Pyramids frontman R. Loren has already proved that he plays well with others. Last year he started two new highly collaborative bands, White Moth and Sailors With Wax Wings, and he started a record label called Handmade Birds. Pyramids has already done an excellent collaboration with Nadja, and now they’ve hooked up with forward thinking musician Jenks Miller aka Horseback for the album A Throne Without A King. Both artists operate on a completely different level than their peers and are unique and exciting forces in the music world, and this collaboration is as golden as the album art.
The physical version of this release with be an LP plus 7″ with art and design by Aaron Turner. Horseback and Pyramids each have their standalone tracks that will be featured on the 7,” with the the LP containing the four part title track that features members of both bands. The Horseback song is similar to the material on his split with Volitgeurs, but like every Horseback release, it’s an evolution from the last one. Forbidden Planet was the last Horseback full length and featured layers of droning, scuzzy guitar and harsh vocals. The new Horseback song “Thee Cult Of Henry Flynt” takes the same tremolo picked guitar from Forbidden Planet and backs it up with programmed drums. The melodies are far more discernible, with Miller’s scathing voice crackling in like it’s coming from a dying CB radio. The song is incredibly high energy and really sets itself apart from the rest of the Horseback material. Read the rest of the review and view a sample of the album art after the jump.
The Pyramids “Phaedra’s Love” song never goes where you expect it to. Right off the bat you’re hit with Pyramids’ trademark tripped out electronic blast beat, but it quickly dissipates into synth washes and piano. The beats comeback and disappear just as quickly. M. Kraig’s heavenly voice makes an appearance a little more than halfway through the song, as if to assure the listener that humans are indeed making such strange and ethereal sounds. “Phaedra’s Love” shows why no one can touch Pyramids when it comes to forging new ground in extreme music.
The collaborative title track is a 45 minute exercise in sonic experimentation. It is a chain of tape hiss, field recordings, samples, voice, organ and harsh noise. It’s a composition that sounds totally different from anything that either band has done in the past. Rather than elements of both bands showing through, the result is something unique altogether; the result of a true collaboration. There’s an element of spontaneity that keeps things exciting. You can almost imagine the song being pieced together as you listen to it, rather than a pre-existing recording.
The Hydra Head Records release schedule has been fairly quiet over the last couple years, but they make every release count. Pyramids are one of the most important bands that the label has signed, and this record is a perfect example as to why. A Throne Without A King comes out on black Friday. Pick up a copy and you’ll have a lot to be thankful for.
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