METAL JUKEBOX

Pyramaze - Disciples Of The Sun (2015)













Year : 2015
Style : Progressive Power Metal
Country : Denmark
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans + Video
Size : 116 mb

Bio:

In it's early stages PYRAMAZE began in the winter of 2001/2002, when then 24 year old guitarist Michael Kammeyer left his former band, Damion, with whom, Michael had played for almost three years. After the split, Michael took a short break from music, to clear his mind, gathering new inspiration. After a few months, the idea of writing a complete self financed album of his own material formed in his mind. The following months were spent in intensive song writing mode, and by the summer of 2002 Michael found himself with enough material for a complete album. The time had now come, to find a name and the ideal musicians for this new band, it was then that Pyramaze began to take form.He didn't have to look far to find the first two musicians, as local drummer Morten Gade Sørensen and bassist Niels Kvist immediately jumped on the opportunity to join Michael in his quest. The next person to sign on was American keyboardist Jonah Weingarten, whom Michael had met over the internet. The newborn band began rehearsing the written material on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, the Danish guys on one side, and Jonah in the US . They sent demo's back and forth combined with many phone conferences as part of the creative process. With a core band around him, Michael then booked the studio to record the debut album. He hired on the well-known producer Jacob Hansen, a man with a long list of fantastic productions behind him, ranging from HateSphere and Mercenary to Manticora and Falconer to name a few.In January 2003, Jonah flew to Denmark and the band began recording the CD in Jacob's studio in a small town called Ribe. After having laid down all the tracks besides the vocals, producer Jacob decided to send a couple of MP3's to his long time friends at Intromental Management - a Danish metal agency, who already had worked together with Jacob on numerous recordings. The guys at Intromental fell totally in love with the Pyramaze material, and gave Michael a call. After a couple of phone conversations, the two parties, Pyramaze and Intromental, decided to join forces, and the band suddenly found themselves being promoted professionally. One of the things that came with the signing to Intromental, was the decision of finding a really fantastic pro-singer. Someone who not only would fit the material, but also be able to lift it to even higher levels. Michael agreed to the idea, and Intromental sent him a bunch of CD's with different vocalists doing their stuff. After listening carefully to everything, Michael found that only one singer truly stood out, and that man was Lance King, known from such great power and progressive metal acts as Balance Of Power, Mattson, King's Machine and Gemini. Lance was approached with the material, and he agreed to become the new vocalist for Pyramaze. The already finished music was sent to Lance, along with all the lyrics, and Lance commenced the recording of the vocals in his own studio in Minneapolis. A few months later the vocals were finished, and the material was sent to Denmark again, where it was finally mixed and mastered back in Jacob's studio in Ribe.The band had a run of live shows in the summer of 2004 in North America, Denmark, Germany and France to support their debut album MELANCHOLY BEAST. Danish Guitarist Toke Skjønnemand was added to these shows, and soon after the touring was completed, Toke was asked to join the band as a permanent member.Michael began composing what was to be the second Pyramaze release in the winter months of 2004/2005, a concept album entitled "Legend Of The Bone Carver" that has a unique story flowing from beginning to end. Once again recorded with Jacob Hansen at the helm, this new opus was completed in the summer of 2005. Immediately upon completion Intromental Management followed up with all the bands record companies, and in addition to Replica Records (formerly NTS) for France, Nightmare Records for USA and Melodic Heaven for Asia, new labels were found for Japan and Europe with King Records, and Massacre Records respectively. A unified release date was set for the end of February 2006. In January of 2006, PYRAMAZE had already been scheduled for several great festivals like Kløften Festival in Denmark / Bloodstock Open Air in England / Headbangers Open Air in Germany / and a highly coveted spot at ProgPower festival in the U.S. Pyramaze being a "working class" metal band did not schedule any long tour, and so the few gigs played were highly sought-after by the fans. "Legend of the Bone Carver" received exceptional reviews from the metal media around the globe, and many genre fans call it the best concept album ever.In November of 2006 Lance King was fired. Personal and professional issues occurred during 2006 and made further cooperation impossible. In December Michael started communicating with the great Matthew Barlow (ex-Iced Earth vocalist), and after many pleasant conversations and a bit of "auditioning" Matt joined the 'Pyramaze Fellowship' in March 2007. The news of Matt's comeback was officially released worldwide in April of 2007. Pyramaze recorded their third album 'Immortal' with Matt behind the mic, but unfortunately the cooperation with Matt turned out to be of short nature. Even before the vocals were to be recorded Matt was invited back into Iced Earth, which for many personal as well as professional and geographic reasons Matt chose to accept. However both Matt and the rest of Pyramaze felt strongly that 'Immortal' should be recorded as intended, and so the work continued. After the release, Immortal received fantastic reviews from both the big metal medias as well as the fans. Many had already predicted this to become album of the year 2008, and top 5 - top 10 pos. and album of the month etc. was awarded multiple times. Matt Barlow was briefly replaced by Urban breed for the bands Danish tour with Volbeat in 2008. Several line-up changes occurred in 2008, including the departure of Kammeyer, Kvist, and Urban breed.Guitarist and producer Jacob Hansen joined Pyramaze in 2011 and the band began working on their next album during that time. Eventually seeing new vocalist Terje Harøy join Pyramaze in 2013.The band will release their 4th album "Desciples of the Sun" on Inner Wound Recordings in the Spring of 2015.

