Taken from the album "Bloodlines", out June 23rd. Listen to "Taking What's Mine" here: https://spoti.fi/3sb4Ktu Order "Bloodlines" here: https://bfan.link/bloodlines
Aujourd'hui sur Blog à part – Pyramaze: Bloodlines
J’ai beau être un prog-head depuis plus de quarante ans, je tombe aussi régulièrement sur des albums comme ce Bloodlines de Pyramaze, que je surkiffe.
#powermetal #symphonicmetal #powerprogmetal
J’ai beau être un prog-head depuis plus de quarante ans, bouffer des epics de trente minutes avec whatmille changements de rythme et des instruments exotiques, je tombe aussi régulièrement sur des albums comme ce Bloodlines de Pyramaze, qui sont objectivement bien plus carrés et que, pourtant, je surkiffe.
Les Danois de Pyramaze sont actifs depuis plus de vingt ans sur la scène et proposent,…
The ending bit of Pyramaze's "Kingdom of Solace" is basically twenty entire seconds of very sympathetic and cathartic yelling. I have this clipped so I can use it as a soundboard thing during D&D and Pathfinder sessions.
But also this song feels very relevant considering Recent Events that have occurred. I will place down some of the lyrics and hopefully people will understand why;
Paranoia smolders
Crime and falseness will seek you out
Wealth is weight on your shoulders
Money talks, that's what life is all about
There's nothing more to want
And your dreams have vanished
Life has been good to you, enough is enough
Guess it won't end (Money buys it all)
Aren't you content? (Craving is your call)
You're so hellbent (But one day you'll fall)
On having a ball with the stars
It's also just good power-ish metal with some symphonic stuff added in. Kinda mellow for the chorus, a lot more aggressive and a bit intense for the bridges and intro/outro.
But also just for fun, take the scream I talked about at the beginning:
NEW PYRAMAZE LADS! I'll be going over my thoughts on each song + an album final thoughts at the end.
Rating system as per usual:
10: PERFECTION, zero complaints, best song.
5: Average. Whelming. Nothing to write home about.
1: Awful. Why did they make this?
Due to not wanting this post to be longer than it already will be, I'll only be including embedded videos for the top 3; I have a link for the various platforms you can stream the album in full here.
WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, we begin with...
BLOODLINES: 7/10
Similar to Disciples of the Sun and Epitaph, this album opens with a completely instrumental track. I will say, I do like this track, it sounds very nice and, after having gone through the album a few times, it does encompass a lot of the emotional themes that are present for the album as a whole. It definitely has a cinematic feel, almost something like Two Steps From Hell, but without the massive orchestral sound to it. It's a very pleasant track to listen to, the ethereal singing in the background meshes perfectly with the building instrumental elements. The inclusion of guitar is also very welcomed and not to jarring.
The only thing I wish this track did was have a bit more of a lead-in to the next song, but instead it ends off as it's own piece and I can definitely appreciate that. It breaks a bit of a trend I've been seeing in the musical spheres I've occupied -- see Gloryhammer, Kamelot, or arguably even Pyramaze's last album Epitaph. So for that it's definitely got my respect and I do enjoy the track.
2. TAKING WHAT'S MINE: 9/10
BANGER. Banger. Banger.
This song definitely has a more pop-ish influence on it but it's genuinely good despite that. It still definitely feels like a grounded and wonderful symphonic metal track. The guitars still carry this very heavy feel even while the instrumental elements give the piece a bit of a lighter tone throughout.
The vocals are fantastic, and they don't feel as though they're the only reason you're listening to the song. They fit well with the rest of the track, they're not too loud nor too quiet, it's perfectly balanced.
The symphonic break at about 3 minutes in? While it's short (literally only a few seconds), I LOVE it to pieces. The piano and strings highlight the sort of triumphant and yet melancholic feel that permeates through the song. It's very good.
Song good. My only complaint is that the song feels kinda shortened somehow? I'm not entirely sure why, but it feels like it could definitely have tacked on another minute and sounded a bit more complete.
3. FORTRESS: 8.5/10
Another banger, and if I remember correctly this was their second single for the record. And MAN did it get me hyped for this album.
It's music video has a sea-faring feel to it which is... genuinely interesting. I don't know why they went in that direction (there might be an interview somewhere with the lads to explain why that I haven't seen) and lyrically I don't really connect it to a story about an old lighthouse keeper, but it's still cool, and the instrumentals do reflect this. There's a few elements of a more sea-like ambience scattered throughout.
Despite the lyrics kinda being at odds with the narrative they told through their music video, this song is still really great. I loved it since it first dropped. It's definitely leaning a bit more heavily on its symphonic bits than Taking What's Mine, as the guitar sometimes does get a bit overshadowed and outshone by them, but I don't think this is a bad aspect. I do enjoy me some nice symphonic in my symphonic metal, after all. But that would be one of my few nitpicks. There is a bit also where there could have been a solo or something but with how the guitars are handled in general I do think it'd clash a bit too harshly with the song.
Still, Fortress good. Has been for a minute. Still is.
4. BROKEN ARROW: 6/10
This was their FIRST single off this new record, and it's good. This has a similar feel to it in terms of how the instrumentals are handled; there's a lot more emphasis on the symphonic parts and I feel like the keyboard shines a bit more in the song here. The guitars mainly are here to carry rhythm then stand out on their own.
It's good, it's catchy, it's nice. Nothing to really write home about.
