upon layers... you catch my drift. Their aim was to create noise/sound/layers so dense that it becomes soothing, as stated in an interview. And it works. Although I'd say only roughly half of the album is soothing. The other half, not so much. Words that do come to mind are harrowing, paranoid and complete out-of-your-mind insanity. Sounds good, huh?
If you want to get an idea of the music, imagine Blut Aus Nord's The Work Which Transforms God. Hollow it out. Fill the casket with:
- Jesu's drugged-out, fuzzed-out drones,
- unearthly clean vocals, ethereal and completely entranced (reminiscent of a less frightened male version of the vocals on The Angelic Process's Weighing Souls With Sand),
- high-speed drums, alternately blasting and held-back, stagnating, creating a very off-putting and chaotic effect,
- high-pitched shrieks mixed deeply into the mix, often, especially during the first playthroughs, nearly inaudible (reminiscent of Darkspace's III),
- occasional electronic pulses, referencing a mental electrical breakdown,
- everything else you can find that'll heighten the sonic density.
Oh, and don't actually try this at home.
I feel slightly bad for the ridiculous amount of name-dropping I just did, but it gets my point across best. Remember that there's no such thing as a 'song' to be found here, no matter how hard you try. All the elements I described are part of a bigger whole, a massive wall, a drone or layer or, if you will, a sonic texture of formidable heights. It swirls, whirls and rages. They juxtapose beauty with ugliness, which is hardly anything new of course, but the way Pyramids does it certainly is, to my ears at least.
I could go on forever on each individual detail, but I'm not going to. No matter how lame it may sound, I'm going to say it anyway: this is something you have to hear for yourself, cause words will always fall short. Pyramids is an insane record, although it may not present itself as such as first. I can imagine it's very easy to shut yourself off from the record and shrug it off as 'boring' and 'too droney for it's own good', but I dare you to dive in.
Wholeheartedly recommended!
PS: The second discs contains remixes of their songs by various artists/bands, including but not limited to Jesu, James Plotkin (Khanate, Khlyst), Blut Aus Nord and Birchville Cat Motel. I won't reveal too much about this disc, but I'll say some of the remixes are highly interesting, to say the least.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 9 |
| Production: | 9 |
Comments
Comments:
24
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Posts: 1378  |
Posts: 1378
Sounds...elusive 
---- That rug really tied the room together, did it not? 
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 Posts: 18620 |
Posts: 18620
Hhahhaha How funny. I feel so stupid now. You know.. There's an indie forum that is based on a webcomic I use to visit. And on the topic of "great artwork" I saw this one and I thought it was just some average indie stuff, I thought so because I already tried many things I've seen in that forum and must of them were very "meh" for me. That's why I never checked this band out... This was for like... months ago, probably November. Listening to the myspace right now, Damn, how stupid a man can be. I'm going to buy it asap because the remix cd also seems interesting. Thank you for make me realize my error.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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 Posts: 40071 |
Posts: 40071
I only know of this band by name. But it sounds extremely interesting. Will certainly have to check it out... SOON
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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Posts: 711  |
Posts: 711
O_O I can imagine how this will sound before even listening to it. This appears to be a unique and special release, + looking at the cover art it actually gives the impression of being an indie release, so i guess I'm going to give this a try. Edit: Just gave the song Sleds a listen and it's breathtaking 
---- Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone.
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 Posts: 715 |
Posts: 715
Yay, thanks for reviewing this Lucas.  Pyramids with Nadja was also one of my favorite releases of last year, and hopefully they can put out another full-length in the not-too-distant future.
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 Posts: 13427 |
Posts: 13427 Written by spirit_inblack on 14.04.2010 at 20:11 Yep. Ordered that one too. Should be interesting. Haven't heard anything on a new album, but I'd be interested in that as well obviously. 
---- SLUDGE. DOOM. DEATH. Wait, what?  "The reason I'm running for president is because I can't be Bruce Springsteen." - Barack Obama
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| !J.O.O.E.!
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 Posts: 1689 |
Posts: 1689
Sounds really interesting, I'm not into this kind of stuff, but I've been checking some albums you reviewed recently and those always are really awesome material, so, I'll give it a try sooner or later. Nice review, got me interested in the band 
---- "Les vers savent qu'ils n'ont pas d'ailes, c'est pour cela qu'ils se cachent sous terre"
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Posts: 4797
As much as the myspace songs i heard where nice. I really did not like the rest of the album at all. I was put off by the drums for some reason, imo they dont fit.
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Posts: 711 |
Posts: 711 Written by ylside on 16.04.2010 at 21:50 Got the same feeling, the drum machine isn't working out at all, the only thing it accomplishes is annoy the listener, so i just skip those songs, and stick to the songs that are in the vein of Sleds.
---- Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone.
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 Posts: 847 |
Posts: 847
Are there lyrics to be understood in there or is the guy la-la-la-ing?
---- Notre destinée n'est pas encore tracée....
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| Slinky666
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Slinky666
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I saw the artwork and did not listen to this album - judging book by its cover. 
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| !J.O.O.E.!
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!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted Written by [user id=123761] on 14.12.2011 at 04:56 The album art is awesome beans though?
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 Posts: 21306 |
Posts: 21306 Written by [user id=4365] on 14.12.2011 at 05:00 Ya I'm thinking, if I judge this by its cover, it's going to be fucking awesome. Still haven't listened to Pyramids yet... Kind of like how I haven't listened to Murmururururrrrr (umlaut somewhere).
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Slinky666
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| Krankheit
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| mz
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| !J.O.O.E.!
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| mz
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| !J.O.O.E.!
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 Posts: 9583 |
Posts: 9583
This album is so good.
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Posts: 3555  |
Posts: 3555 Written by Boxcar Willy on 15.06.2014 at 03:32 Yeah no shit. God get with the times Tanner. Seriously though I'm still obsessed with this album. I make sure to give it frequent spins
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Posts: 9583 Written by Alex F on 16.06.2014 at 06:06 Not this first time I've listened you stupid slut. More like the 30th. I've been going back to great albums that I've "forgotten" and this was near the top.
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Posts: 3555 Written by Boxcar Willy on 16.06.2014 at 06:17 Oh ok then nevermind <3 ilybb. This is definitely an album that deserves more praise and recognition than it gets. Also Pyramids really need to make another full length
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