Line-up:
Lance King - Vocals
Michael Kammeyer - Guitars
Jonah Weingarten - Keyboards
Niels Kvist - Bass
Morten Gade - Drums
Progressive power metal bands from Denmark are as common as a 2 dollar bill (well, almost). So that alone was enough to make me interested in Pyramaze. And when I heard that their singer was none other than Lance King (ex-Balance Of Power), then I had to have this, their debut album. I'd already heard 2 tracks from the album when I finally ordered it from Nightmare Records. And I remember thinking to myself that if the rest of it sounds as good as those 2 cuts, then 'Melancholy Beast' might just be one of the finest albums of 2004. And much to my satisfaction, that was just the case. In fact, of the 9 tracks on this CD, none of them are even slightly boring. What you get is impressive progressive power metal, with emphasis on power, not prog. They rank alongside Symphony X and Pagan's Mind as contenders as my favorite band in this genre, ever! THAT is how good this debut really is! Lance sings better then ever, showing off a more varied side of himself. And his Danish/American backing band are surprisingly fresh sounding too. It's almost a mystery why we haven't heard anything from these names before. Michael Kammeyer is the best guitar-player you never heard, and one heck of a songwriter to boot! So don't hesitate, run to the store of your choice, and order one of the top contenders in my top 20 releases of 2004. Frankly I just don't see how any metalhead could not like ingenious tracks such as "The Journey" (where Lance at times reminds me of Jimmy Brown (Deliverance)), "Melancholy Beast", "Sleepy Hollow" and the rest of the amazing songs on this CD. I can't wait to hear what this band has to offer next time around.