Pyramaze

For an established band, the biggest challenge usually lies in consistently developing its own personal style with each new album while simultaneously enhancing it with exciting new elements. It’s precisely this difficult balancing act that international power metal group Pyramaze has successfully achieved on its latest offering, ‘Bloodlines’: Every one of the ten songs impresses not only with a multitude of anthemic vocal melodies, haunting guitar riffs, atmospherically dense keyboard passages and dynamic grooves, but also with a number of surprises. These include the remarkable technical skills of everybody involved, as well as a powerful studio production and inspiring contributions from renowned guest musicians. ‘Bloodlines’ will be out on AFM Records on 23 June 2023, with four lead singles already lined up: The songs ‘Broken Arrow’ and ‘Fortress’, including video clips, have been available online for a number of weeks, followed on 19 May 2023 by the ballad ‘Alliance’ featuring Ad Infinitum/The Dark Side Of The Moon vocalist Melissa Bonny in a duet with Pyramaze frontman Terje Harøy. Then, on 25 August 2023, the fourth single ‘Taking What’s Mine’ is set to complement the series of releases, which has been eagerly awaited by the band’s fans. 

Pyramaze keyboardist Jonah Weingarten feels that ‘Bloodlines’ takes up where its predecessor left off, spanning more than twenty years of band history and at the same time offering a glimpse of what the future holds in store. “For me, the new songs are a successful mix of the material from ‘Epitaph’ and ‘Disciples Of The Sun’ while also featuring cross-references to our very first releases and surprising with a number of unusual song structures,” explains Weingarten, who, along with Danish guitarist/producer Jacob Hansen, is one of the group’s two main composers. Among other things, the American keyboardist is referring to ‘The Mystery’, probably the most progressive number on Pyramaze’s latest release, which was recorded with the support of two well-known guest guitarists, Andrew Kingsley (Unleash The Archers) and Olof Mörck (Amaranthe). In addition, Tim Hansen, son of Helloween/Gamma Ray guitarist and founder Kai Hansen, has contributed a spirited guitar solo to the vibrant uptempo track ‘The Midnight Sun’. 

Despite the outstanding instrumentalists Weingarten, Hansen and drummer Morten Gade Sørensen, it’s naturally Pyramaze vocalist Terje Harøy who’s at the epicentre of this memorable sound quake. “Terje has an incredibly powerful voice, so it’s always fun to write material for him,” Weingarten enthuses about the frontman from Norway, who has been with Pyramaze since 2015. “The new songs are perfectly suited to his vocal style, the heavier numbers as well as the quieter passages. His voice is not only amazingly assertive, it also has a wonderfully sensitive, bluesy note, which brings to mind the likes of David Coverdale, Jørn Lande and Chris Cornell. As a result, Terje has delivered perfect interpretations of the lyrics.”

Content-wise, ‘Bloodlines’ revolves around our curiosity about the unknown, as well as personal issues told from a subjective, but never moralising, point of view. Weingarten: “We want to stimulate our fans’ imagination, provide them with plenty of food for thought without limiting their freedom of interpretation.”       

Talking of fans: Naturally, Pyramaze hope to be able to meet their loyal followers in person as soon as possible. The first opportunity is scheduled for 12 May 2023, when the band will play Copenhagen’s Nordic Noise Festival. So get your diaries out, because the summer of 2023 looks likely to be a very special one for all Pyramaze fans.



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