Album:

Many of you are already familiar with the awesome progressive power metal of Danish Pyramaze. Yet, others among you may only know them as the band that Matt Barlow joined after his post-Iced Earth absence from metal, only to leave after recording one album, re-join Iced Earth, then quit again. Nonetheless, Pyramaze was great before and they're still pretty damn great. This Disciples Of The Sun, seven years since their last record, is easily their best yet.The current line-up now features the legendary Jacob Hansen in the songwriting department as well as on bass and guitar (ex-Anubis Gate, ex-Beyond Twilight, and about 1000 others), and the Norwegian Terje Harøy on vocals (Teodor Tuff, ex-Memorized Dreams). Although Harøy sounds nothing like Barlow or previous vocalist Lance King, which is very refreshing, his voice does meets the same qualifications on paper: great lows and highs with an inherent grit and harshness to it, and a huge emotional range. This dude is just amazing, both unleashing raw power and showing a full command of his voice. Where has he been hiding all this time? So happy to hear such a voice as this united with a top-notch band such as Pyramaze. Above all, it's really nice when new vocalists don't try to emulate the previous ones, which really lets this album soar on its own.Speaking of soar, the symphonic elements of Jonah Weingarten's keyboard and the guitar solos of Toke Skjønnemand and Jacob Hansen soar indeed. All these epic melodic elements work together, none overpowering the others, to let loose a wonderfully dark atmosphere of guitar-driven progressive power metal. Not to leave out the drums of equally legendary Morten Gade Sørensen, who vigorously leads the rhythm section, always marching onward, and providing the catalyst for these high-energy performances. Thanks to him, one thing is true: this record never drags. It flies on the wings of solid tunes, robust performances, and ornate mood.Amidst fellow power metal greats laying out their 2015 releases, Pyramaze confidently delivers one excellent and exciting record that will stand up to any of these come year-end.Disciples Of The Sun releases May 22nd. Hear the album teaser here, then pre-order from Inner Wound Records.

Line-Up:

Terje Harøy - Vocals (ex-Teodor Tuff, ex-Memorized Dreams)
Morten Gade Sørensen - Drums (Anubis Gate, Lance King, Wuthering Heights, ex-Scornfull, ex-Aurora Borealis)
Jonah Weingarten - Keyboards (Echoterra, Structure of Inhumanity, Arretohce, ex-Avian, ex-Infernal Method)
Jacob Hansen - Guitars, Bass (Invocator, ex-Eidetic, ex-Jacob Hansen, ex-Beyond Twilight, ex-Anubis Gate, ex-Maceration)
Toke Skjønnemand - Guitars

Tracklist:

01. We Are The Ocean
02. The Battle Of Paridas
03. Disciples Of The Sun
04. Back For More
05. Genetic Process
06. Fearless
07. Perfectly Imperfect
08. Unveil
09. Hope Springs Eternal
10. Exposure
11. When Black Turns To White
12. Photograph

+ Video "Disciples Of The Sun" (Official Video)




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/

Pyramaze - Contingent (2017)













Year : 2017
Style : Progressive Power Metal
Country : Denmark
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans + Video
Size : 116 mb

Bio:

