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