Pyramido — Sand
At first, hearing the simple, distortion worshipping riffing style of doom metal applied to a sharp, comparatively trebley but satisfyingly full Gothenberg guitar sound turns out to be a treat. This record sounds massive, and the burnt red, primal image of an elephant on the cover seems apt. "Blunt" and "primitive are among the best descriptors one could use. After several minutes of repetitions of the opening riff pass by without any added atmosphere or intensity to show for it, however, one starts to question if brute force is all there is to this music.
The riff writers of Pyramido have not moved beyond power chords, and while they sound great strummed in unison, and it's difficult to discern any emotion in the notes beyond a kind of triumphant exhibitionist pride akin to that of a body builder flexing his muscles in front of a crowd of people or a general parading his army through town after a victory. The ubiquitous Sabbath-isms of doom riffing are evident, but the intense, bluesy expressiveness and taste of that band's playing is not to be found in this comparatively rigid, nearly sterilized music. If you've ever heard Sleep, Electric Wizard, Type O Negative, High On Fire, et cetera, you know what it sounds like to play this style with a lot more attitude distinction. The psychedelic and experimental elements oft associated with doom are also notable absent here. Pyramido clearly thinks of nothing but their sinewy wall of sound and the compositions have been neglected as a result. Each song is sustained by a maximum of 3 or 4 riffs, with occasional "breakdowns" that are actually the same riffs played again without as much heavy drumming.
Lyrically, they express this sense of power and strength in ambiguous terms. War, that tired old metal subject, is one of the few discernable topics. A sample from the 3rd track, "Carry Us to War": "I WILL FIGHT FOR... TRIUMPH!! / AND I AM NOT AFRAID." The mid-ranged tone of the singer's voice, as mentioned, is standard among Swedish melodeath bands, and also borrows from Meshuggah's Jens Kidman. This style can, of course, be very powerful but in the case of Pyramido, every bellow is virtually identical. Even the always monotonous Kidman has memorable moments aplenty, and unlike Meshuggah, Pyramido boasts no dystopian atmospherics or rhythmic complexity to compliment a repetitive vocal style. The vocalist on this album is content to shout stanza after stanza of lyrics, for minutes on end, without varying his rhythms and patterns. Luckily it never gets too annoying because his voice isn't mixed too loud.
"Sand" is little more than a well-produced blend of cliches. Whether or not you enjoy it really depends on how much you love sludgy metal and thick guitar tones, and how much you demand originality in your music. If you just want to headbang, this might be for you. The sound is certainly powerful enough, and the groove enjoyable for the first few minutes. The real trouble is the absolute lack of variety, the feeling that all 5 songs were written using the same formula, that every time a new riff kicks in you've already heard that same transition several times earlier on the album