In it's early stages PYRAMAZE began in the winter of 2001/2002, when then 24 year old guitarist Michael Kammeyer left his former band, Damion, with whom, Michael had played for almost three years. After the split, Michael took a short break from music, to clear his mind, gathering new inspiration. After a few months, the idea of writing a complete self financed album of his own material formed in his mind. The following months were spent in intensive song writing mode, and by the summer of 2002 Michael found himself with enough material for a complete album. The time had now come, to find a name and the ideal musicians for this new band, it was then that Pyramaze began to take form.He didn't have to look far to find the first two musicians, as local drummer Morten Gade Sørensen and bassist Niels Kvist immediately jumped on the opportunity to join Michael in his quest. The next person to sign on was American keyboardist Jonah Weingarten, whom Michael had met over the internet. The newborn band began rehearsing the written material on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, the Danish guys on one side, and Jonah in the US . They sent demo's back and forth combined with many phone conferences as part of the creative process. With a core band around him, Michael then booked the studio to record the debut album. He hired on the well-known producer Jacob Hansen, a man with a long list of fantastic productions behind him, ranging from HateSphere and Mercenary to Manticora and Falconer to name a few.In January 2003, Jonah flew to Denmark and the band began recording the CD in Jacob's studio in a small town called Ribe. After having laid down all the tracks besides the vocals, producer Jacob decided to send a couple of MP3's to his long time friends at Intromental Management - a Danish metal agency, who already had worked together with Jacob on numerous recordings. The guys at Intromental fell totally in love with the Pyramaze material, and gave Michael a call. After a couple of phone conversations, the two parties, Pyramaze and Intromental, decided to join forces, and the band suddenly found themselves being promoted professionally. One of the things that came with the signing to Intromental, was the decision of finding a really fantastic pro-singer. Someone who not only would fit the material, but also be able to lift it to even higher levels. Michael agreed to the idea, and Intromental sent him a bunch of CD's with different vocalists doing their stuff. After listening carefully to everything, Michael found that only one singer truly stood out, and that man was Lance King, known from such great power and progressive metal acts as Balance Of Power, Mattson, King's Machine and Gemini. Lance was approached with the material, and he agreed to become the new vocalist for Pyramaze. The already finished music was sent to Lance, along with all the lyrics, and Lance commenced the recording of the vocals in his own studio in Minneapolis. A few months later the vocals were finished, and the material was sent to Denmark again, where it was finally mixed and mastered back in Jacob's studio in Ribe.The band had a run of live shows in the summer of 2004 in North America, Denmark, Germany and France to support their debut album MELANCHOLY BEAST. Danish Guitarist Toke Skjønnemand was added to these shows, and soon after the touring was completed, Toke was asked to join the band as a permanent member.Michael began composing what was to be the second Pyramaze release in the winter months of 2004/2005, a concept album entitled "Legend Of The Bone Carver" that has a unique story flowing from beginning to end. Once again recorded with Jacob Hansen at the helm, this new opus was completed in the summer of 2005. Immediately upon completion Intromental Management followed up with all the bands record companies, and in addition to Replica Records (formerly NTS) for France, Nightmare Records for USA and Melodic Heaven for Asia, new labels were found for Japan and Europe with King Records, and Massacre Records respectively. A unified release date was set for the end of February 2006. In January of 2006, PYRAMAZE had already been scheduled for several great festivals like Kløften Festival in Denmark / Bloodstock Open Air in England / Headbangers Open Air in Germany / and a highly coveted spot at ProgPower festival in the U.S. Pyramaze being a "working class" metal band did not schedule any long tour, and so the few gigs played were highly sought-after by the fans. "Legend of the Bone Carver" received exceptional reviews from the metal media around the globe, and many genre fans call it the best concept album ever.In November of 2006 Lance King was fired. Personal and professional issues occurred during 2006 and made further cooperation impossible. In December Michael started communicating with the great Matthew Barlow (ex-Iced Earth vocalist), and after many pleasant conversations and a bit of "auditioning" Matt joined the 'Pyramaze Fellowship' in March 2007. The news of Matt's comeback was officially released worldwide in April of 2007. Pyramaze recorded their third album 'Immortal' with Matt behind the mic, but unfortunately the cooperation with Matt turned out to be of short nature. Even before the vocals were to be recorded Matt was invited back into Iced Earth, which for many personal as well as professional and geographic reasons Matt chose to accept. However both Matt and the rest of Pyramaze felt strongly that 'Immortal' should be recorded as intended, and so the work continued. After the release, Immortal received fantastic reviews from both the big metal medias as well as the fans. Many had already predicted this to become album of the year 2008, and top 5 - top 10 pos. and album of the month etc. was awarded multiple times. Matt Barlow was briefly replaced by Urban breed for the bands Danish tour with Volbeat in 2008. Several line-up changes occurred in 2008, including the departure of Kammeyer, Kvist, and Urban breed.Guitarist and producer Jacob Hansen joined Pyramaze in 2011 and the band began working on their next album during that time. Eventually seeing new vocalist Terje Harøy join Pyramaze in 2013.The band will release their 4th album "Desciples of the Sun" on Inner Wound Recordings in the Spring of 2015.

Album:

With their milestone fifth album Contingent, Pyramaze have grown and matured into a band that is capable of satisfying their fans while simultaneously continuing to break new ground. The incorporation of modern cinematic film score elements mixed with progressive metal riffs and melodies will leave the listener breathless! Huge, sweeping, hard-hitting, and poignant, Contingent is an epic post-apocalyptic conceptual piece inspired by current events, the human spirit to overcome struggle and diversity, and the brotherhood that lies there in. Produced, mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Amaranthe, Epica, Evergrey).

Line-Up:

Terje Harøy - Vocals (ex-Teodor Tuff, ex-Memorized Dreams)
Morten Gade Sørensen - Drums (Anubis Gate, Lance King, Wuthering Heights, ex-Scornfull, ex-Aurora Borealis)
Jonah Weingarten - Keyboards (Echoterra, Structure of Inhumanity, Arretohce, ex-Avian, ex-Infernal Method)
Jacob Hansen - Guitars, Bass (Invocator, ex-Eidetic, ex-Jacob Hansen, ex-Beyond Twilight, ex-Anubis Gate, ex-Maceration)
Toke Skjønnemand - Guitars

Tracklist:

01. Land Of Information
02. Kingdom Of Solace
03. Star Men
04. A World Divided
05. Nemesis
06. Contingent - Part I: The Campaign
07. 20 Second Century
08. Obsession
09. Heir Apparent
10. Contingent - Part II: The Hammer Of Remnant
11. Under Restraint
12. The Tides That Won't Change
13. Symphony Of Tears

+ Video "Kingdom Of Solace" (Official Video)




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/

Pyramaze - Epitaph (Digipak Edition) (2020)













Year : 2020
Style : Progressive Power Metal
Country : Denmark
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 116 mb

Bio:

