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Black Pyramid > Black Pyramid > Reviews
Black Pyramid - Black Pyramid

A modern stoner/doom classic? - 96%

ben_fairweather, October 23rd, 2012

Do you crave Black Sabbath’s hook-laden old-school doom riffs? Are you a fan of Electric Wizard’s slow, grinding sludge? Do you covet the raw stoner riffage of Kyuss that sounds like it was recorded in the middle of the desert using a mondo generator? Then this is the album for you!

Heralding from Massachusetts, Black Pyramid combines elements of all three aforementioned bands on this ambitious debut album, resulting in a colossal barrage of stoner/doom. Eastern sounds are also incorporated, in a more subtle and tasteful manner than Nile achieved, adding even greater depth to the weighty atmosphere that Black Pyramid have created.

Andy Beresky, the chief songwriter, lead guitarist and vocalist, is clearly the driving force behind the band. He sounds like Ozzy with a bad throat…in a good way. His deeper, coarser voice provides more of an edge than the cleaner vocals that are typical of doom: These would sound too thin if partnered with the leaden riffage of Black Pyramid. Although lyrics about the occult are very predictable in doom, the songs are well written and follow a continuous theme.

Andy Beresky’s guitar playing takes noticeable influence from early Sabbath. This is especially prominent on the bluesy intro to ‘The Worm Ouroboros’. There is no filler here. If you think doom is supposed to be slow, this proves otherwise. Crushing riff after crushing riff slams your head to the kerb and stomps you into submission. A thick and fuzzy guitar tone, typical of stoner/doom, is used throughout. At the halfway point, an acoustic interlude, ‘Celephais’, is well placed to break up the album and keep the listener interested, not that there is any danger of becoming bored.

While it’s the leads that make this album special, the bass and percussion are not hidden away. The bass is very audible and is crucial in the construction of Black Pyramid’s hefty grooves. The mid-paced drumming is delivered by Clay Neely, formerly of southern rockers Artimus Pyledriver.

Despite making an instant impression, this is very definitely an album that has grown on me with every listen, unlike other more generic doom that has ultimately become buried deep beneath the classics in my collection. That this is the best stoner/doom release of 2009 is not up for debate. It easily makes my top ten all-time favourites. Although there is nothing particularly original or groundbreaking here, had it been released during doom’s heyday it would surely be considered amongst the classics.

(Originally posted at http://liferthereviewroom.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/black-pyramid-black-pyramid.html)

An Exceptional Doom Album - 95%

Thumbman, May 15th, 2011

Black Pyramid play a very orthodox style of stoner doom. While playing in the same style of the bands that came before you will often lead to stagnation and redundancy, Black Pyramid proves this to not always be the case. They aren't exactly reinventing their genre, but they do such an exceptional job at playing it that this album just might end up being regarded as one of the classic stoner records.

The first thing that is obvious about Black Pyramid, is that they take a tremendous amount of influence from Black Sabbath. Hell, they even share half their name. Nearly every metal band has taken some inspiration from Sabbath. Even if you don't listen to them you can't escape them - countless bands have weaved Sabbath's signature style into their music. Black Pyramid takes even more inspiration from Sabbath than most bands; their doom laden vocals, their crushing riffs - even their song structures are very similar. Don't make the mistake that Black Pyramid is just another sheep in the herd of Black Sabbath clones. Their influences aren't limited to the mighty Sabbath. If you were to put Black Sabbath, many classics doom and stoner metal albums, a few ounces of shrooms and a heavy dose of talented guitar playing in a cauldron, Black Pyramid would be the result.

Many people say that Andy Beresky's vocals are nearly identical to how Ozzy's were on the old Sabbath records. While they both have a relatively similar style, which is not surprising since they both play in the same genre, Andy's vocals are much deeper than Ozzy's. While we're on the subject of comparing the two bands, it should also be noted that the leads are less bluesy than Sabbath and take on a more melodic approach.

