Finally getting around to posting this one...

Black Pyramid – S/T (Meteorcity)
By Jay Snyder
May 17, 2009

Good move Meteorcity, good move! I can’t think of a band that needed a permanent label home more than Massachusetts’ meanest riff masters, Black Pyramid and they have finally found their destination. For my money, this is going to be hard to top this year as far as classic leaned doom is concerned.

I’ve been in the BP camp since the early going and this LP not only revives the classics, “Visions of Gehenna”, “Mirror Messiah” and “No Life King” from the debut demo, but piles on four lengthy new jams and two brief instrumentals. If you’ve been wondering if the recent compositions match the old stuff; sit back, wipe the sweat off that haggard brow and let ‘em sink in. They are refined, rockin’ and totally lethal; easily right on par (perhaps better) with the high-caliber songwriting found on the demo and 7”.

Rapidly sucking eager ears into the listening experience, “…And the Gods Made War” is a perfect foreshadow of what’s to come. Vivid, Arabic guitar melodies make you reach for a cool glass of water as if you’ve been sucking sand in the Sahara for weeks on end. The distant boom of distortion rings true and cracks like lightning in a starlight sky, further bracing your psyche for the maelstrom on the horizon.

Without a moment of repose, established crusher “Visions of Gehenna” wages war on your soul with restless, rhythmic dementia and guitarist/vocalist Andy Beresky’s endless battery of serpentine Sabbath riffs and his more melodic take on Matt Pike’s wasteland bellow! The groove in this song is pure muscle and it is relieving to see it and the rest of its demo brethren make the final cut on the record. Everything is wrapped up tighter than Fort Knox with a chorus chiseled from solid steel. Killer leads, solos and rhythmic swagger throughout, leading us to one of my personal favorites “Mirror Messiah”, which stands side by side with “Visions…” as its more upbeat cousin. The central riff is less syrupy and rocks out the chords with a groovier bent. At this point, I know every lyric to this one. Completely classic doom shred that borrows from the best Sleep, Sabbath and the Maryland doom scene has to offer, topped off with an original shuffle only identifiable as BP. The full-throttle mid section erupts with a firestorm solo and a mid-tempo metal swing, standing somewhere on the middle ground between Sleep and Trouble! Not afraid to add psychedelic ambience to such a hefty slugfest, the bridge before the finale trembles with vulnerability as a gentle, progressive 70’s lead soars above Gein (bass) and Clay’s (drums) subdued ebbing. A rollicking, metallic Sabb-out brings out the High on Fire influence in spades, creating an appropriate climax to a modern doom benchmark.

Rounding out the three re-recorded demo tracks, “No Life King” steps up to the squared circle with a haymaker roundhouse sure to K.O. all comers! Still offering up a supreme, war metal gallop buttressed by an intelligent doom boogie, this track conquers all in its path. You can shout blasphemy all you want, but I find myself liking BP’s metal infused barnburners more than a lot of stuff on the most recent HOF records. BP (at their most metallic) is the perfect fusion between Sleep, HOF circa Art of Self Defense with just a touch of Surrounded by Thieves added for good measure.

It was an interesting decision to separate the new material completely from the old with the sweeping, acoustic instrumental “Celephais”, as this tactic totally prepares you to see what new tricks BP has cooked up since their last visit. Well, they cooked up the mother of all Sabbath/Pentagram rockers is what they did; “Twilight Ritual” is a testament to the glorious boogie of classics like “Sign of the Wolf”, “Hole in the Sky”, etc. There is nothing but a tidal wave of upbeat, hugely distorted grooves, wicked drum patterns and vocals that hook you in from the beginning. The chorus may be quite simple, “I’m going down today, I’m gonna die today, into my twilight grave”, but all it takes is one listen for the lyrics to take the form of some almighty, religious mantra that sticks with you in all areas of daily life. The riffs and rhythms occasionally twist beyond the initial groove and foray into slower bouts of THC abuse, but are brought back to bloody fucking life by an out of this world Iommi solo of mountainous proportions!

Turning up the sludge factor to 11, BP decimate minds with the Electric Wizard via HOF bludgeon of “The Worm Ouroboros”, a turgid piece of metal if I’ve ever heard one. The intro to this one is very deceiving as a sunny; wah-boogie creates the kind of grandiose 70’s soundscape presented on the first Witch record. Just when you think you’ve got their direction figured out, molten fuzz and iron clad rhythmic density smash away all hopes of seeing the sun again in this lifetime. While the tone does dip into a secret stash of Sabbath riffs in the final march, the majority of this behemoth is ugly and crawling. Not a single bit of mercy out of any of the instruments as the weight of the song is so formidable; you’ll feel it crack the very ribs in your chest.