In it's early stages PYRAMAZE began in the winter of 2001/2002, when then 24 year old guitarist Michael Kammeyer left his former band, Damion, with whom, Michael had played for almost three years. After the split, Michael took a short break from music, to clear his mind, gathering new inspiration. After a few months, the idea of writing a complete self financed album of his own material formed in his mind. The following months were spent in intensive song writing mode, and by the summer of 2002 Michael found himself with enough material for a complete album. The time had now come, to find a name and the ideal musicians for this new band, it was then that Pyramaze began to take form.He didn't have to look far to find the first two musicians, as local drummer Morten Gade Sørensen and bassist Niels Kvist immediately jumped on the opportunity to join Michael in his quest. The next person to sign on was American keyboardist Jonah Weingarten, whom Michael had met over the internet. The newborn band began rehearsing the written material on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, the Danish guys on one side, and Jonah in the US . They sent demo's back and forth combined with many phone conferences as part of the creative process. With a core band around him, Michael then booked the studio to record the debut album. He hired on the well-known producer Jacob Hansen, a man with a long list of fantastic productions behind him, ranging from HateSphere and Mercenary to Manticora and Falconer to name a few.In January 2003, Jonah flew to Denmark and the band began recording the CD in Jacob's studio in a small town called Ribe. After having laid down all the tracks besides the vocals, producer Jacob decided to send a couple of MP3's to his long time friends at Intromental Management - a Danish metal agency, who already had worked together with Jacob on numerous recordings. The guys at Intromental fell totally in love with the Pyramaze material, and gave Michael a call. After a couple of phone conversations, the two parties, Pyramaze and Intromental, decided to join forces, and the band suddenly found themselves being promoted professionally. One of the things that came with the signing to Intromental, was the decision of finding a really fantastic pro-singer. Someone who not only would fit the material, but also be able to lift it to even higher levels. Michael agreed to the idea, and Intromental sent him a bunch of CD's with different vocalists doing their stuff. After listening carefully to everything, Michael found that only one singer truly stood out, and that man was Lance King, known from such great power and progressive metal acts as Balance Of Power, Mattson, King's Machine and Gemini. Lance was approached with the material, and he agreed to become the new vocalist for Pyramaze. The already finished music was sent to Lance, along with all the lyrics, and Lance commenced the recording of the vocals in his own studio in Minneapolis. A few months later the vocals were finished, and the material was sent to Denmark again, where it was finally mixed and mastered back in Jacob's studio in Ribe.The band had a run of live shows in the summer of 2004 in North America, Denmark, Germany and France to support their debut album MELANCHOLY BEAST. Danish Guitarist Toke Skjønnemand was added to these shows, and soon after the touring was completed, Toke was asked to join the band as a permanent member.Michael began composing what was to be the second Pyramaze release in the winter months of 2004/2005, a concept album entitled "Legend Of The Bone Carver" that has a unique story flowing from beginning to end. Once again recorded with Jacob Hansen at the helm, this new opus was completed in the summer of 2005. Immediately upon completion Intromental Management followed up with all the bands record companies, and in addition to Replica Records (formerly NTS) for France, Nightmare Records for USA and Melodic Heaven for Asia, new labels were found for Japan and Europe with King Records, and Massacre Records respectively. A unified release date was set for the end of February 2006. In January of 2006, PYRAMAZE had already been scheduled for several great festivals like Kløften Festival in Denmark / Bloodstock Open Air in England / Headbangers Open Air in Germany / and a highly coveted spot at ProgPower festival in the U.S. Pyramaze being a "working class" metal band did not schedule any long tour, and so the few gigs played were highly sought-after by the fans. "Legend of the Bone Carver" received exceptional reviews from the metal media around the globe, and many genre fans call it the best concept album ever.In November of 2006 Lance King was fired. Personal and professional issues occurred during 2006 and made further cooperation impossible. In December Michael started communicating with the great Matthew Barlow (ex-Iced Earth vocalist), and after many pleasant conversations and a bit of "auditioning" Matt joined the 'Pyramaze Fellowship' in March 2007. The news of Matt's comeback was officially released worldwide in April of 2007. Pyramaze recorded their third album 'Immortal' with Matt behind the mic, but unfortunately the cooperation with Matt turned out to be of short nature. Even before the vocals were to be recorded Matt was invited back into Iced Earth, which for many personal as well as professional and geographic reasons Matt chose to accept. However both Matt and the rest of Pyramaze felt strongly that 'Immortal' should be recorded as intended, and so the work continued. After the release, Immortal received fantastic reviews from both the big metal medias as well as the fans. Many had already predicted this to become album of the year 2008, and top 5 - top 10 pos. and album of the month etc. was awarded multiple times. Matt Barlow was briefly replaced by Urban breed for the bands Danish tour with Volbeat in 2008. Several line-up changes occurred in 2008, including the departure of Kammeyer, Kvist, and Urban breed.Guitarist and producer Jacob Hansen joined Pyramaze in 2011 and the band began working on their next album during that time. Eventually seeing new vocalist Terje Harøy join Pyramaze in 2013.The band will release their 4th album "Desciples of the Sun" on Inner Wound Recordings in the Spring of 2015.