This album is packed to the brim with killer riffs, licks and solos. The guitar is really what makes this record so exceptional. There are fast aggressive riffs, slow trippy ones, face melting solos - even acoustic interludes. This band has set the standards high for this album; it never gets stuck in a mediocre riff or a redundant solo. There is enough variety to keep things from sounding dull. There are slow and massively heavy songs such as "Visions of Gehenna." There are fast upbeat songs (well as upbeat as your going to get on a doom album) such as "No life King." Then there is "Celephais", a wonderful acoustic song, which gives the album room to breath. The song would be the perfect soundtrack for tripping on acid in the desert. "Wintermute", which closes the record, is perhaps Black Pyramid's best song. It starts out with slow acoustic chords, which is followed by an irresistible riff. On this song, the vocals shine: slow, deep and extremely memorable.

Sure, this album doesn't really add all that much to the genre, but in the end that fact is irrelevant. Sometimes good songs are enough on their own. Sure, many bands have played in this style, and Black Pyramid does little to deviate from the conventions of their genre, but their songs are better than the vast majority of bands that play this type of music. Fans of doom and stoner metal should do themselves a favor and get this album.

Everything that you want from a doom record - 95%

Colar, March 21st, 2011

It is pretty obvious upon listening to this record that it is not just "another average doom album". There are riffs here, and I mean tons of them, but they all have personality and suit the songs just as they should: no random powerchord bashing to be found here.

The songs themselves do not show incredible variety so far as lyrics go, but they will probably stick in your head for a while. Vocals are not very technical, but they are authoritary and really efficient to suck you into the atmosphere the band puts on here. Let's say it is exactly what you want a doom singer to sound like, without being a ripoff of Ozzy or Lee Dorrian.

The production is top notch. The guitars sound powerful, crunchy, fuzzy, making a nice wall of sound to dive into. The lead tone has much more reverb and is also perfect for the genre.

To my opinion, this album contains no fillers, every song has it's place, even the acoustic interlude, strategically placed in the middle of the record and reminding me a lot of embryo/orchid on Master of Reality. And that's actually the main flaw of this album. I know it's pretty common for a doom band to sound like Sabbath but here, a few times, you can here a riff that is just a plain Sabbath plagiarism. In a sense you could call that a tribute, in this case it goes a little too far.

Overall, this album is really a perfect modern doom metal record on every aspect, losing the 100% rating for just a few (2-3) Sabbath ripoffs too much.

The establishment of a new Doom classic. - 100%

Wizard_Of_Doom, July 9th, 2009

It is my honest belief that this record will establish itself as a classic in the doom scene. It is nothing less than triumphant to consider that 39 years after Paranoid hit the shelves these 3 humble men crafted an album that not only encapsulates the sonic legacy that Black Sabbath has had during all these years but still has its own story to tell and never forgets the importance of song writing.

The record is well produced. The guitar tone is thick, fuzzy and consistent. The leads are perfectly clear and do well against the rhythm backdrop. Bass is clearly audible and gives that extra force in the low end department while the drumming sounds great. It displays good use of symbols crashes so typical of Doom but never done to such a degree to hinder the other instruments. Overall the record does not have that polished studio feel and would seem to resemble a live atmosphere far more, just with the benefit of clear and concise sound quality and mixing. This really does bold well for it as it is able to achieve that plundering heaviness so many bands fail to achieve once the red light is on. The vocals are a distinguishable crooning shout for most of the record, which sounds rather terrible but really does go with what they have going on.

The record is packed to the brim with riff after riff. Listening to it and being able to distinguish influence after influenced of traditional doom acts, those leaning more towards stoner, psychedelic, hardcore and bluesy sides of Doom is nothing but an unsurpassable pleasure. From Cathedral to Spirit Caravan to Electric Wizard, Eyehategod and even Om you feel these guys know the records just as well as you do and really set out to only honour them all. But this is so far from another generative Doom act. The true skill is in the delivery of all these ideas into such a solid base is what is exceptional and suggests to me there will be something for everyone here regardless of they’d rather listen to Trouble or Bongzilla. They even include the classic Sabbath acoustic interlude keeping their roots firmly in tradition. There are also nice touches of Eastern influences here and there, just adding that extra touch of versatility. The length of the record is also perfect as the listener it never reaches the point of fatigue and for those lucky enough to buy the LP version they have an extra instrumental epic by the name of ‘Macedonia’ which I can confirm totally tears and would have any Metal fans seal of approval.

My final conclusion, 100%. Buy this record!