Again toying with tasteful chords and a restrained ambience, the melodic opening of “The Cauldron Born” builds up a wall of brooding darkness before the inevitable riff-kick in the ass comes charging full bore for your jugular. Masterful hooks in the vein of “Mirror Messiah” create a unique flair to the music that doesn’t sound like anything directly identifiable, with the classic metal leads adopting a one-of-a-kind Arabic sort of melody. Maybe, I’m insane, but that’s what I’m hearing and damn does it sound good. The low slung riffs punctuating the sections with vocals add a brass knuckle punch, perfectly juxtaposing the forlorn grooves championed by the verses. The yin-yang effect makes for great variety and another absolute standout on this fucking immovable pyramid of an album.

Closer, “Wintermute” ends with an amalgamation of the band’s many distinct shades. The acoustic, cleanly sung opening is downright beautiful but don’t expect it to stick around for an encore, as the sludge-y plow of Cavity meets Sleepy, Sabbath grooves and HOF metal mincing provides an award winning showdown of dynamics way too good to forget.

I’ve been waiting for this one a long time and let me be the first to tell you folks, BP has arrived and they are staking their claim at the top of the doom metal heap! There’s a not a single complaint to level here and I’m so glad they didn’t go down as another amazing, unsigned band, forced into self-releasing all of their music. Labels need to get behind the good stuff and thank Lucifer, Meteorcity did. All fans of classic doom with an excellent crossover appeal, chalk this up as essential listening. I’m not talking crossover like The Sword or anything like that, that’s a resounding hell no! This is monumental music, made by blue collar guys who believe in the stuff with a combination of classic sounds both 70’s and contemporary; this is the real deal and I hope this is the start of a slew of albums bearing the BP namesake. We can only hope!

Thanks Jay!

http://www.hellridemusic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20017

This one cracked me up:

Black Pyramid: Black pyramid

24/08/09  ||  GardensTale

Hey everyone,

We sat down with Matt Smith from GASPetc, and had a nice chat about life, the universe, and everything.  Check it out here: http://www.gaspetc.com/BlackPyramidInterview.html

July 2009
Released: 2009, Meteor City Records
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: Aaron Yurkiewicz

Finally….Finally…FINALLY!!! SOMEBODY GETS IT!!! As a purveyor of all things doom and stoner metal, I’ll be the first to admit that the scene is waaaay overcrowded with sloppy bands that think that the key to a good doom record is lots of bong hits and playing…real…slooooooow. And then a band like Black Pyramid comes along and gives me renewed hope for the genre and for metal in general. The band’s self titled debut combines all of the best elements that you could hope for in a doom album - heavy, rhythmic, groovin’ songs that are both well written and well performed.



A power trio from the great state of Massachusetts, Black Pyramid has not only studied diligently from the great book of Black Sabbath, but from bands like Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, Cathedral, and Pentagram as well. There’s definitely an old school doom vibe here that’s immediately recognizable and welcomed. Warm, analog tones and thick fuzzed out guitars are the order of the day here, enveloping the 9 songs on the disc in a smoked out embryo of heaviness. As I listened to the album (again and again), I kept feeling that the riffs, song structure and overall performance here are very Sabbathian, circa MASTER OF REALITY and VOL. 4. But the band manages to capture that classic vibe without sounding plagiaristic - and that friends, is a beautiful thing.



“Voices of Gehenna” is the first track after a brief intro, setting the mood just right. Drummer Clay Neely keeps the swinging beats going (a la Bill Ward in his prime) beneath vocalist/guitarist Andy Beresky’s bellow and bass player Gein’s low end distortion. “Mirror Messiah” could have easily been a Cathedral leftover, while “No Life King” has almost a folksy, Celtic inspired gait to it. “The Worm Ouroboros” could possibly be the spiritual successor to “Into the Void,” opening with some jazzy, wah wah drenched hooks before settling into the main groove of the song. “Wintermute” is by far my favorite cut on the disc; a little bit of “Planet Caravan” mixed with a little bit of the Obsessed’s melancholy, the tune is a gut buster that ends in a crescendo of punchy riffs.



Like the classic Sabbath albums of the day, BLACK PYRAMID will please a wide audience. Sludgy enough for the staunchest of doom stalwarts, the album has enough rockin’ in general to satisfy more mainstream fans as well. Rather than reinventing the wheel, Black Pyramid has opted to build upon an existing blueprint and make it their own. A solid debut all the way, I can’t wait to hear how the band follows this up.

http://www.metal-rules.com/review/viewreview.php?month=July&year=2009&pos=3

Andy just did an interview with The Obelisk blog where they dive into his past with Palace In Thunderland, writing lyrics for Black Pyramid, and the current state of stoner rock.  Check it out here:

http://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2009/06/29/blackpyramidinterview/

These guys supported us from the start, and really, more flattering words cannot be uttered.  Thanks again guys!


Black Pyramid S/T CD 09

Here's a new review from JJ Koczan, formerly of Metal Maniacs, from his new blog, The Obelisk:

Black Pyramid: Engineering an Empire

The Heavy Planet blog has featured our debut as their "album of the week."  You can check out the write up right here: http://www.heavyplanet.net/2009/05/album-of-week-black-pyramid-self-titled.html

Hey y'all, we've been featured in the "metal news" section of the Brooklyn Vegan blog, check it out right here: http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2009/06/this_week_in_me_43.html