Album:

Epitaph is the latest album from the Danish power proggers Pyramaze. Now, I can say that I've liked every record from Pyramaze that I've listened to. However, the last record didn't really blow me away. It was put together really well, but ended up feeling a bit generic. Does Epitaph change that?Well, it all starts off pretty good. The short piano intro builds up nicely towards the first real song, which is overall a nice and energetic beginning for the album. It reminded me a lot of the beginning of Disciples Of The Sun. However, immediately after that initial start, Epitaph goes down the same path as the previous record, which means that we get a lot of songs that end up feeling very similar. It's not bad music, but it's rather unexciting. Every once and a while you hear a spark of potential though. The end of "Your Last Call" is a perfect example of that. The piano and drum parts accompany each other really well. It's a groovy and catchy section that makes you wish these moments were more common on this record.The progressive elements from the previous records seem to be pushed more to the background. Epitaph often feels like a more straightforward power metal album. Pyramaze clearly tried to make a record full of catchy choruses; the problem is that all these choruses tend to sound very similar. so it all feels a bit predictable and generic. On my first listen of this album, I could already predict where songs were heading in terms of lyrics and instrumentals. It rarely surprised me, and as a result it couldn't captivate me.The production on this record is polished and solid, similar to the previous records but with a bit more low end added in the mix. One tiny remark: I wish the vocals were a little bit more pronounced in the mix. Sometimes it feels like they get a tad overwhelmed by the instruments; it's nothing deal-breaking, but still worth mentioning.Now, I don't want to sound all negative here, so let's get to some positives. I mentioned earlier that a lot of the choruses weren't really winning me over, but there are a couple that managed to do that. The aforementioned first track ("A Stroke Of Magic"), "Bird Of Prey" and "Your Last Call" all have an enjoyable chorus to them. Those 3 tracks are coincidentally my favourites on this record. Additionally, the performance of the band is good throughout this record. It really shows in those rare moments where you get a glimpse of what could have been.I'll be honest, I find Epitaph a pretty difficult album to review. There's only so many times you can say that it's not really an exciting record. All in all, It's not bad, but not memorable either. It has its moments, but they are too far and few between, and the lesser focus on progressive elements results in a big loss of personality. The type of record we got has been done better by other bands. This year we've had a few examples, Eternal Idol's newest record for instance (more on that in a later review). but most notably Dynazty's The Dark Delight. While that record isn't perfect, it's been one of the records I've listened to the most this year, with songs that are easily distinguishable and catchy as hell. It basically is everything that Epitaph wanted to be, but unfortunately didn't achieve.

Line-Up:

Terje Haroy - Vocals (ex-Teodor Tuff, Crossnail, ex-Memorized Dreams)
Morten Gade Sorensen - Drums (Anubis Gate, Wuthering Heights, ex-Scornfull, Firesoul, ex-Aurora, ex-Lance King)
Jonah Weingarten - Keyboards, Orchestrations (Echoterra, Structure of Inhumanity, Universal Mind Project, MindMaze (live), Arretohce, Catalyst Crime, Dance of the Mourning Child, We Are Sentinels, ex-Avian, ex-Malacoda, ex-Teramaze, ex-Infernal Method, ex-Written in Blood, ex-Lilitu, ex-Blood Promise, ex-Legion of Carcaroth)
Toke Skjonnemand - Guitars (ex-Wuthering Heights (live))
Jacob Hansen - Guitars, Bass, Vocals (backing) (Invocator, Ureas, ex-Beyond Twilight, ex-Dark Graves, ex-Eidetic, ex-Jacob Hansen, Firesoul, ex-Anubis Gate, ex-Maceration, ex-Broomshanka, ex-Guffe & Jacob)

Tracklist:

01. Epitaph
02. A Stroke Of Magic
03. Steal My Crown
04. Knights In Shining Armour
05. Bird Of Prey
06. Your Last Call
07. Particle
08. Indestructible
09. Transcendence (feat. Brittney Slayes)
10. Final Hour
11. World Foregone
12. The Time Traveller (feat. Matt Barlow & Lance King)




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/

Pyramaze - Epitaph (2020) (Japan Edition 2021)













Year : 2020 (Japan Edition 2021)
Style : Progressive Power Metal
Country : Denmark
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 116 mb

Bio:

In it's early stages PYRAMAZE began in the winter of 2001/2002, when then 24 year old guitarist Michael Kammeyer left his former band, Damion, with whom, Michael had played for almost three years. After the split, Michael took a short break from music, to clear his mind, gathering new inspiration. After a few months, the idea of writing a complete self financed album of his own material formed in his mind. The following months were spent in intensive song writing mode, and by the summer of 2002 Michael found himself with enough material for a complete album. The time had now come, to find a name and the ideal musicians for this new band, it was then that Pyramaze began to take form.He didn't have to look far to find the first two musicians, as local drummer Morten Gade Sørensen and bassist Niels Kvist immediately jumped on the opportunity to join Michael in his quest. The next person to sign on was American keyboardist Jonah Weingarten, whom Michael had met over the internet. The newborn band began rehearsing the written material on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, the Danish guys on one side, and Jonah in the US . They sent demo's back and forth combined with many phone conferences as part of the creative process. With a core band around him, Michael then booked the studio to record the debut album. He hired on the well-known producer Jacob Hansen, a man with a long list of fantastic productions behind him, ranging from HateSphere and Mercenary to Manticora and Falconer to name a few.In January 2003, Jonah flew to Denmark and the band began recording the CD in Jacob's studio in a small town called Ribe. After having laid down all the tracks besides the vocals, producer Jacob decided to send a couple of MP3's to his long time friends at Intromental Management - a Danish metal agency, who already had worked together with Jacob on numerous recordings. The guys at Intromental fell totally in love with the Pyramaze material, and gave Michael a call. After a couple of phone conversations, the two parties, Pyramaze and Intromental, decided to join forces, and the band suddenly found themselves being promoted professionally. One of the things that came with the signing to Intromental, was the decision of finding a really fantastic pro-singer. Someone who not only would fit the material, but also be able to lift it to even higher levels. Michael agreed to the idea, and Intromental sent him a bunch of CD's with different vocalists doing their stuff. After listening carefully to everything, Michael found that only one singer truly stood out, and that man was Lance King, known from such great power and progressive metal acts as Balance Of Power, Mattson, King's Machine and Gemini. Lance was approached with the material, and he agreed to become the new vocalist for Pyramaze. The already finished music was sent to Lance, along with all the lyrics, and Lance commenced the recording of the vocals in his own studio in Minneapolis. A few months later the vocals were finished, and the material was sent to Denmark again, where it was finally mixed and mastered back in Jacob's studio in Ribe.The band had a run of live shows in the summer of 2004 in North America, Denmark, Germany and France to support their debut album MELANCHOLY BEAST. Danish Guitarist Toke Skjønnemand was added to these shows, and soon after the touring was completed, Toke was asked to join the band as a permanent member.Michael began composing what was to be the second Pyramaze release in the winter months of 2004/2005, a concept album entitled "Legend Of The Bone Carver" that has a unique story flowing from beginning to end. Once again recorded with Jacob Hansen at the helm, this new opus was completed in the summer of 2005. Immediately upon completion Intromental Management followed up with all the bands record companies, and in addition to Replica Records (formerly NTS) for France, Nightmare Records for USA and Melodic Heaven for Asia, new labels were found for Japan and Europe with King Records, and Massacre Records respectively. A unified release date was set for the end of February 2006. In January of 2006, PYRAMAZE had already been scheduled for several great festivals like Kløften Festival in Denmark / Bloodstock Open Air in England / Headbangers Open Air in Germany / and a highly coveted spot at ProgPower festival in the U.S. Pyramaze being a "working class" metal band did not schedule any long tour, and so the few gigs played were highly sought-after by the fans. "Legend of the Bone Carver" received exceptional reviews from the metal media around the globe, and many genre fans call it the best concept album ever.In November of 2006 Lance King was fired. Personal and professional issues occurred during 2006 and made further cooperation impossible. In December Michael started communicating with the great Matthew Barlow (ex-Iced Earth vocalist), and after many pleasant conversations and a bit of "auditioning" Matt joined the 'Pyramaze Fellowship' in March 2007. The news of Matt's comeback was officially released worldwide in April of 2007. Pyramaze recorded their third album 'Immortal' with Matt behind the mic, but unfortunately the cooperation with Matt turned out to be of short nature. Even before the vocals were to be recorded Matt was invited back into Iced Earth, which for many personal as well as professional and geographic reasons Matt chose to accept. However both Matt and the rest of Pyramaze felt strongly that 'Immortal' should be recorded as intended, and so the work continued. After the release, Immortal received fantastic reviews from both the big metal medias as well as the fans. Many had already predicted this to become album of the year 2008, and top 5 - top 10 pos. and album of the month etc. was awarded multiple times. Matt Barlow was briefly replaced by Urban breed for the bands Danish tour with Volbeat in 2008. Several line-up changes occurred in 2008, including the departure of Kammeyer, Kvist, and Urban breed.Guitarist and producer Jacob Hansen joined Pyramaze in 2011 and the band began working on their next album during that time. Eventually seeing new vocalist Terje Harøy join Pyramaze in 2013.The band will release their 4th album "Desciples of the Sun" on Inner Wound Recordings in the Spring of 2015.

Album:

Epitaph is the latest album from the Danish power proggers Pyramaze. Now, I can say that I've liked every record from Pyramaze that I've listened to. However, the last record didn't really blow me away. It was put together really well, but ended up feeling a bit generic. Does Epitaph change that?Well, it all starts off pretty good. The short piano intro builds up nicely towards the first real song, which is overall a nice and energetic beginning for the album. It reminded me a lot of the beginning of Disciples Of The Sun. However, immediately after that initial start, Epitaph goes down the same path as the previous record, which means that we get a lot of songs that end up feeling very similar. It's not bad music, but it's rather unexciting. Every once and a while you hear a spark of potential though. The end of "Your Last Call" is a perfect example of that. The piano and drum parts accompany each other really well. It's a groovy and catchy section that makes you wish these moments were more common on this record.The progressive elements from the previous records seem to be pushed more to the background. Epitaph often feels like a more straightforward power metal album. Pyramaze clearly tried to make a record full of catchy choruses; the problem is that all these choruses tend to sound very similar. so it all feels a bit predictable and generic. On my first listen of this album, I could already predict where songs were heading in terms of lyrics and instrumentals. It rarely surprised me, and as a result it couldn't captivate me.The production on this record is polished and solid, similar to the previous records but with a bit more low end added in the mix. One tiny remark: I wish the vocals were a little bit more pronounced in the mix. Sometimes it feels like they get a tad overwhelmed by the instruments; it's nothing deal-breaking, but still worth mentioning.Now, I don't want to sound all negative here, so let's get to some positives. I mentioned earlier that a lot of the choruses weren't really winning me over, but there are a couple that managed to do that. The aforementioned first track ("A Stroke Of Magic"), "Bird Of Prey" and "Your Last Call" all have an enjoyable chorus to them. Those 3 tracks are coincidentally my favourites on this record. Additionally, the performance of the band is good throughout this record. It really shows in those rare moments where you get a glimpse of what could have been.I'll be honest, I find Epitaph a pretty difficult album to review. There's only so many times you can say that it's not really an exciting record. All in all, It's not bad, but not memorable either. It has its moments, but they are too far and few between, and the lesser focus on progressive elements results in a big loss of personality. The type of record we got has been done better by other bands. This year we've had a few examples, Eternal Idol's newest record for instance (more on that in a later review). but most notably Dynazty's The Dark Delight. While that record isn't perfect, it's been one of the records I've listened to the most this year, with songs that are easily distinguishable and catchy as hell. It basically is everything that Epitaph wanted to be, but unfortunately didn't achieve.

