Pyramaze – Immortal

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Locomotive Music
Produced by Jacob Hansen/Jim Morris

Pyramaze experienced fantastic luck, and bitter disappointment in the space of just a few short months as they gained, and lost an amazing new singer. Original vocalist Lance King left the band after their 2006 ProgPower USA performance. A few months later the band announced that former Iced Earth vocalist Matt Barlow would be returning to heavy metal after a career in law enforcement as their new vocalist. The future looked incredibly bright.

Then in December last year Iced Earth announced that Barlow would be returning to them, replacing his replacement Tim “Ripper” Owens. Barlow agreed to finish the Pyramaze album, but would then focus entirely on Iced Earth. This must have been bitterly disappointing news for founder Michael Kammeyer and Pyramaze as I’m sure they’d hoped to continue with Barlow beyond Immortal.

And on the evidence of this disc fans will be saying the same thing. Yes with Barlow’s incredibly unique voice comparisons to Iced Earth are inevitable, but this is nevertheless a flawless metal record; Barlow sounding as good as he ever has. The scream which kicks of the first proper song, Year of The Phoenix (Arise is an ominous intro piece) is one of his best and although the high-speed main riff is very Iced Earth, Pyramaze’s more progressive leanings give it much more life (note the blistering solo at the end).

Many of the tracks are unbelievably good; perfectly mixing melody, crushing heaviness, musicianship and the requisite vocal acrobatics. But there are standouts, for different reasons, and those are Caramon’s Poem, Barlow’s incredible vocals on ballad Legacy In Rhyme and the devastating Ghost Light. Other highlights include the medieval Scottish marching anthem The Highland and blistering opener Year of The Phoenix.

Everyone involved in this record has done an outstanding job and we can all but hope that when Iced Earth are on a break, Pyramaze can persuade Barlow to tour with them. It will be interesting to see who they get as a new full-time vocalist, because this album and Barlow’s performance is going to take some beating.

“ unbelievably good ”

Tracklist: Arise / Year of The Phoenix / Ghost Light / Touched By The Mara / A Beautiful Death / Legacy In Rhyme / Caramon’s Poem / The Highland / Shadow of The Beast / March Through An Endless Rain

Written by Andy Lye
More: Albums, Heavy Metal, Progressive, Pyramaze