5. EVEN IF YOU'RE GONE: 7/10
DAMN this feels like Particle 2. And I really loved Particle off Epitaph, so I enjoy this. The keyboard hard CARRIES this song, it's beautiful and soft and sits right behind the vocals and it's wonderful. Again, this is not a song you're coming to for the guitars; they're here, but more for rhythm. It's partially why I call it Particle 2.
The vocals are also very good and very nice. The variance is nice, and the lyrics are... Something. I can't tell if this is a pining song or if this is borderline "I love someone who committed suicide" or potentially a strange "I want someone even though they didn't want me". To show what I mean, take some lyrics:
Lost in the fire
Burning my skin like you warned me
Breaking the walls you build to avoid all the pain outside
Will you finally be my destiny?
I see the light here
I know that you don't
But I wanna be the one you really want
Through the nightmares we're chasing the dawn
I'll be fighting for you even if you're gone
Even if you're gone
[. . .]
Save me from myself
I try to let go
Take my pain away
Away
Save me from myself
I can't breathe
It's kinda back and forth, which is neat cause it means there's a few different ways these lyrics can be interpreted. But overall, the song is still good.
6. ALLIANCE: 5/10
I'm gonna be honest, I'm not a ballad guy. The song is objectively good, but it's not for me. Here is probably the objectively best piano on the album, and the duet with Melissa Bonny is very nice. The vocals are good, the instrumentals are good, the song is fine. It kinda feels like Under Grey Skies by Kamelot. Kinda.
It's not a bad song, but it's just not what I enjoy too much.
7. THE MIDNIGHT SUN: 9.5/10
And we're RIGHT BACK into the action again with the Midnight Sun. WHAT A BANGER of a song, and what a wake-up call from Alliance. The guitars are BACK, they're at the forefront again and every element of the band is absolutely on display. Where the mid was a bit muddled through with a LOT of symphonic stuff taking a bit of center stage, now we got a bit of a more metal feel.
This song is still along the lines of a ballad in terms of the vocals, which is contrasted by some of the heavier riffs accompanying them in the best way possible. There's plenty of places for the guitars to shine, the piano is still easily heard in the back even with the symphonic elements around it. Song is GOOD.
The lyrical content is also low key trans coded, happy pride. Mainly this bit:
I was the son you never had
But how come everything turned bad?
After the rain had washed your sorrows away
You took a new position
Without my permission
[. . .]
Look at the ways of the world now
It's a race of alarming it somehow
And the further we get from the truth
The sacrifice of innocent youths
Are we all but puppets at dance?
A bittersweet, egotistical romance
Built upon the remainders of trash
Self-imploding as we crash
Am I absolutely inserting meaning here that doesn't exist? Yes. However. I am trans and this is my agenda.
Happy pride lads. Excellent song.
8. STOP THE BLEEDING: 8/10
The entirety of the back half of this album is definitely softer and more melodic feeling in contrast to the first, and it's a good thing. It makes for a very pleasant listening experience. Stop the Bleeding is a bit slower and less punchy than Midnight Sun, but I still rate it very highly.
While the guitars throughout most of the song are back to being a backbone rather than more of their own beast, there is a nice solo that lets them shine a bit more, which is nice. The instrumentals here are way more symphonic and orchestral in sound; there's a lot of very evident strings in the back, and the piano is still there highlighting the song. The vocals take a bit of the center stage during the verses but for the chorus, especially the last one? It all blends together beautifully. It's wonderful. Very good.
I compare this to Taking What's Mine and I say that this almost has the feel of that song but if it were allowed that extra minute. It's a very nice listening experience, and a good song in general.
9. THE MYSTERY: 7/10
I never thought I'd say a song is "adorable" but this song is legitimately adorable. It has a feel of whimsy throughout and it's a very delightful and joyous song. The lyrical content concerns our narrator just wondering about the worlds beyond Earth in the stars, wondering about what they may see, and wondering about the big "mystery".
The big "mystery", of course, is why humanity is here. What the purpose of life is. For a song tackling such a subject, I love that it feels so... I hesitate to say childlike, but it is a fitting descriptor. It's bright, where many other songs I've heard that tackles this existential question are usually very somber or reflective or even melancholic in sound. It's refreshing and it's inspiring. It's a very nice song.
10. WOLVES OF THE SEA: 7.5/10
ROUNDING IT OFF WITH ANOTHER INSTRUMENTAL PIECE. Which was a little surprising on a first listen through.
This piece is a HARD contrast to The Mystery, where it takes on the more solemn tones found everywhere in the album. This is also definitely more Two Steps from Hell than Bloodlines is, and it's good for it. Because while it definitely has that more drab and melancholic feel at the beginning, it does transition into this more hopeful and inspiring sound. It generally basically feels like all the musical themes of the album are brought together and rounded out in a really good orchestral track.
There's a couple of small leitmotifs sprinkled within to make it that much more whole and complete. It's a very nice way to end off the album.
OVERALL FEELINGS:
Bloodlines is a great album. It feels like it has something for everyone who is into the more proggy/symphonic side of metal. If you enjoyed Epitaph and Disciples of the Sun, you'll probably like this album too. It's very enjoyable to listen to and it's pretty short, only clocking in at 44 minutes. It's very good, and if you've never heard Pyramaze before, PLEASE check them out.
I will say, I do think I enjoy Epitaph just a bit more, purely due to The Time Traveller, Particle, and its title track, Epitaph. But this album is still not a bad introduction for newcomers, and it's a good new step in their catalog.