Line-Up:

Terje Haroy - Vocals (ex-Teodor Tuff, Crossnail, ex-Memorized Dreams)
Morten Gade Sorensen - Drums (Anubis Gate, Wuthering Heights, ex-Scornfull, Firesoul, ex-Aurora, ex-Lance King)
Jonah Weingarten - Keyboards, Orchestrations (Echoterra, Structure of Inhumanity, Universal Mind Project, MindMaze (live), Arretohce, Catalyst Crime, Dance of the Mourning Child, We Are Sentinels, ex-Avian, ex-Malacoda, ex-Teramaze, ex-Infernal Method, ex-Written in Blood, ex-Lilitu, ex-Blood Promise, ex-Legion of Carcaroth)
Toke Skjonnemand - Guitars (ex-Wuthering Heights (live))
Jacob Hansen - Guitars, Bass, Vocals (backing) (Invocator, Ureas, ex-Beyond Twilight, ex-Dark Graves, ex-Eidetic, ex-Jacob Hansen, Firesoul, ex-Anubis Gate, ex-Maceration, ex-Broomshanka, ex-Guffe & Jacob)

Tracklist:

01. Epitaph
02. A Stroke Of Magic
03. Steal My Crown
04. Knights In Shining Armour
05. Bird Of Prey
06. Your Last Call
07. Particle
08. Indestructible
09. Transcendence (feat. Brittney Slayes)
10. Final Hour
11. World Foregone
12. The Time Traveller (feat. Matt Barlow & Lance King)
13. Bird Of Prey (Piano Version) (Bonus Track)
14. World Foregone (Orchestra Version) (Bonus Track)




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/

Pyramaze - Bloodlines (2023)













Year : 2023
Style : Progressive Power Metal
Country : Denmark
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 106 mb

Bio:

