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Disciples Of The Sun

Disciples Of The Sun

BY Pyramaze

(Customer Reviews)
$11.00
SKU: IW83049
Label:
Inner Wound Recordings
Category:
Power Metal
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"7 long years it has been since PYRAMAZE’s last album, “Immortal”, with the famed Matt Barlow at the vocal helm. Come 2015, the band has seen half of the original lineup revamped; still remains Jonah Weingarten on keyboards, Morten Gade Sørensen on drums and Toke Skjønnemand on guitars, but have welcomed about longtime-friend and producer Jacob Hansen on guitars and Terje Harøy on vocals. “Disciples Of The Sun” assuredly marks the beginning of a new era for the band, adopting a new and fresh musical trajectory.

Who would replace the former members were always at the forefront of the minds of their fanbase. A Danish band, with the exception of American Jonah, Jacob Hansen is well-known in the metal echelons of his home-country and abroad for working with and producing many of Metal’s greatest bands; DELAIN, ABORTED, ANUBIS GATE and EPICA among them. Already the band’s producer, the transition to guitar simply made sense. As for vocals, many considered Matt irreplaceable; such cynicism does not have a place in the metal world, for the band pulled in Terje from Prog/Heavy band CROSSNAIL (formerly TEODOR TUFF).

On one hand, the decision to pick a relatively-unknown singer to take the vacant vocal position could be considered risky, but it was the best-possible decision the band could have made, because “Disciples Of The Sun” is chock-full of uplifting and powerful heavy-hitters, to which his voice is perfectly-suited. The introduction of epic proportions sets a spanning, cinematic scene for chugger “The Battle Of Paridas”. One of the album’s heaviest moments right off the bat, the track soon gets into the lyrics, where Terje’s power is obvious right away. Come the chorus (in fact, any chorus on the album, especially that of “Fearless” or “Hope Springs Eternal), the man’s voice lets loose with raw, unrestrained energy. Not losing their trademark, soaring atmospherics either, which are incredibly present in this track, as well as in the infectiously-catchy “Back For More”, PYRAMAZE proves that they have successfully moved forward without losing any trace of their identity.

In hearing the wonderful lyrics for the album, written with absolute poetic flair in “Genetic Process” and “Hope Springs Eternal”, I learned that ANUBIS GATE’s very own bassist/vocalist/lyricist Henrik Fevre was asked to write the new album’s lyrics, given that Michael Kammeyer, the previous writer, had left. And they fit the music PYRAMAZE has lovingly-crafted ever so perfectly; uplifting crescendos and dramatic cascades the ideal vehicle. Heavy-hitting, Progressive Power Metal the band’s tried-and-true engine, not one track on the album hints to any monotony; each piece has its own vibe, and is a story all in its own. For one, “Perfectly Imperfect” booms with a series of Stoner-like opening riffs, before transitioning into soaring and gloriously-melodic choruses. The track to follow, “Unveil”, however, provides some of the more ‘Proggy’ moments on the record; the key-change in the last chorus leaving me light-headed, and probably best display’s Terje’s impressive range. As for the most balls-to-the-castle-wall Metal track on the album, “Hope Springs Eternal” is the package, containing the album’s fastest, most aggressive, most blistering riffs; but in a gracefulness only Scandinavian metallers have perfected, transitions to long-lasting, memorable and melodic choruses.

For my own personal pleasure, the band picked the right year to release “Disciples Of The Sun”, being able to look forward to new NIGHTWISH and new KAMELOT albums as well, for if Metal were a competition, the genre heavy-weights would have serious competition. PYRAMAZE is, quite frankly, the come-back I’ve been waiting for." - Metal Temple

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  • Burning Black

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  • Operadyse

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    Power Metal
    "The telling strikes of new power metal have been falling left and right this most righteous of autumns, and the Frenchmen of Operadyse have seen fit to lend their sword arm to the collective effort to bury us listeners utterly in a mountain of releases. The band’s debut release, Pandemonium, is a symphonic power metal affair that draws upon the considerable vocal talents of Frank Garcia (better known as the erstwhile frontman of Spheric Universe Experience), and boy do I ever like him in this setting!Drawing to mind similar recent projects like Fogalord and perhaps Galderia, I find Operadyse outstanding for its sheer buoyancy. This is not, as some may say, “yet another Rhapsody clone”. Please. If that statement were true of half the bands accused of it, we’d be dwelling in a cesspool of artistic stagnancy – and that is hardly the case. Pandemonium, the album’s title, should be interpreted in the most jubilant, energetic way possible. Often a generally uplifting, almost martial power metal beat (“Unfold Legend”), Operadyse nevertheless varies its formula more than you might think, featuring variety in the mystique of “Fairies Secret Garden”, a sudden black metal lapse in “Keeper Of The Flame”, and the absurdly joyful strains of “Nevermore”.A large part of what makes this work outstanding is its bombast. String samples, synth brass, rich choirs, lots of tom rolls from the drum kit, extremely good supporting female vocal work, and even some timpani and big crash cymbals in the background – Operadyse pulls out all the stops to make this as big and as ambitious a project as possible. While that’s true, this isn’t as ludicrously over-the-top as a band like Pathfinder. As explosive as the aural pyrotechnics are on Pandemonium, there’s also a noticeable sense of restraint. This tendency is best manifested in the sweeping breaks that take place in the music from time to time. Mark my words – wherever Pathfinder would insert a shriek or spin up a brazen guitar solo, Operadyse is more than happy to draw back, lay off the guitars and vocals, throw in some deep brass, and let the scale of the compositions grow. As a result, we have a pronounced “peaks and valleys” feeling with this album – but I’m not addressing the quality of the music, which is universally good to great – but rather the dynamic and textural sensations. Further emphasizing this behavior is the tonality – so much of this album abounds in uplifting major key revelry that when anything discordant arises, it is very pronounced, and consequently that much more powerful.There are only a couple of very minor drawbacks to this otherwise very impressive album. The first is my sometimes back-and-forth relationship with Garcia – a singer who wasn’t remotely on my roadmap prior to this album. He has the typical French slur that affects his enunciation with much of the lyricism, and I feel that his softer vocals leave something to be desired. On the other hand, when he ratchets up to the high register and gives his voice a bit of a bite, he reminds me of Bill Makatowicz of Illusion Suite – which is a rather flattering comparison in my book. Secondly and finally, in terms of real criticism, and I’ll put this simply: I want more guitar. For all my talk of comparing this to Pathfinder and praising its subtlety, I miss some of the bright and flashy guitar work that that album featured. Operadyse definitely does not excel at “heavy” metal.Pandemonium is, however, a symphonic power metal lover’s blissful release, and a joy for anyone that craves the inspiring, feel-good brand of power metal that genre stalwarts Freedom Call and Power Quest once emphasized. This will get dismissed by those who don’t like “flower metal”, but the devil take them – this is exciting and not insubstantial material. Just one more banger on the books for 2013 to you and I, perhaps, but this album is an auspicious beginning to a career for Operadyse." - Black Wind Metal
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