In it's early stages PYRAMAZE began in the winter of 2001/2002, when then 24 year old guitarist Michael Kammeyer left his former band, Damion, with whom, Michael had played for almost three years. After the split, Michael took a short break from music, to clear his mind, gathering new inspiration. After a few months, the idea of writing a complete self financed album of his own material formed in his mind. The following months were spent in intensive song writing mode, and by the summer of 2002 Michael found himself with enough material for a complete album. The time had now come, to find a name and the ideal musicians for this new band, it was then that Pyramaze began to take form.He didn't have to look far to find the first two musicians, as local drummer Morten Gade Sørensen and bassist Niels Kvist immediately jumped on the opportunity to join Michael in his quest. The next person to sign on was American keyboardist Jonah Weingarten, whom Michael had met over the internet. The newborn band began rehearsing the written material on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, the Danish guys on one side, and Jonah in the US . They sent demo's back and forth combined with many phone conferences as part of the creative process. With a core band around him, Michael then booked the studio to record the debut album. He hired on the well-known producer Jacob Hansen, a man with a long list of fantastic productions behind him, ranging from HateSphere and Mercenary to Manticora and Falconer to name a few.In January 2003, Jonah flew to Denmark and the band began recording the CD in Jacob's studio in a small town called Ribe. After having laid down all the tracks besides the vocals, producer Jacob decided to send a couple of MP3's to his long time friends at Intromental Management - a Danish metal agency, who already had worked together with Jacob on numerous recordings. The guys at Intromental fell totally in love with the Pyramaze material, and gave Michael a call. After a couple of phone conversations, the two parties, Pyramaze and Intromental, decided to join forces, and the band suddenly found themselves being promoted professionally. One of the things that came with the signing to Intromental, was the decision of finding a really fantastic pro-singer. Someone who not only would fit the material, but also be able to lift it to even higher levels. Michael agreed to the idea, and Intromental sent him a bunch of CD's with different vocalists doing their stuff. After listening carefully to everything, Michael found that only one singer truly stood out, and that man was Lance King, known from such great power and progressive metal acts as Balance Of Power, Mattson, King's Machine and Gemini. Lance was approached with the material, and he agreed to become the new vocalist for Pyramaze. The already finished music was sent to Lance, along with all the lyrics, and Lance commenced the recording of the vocals in his own studio in Minneapolis. A few months later the vocals were finished, and the material was sent to Denmark again, where it was finally mixed and mastered back in Jacob's studio in Ribe.The band had a run of live shows in the summer of 2004 in North America, Denmark, Germany and France to support their debut album MELANCHOLY BEAST. Danish Guitarist Toke Skjønnemand was added to these shows, and soon after the touring was completed, Toke was asked to join the band as a permanent member.Michael began composing what was to be the second Pyramaze release in the winter months of 2004/2005, a concept album entitled "Legend Of The Bone Carver" that has a unique story flowing from beginning to end. Once again recorded with Jacob Hansen at the helm, this new opus was completed in the summer of 2005. Immediately upon completion Intromental Management followed up with all the bands record companies, and in addition to Replica Records (formerly NTS) for France, Nightmare Records for USA and Melodic Heaven for Asia, new labels were found for Japan and Europe with King Records, and Massacre Records respectively. A unified release date was set for the end of February 2006. In January of 2006, PYRAMAZE had already been scheduled for several great festivals like Kløften Festival in Denmark / Bloodstock Open Air in England / Headbangers Open Air in Germany / and a highly coveted spot at ProgPower festival in the U.S. Pyramaze being a "working class" metal band did not schedule any long tour, and so the few gigs played were highly sought-after by the fans. "Legend of the Bone Carver" received exceptional reviews from the metal media around the globe, and many genre fans call it the best concept album ever.In November of 2006 Lance King was fired. Personal and professional issues occurred during 2006 and made further cooperation impossible. In December Michael started communicating with the great Matthew Barlow (ex-Iced Earth vocalist), and after many pleasant conversations and a bit of "auditioning" Matt joined the 'Pyramaze Fellowship' in March 2007. The news of Matt's comeback was officially released worldwide in April of 2007. Pyramaze recorded their third album 'Immortal' with Matt behind the mic, but unfortunately the cooperation with Matt turned out to be of short nature. Even before the vocals were to be recorded Matt was invited back into Iced Earth, which for many personal as well as professional and geographic reasons Matt chose to accept. However both Matt and the rest of Pyramaze felt strongly that 'Immortal' should be recorded as intended, and so the work continued. After the release, Immortal received fantastic reviews from both the big metal medias as well as the fans. Many had already predicted this to become album of the year 2008, and top 5 - top 10 pos. and album of the month etc. was awarded multiple times. Matt Barlow was briefly replaced by Urban breed for the bands Danish tour with Volbeat in 2008. Several line-up changes occurred in 2008, including the departure of Kammeyer, Kvist, and Urban breed.Guitarist and producer Jacob Hansen joined Pyramaze in 2011 and the band began working on their next album during that time. Eventually seeing new vocalist Terje Harøy join Pyramaze in 2013.The band will release their 4th album "Desciples of the Sun" on Inner Wound Recordings in the Spring of 2015.

Album:

Masters of melodies Pyramaze are releasing new album "Bloodlines" with their usual great sound. On June 23 the band around producer legend Jacob Hansen fulfills every dream of a progressive metal fan and shows again that the Danish/American band is really as good as it sounds. Terrific voice, terrific production and huge recognition value in the power metal world.Pyramaze is an exceptional phenomenon in the international prog/power metal scene. Its sound brings along numerous traditional melodic/prog metal trademarks, getting an immensely high recognition value by a unique feeling for great melodies in connection with a certain open-mindedness for contemporary arrangements and further development. New album "Bloodlines" is no exception. Even more: the first single "Broken Arrow" is already the epitome of what Pyramaze is about. Cast in a first-class production by Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Evergrey, Pretty Maids), the track is elevated to highest quality realms not least by the fabulous organ of singer Terje Harøy. Speaking of highest quality: "Bloodlines" is rich in highlights and will fully amaze every fan of the Danish/American band. On the song "Alliance", the band welcome a top-class duet guest with Melissa Bonny (Ad Infinitum).

Line-Up:

Terje Haroy - Vocals (ex-Teodor Tuff, Crossnail, ex-Memorized Dreams)
Toke Skjonnemand - Guitars (ex-Wuthering Heights (live))
Jacob Hansen - Guitars, Bass, Vocals (backing) (Invocator, Ureas, ex-Beyond Twilight, ex-Dark Graves, ex-Eidetic, ex-Jacob Hansen, Firesoul, ex-Anubis Gate, ex-Maceration, ex-Broomshanka, ex-Guffe & Jacob)
Morten Gade Sorensen - Drums (Anubis Gate, Wuthering Heights, ex-Scornfull, Firesoul, ex-Aurora, ex-Lance King)
Jonah Weingarten - Keyboards, Orchestrations (Echoterra, Structure of Inhumanity, Universal Mind Project, MindMaze (live), Arretohce, Catalyst Crime, Dance of the Mourning Child, We Are Sentinels, ex-Avian, ex-Malacoda, ex-Teramaze, ex-Infernal Method, ex-Written in Blood, ex-Lilitu, ex-Blood Promise, ex-Legion of Carcaroth)

Tracklist:

01. Bloodlines
02. Taking What's Mine
03. Fortress
04. Broken Arrow
05. Even If You're Gone
06. Alliance
07. The Midnight Sun
08. Stop The Bleeding
09. The Mystery
10. Wolves Of The Sea




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/