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Pyramidal

Frozen Galaxies

Written by: BV on 01/07/2013 22:42:58

Pyramidal of Alicante, Spain has long since become somewhat of an institution when it comes to the world of psych and space rock – at least for those ’in the know’. Whilst lacking mainstream recognition, as is the case with most bands within this realm, Pyramidal have gained a decent amount of praise from critics and stoners alike. This, their latest EP entitled “Frozen Galaxies” is, as I will explain further below, also quite noteworthy in itself.

Spanning four tracks in total, this EP opens with a mind-bending aptly titled “Altar of Delusion World”. Why aptly, you might ask? Well, the hypnotic groove of the song and the constantly changing, evolving and most of all heavily psychedelic soundscape instantly conjures up the imagery of a drug-crazed hedonistic ritual in which the deepest depths of the mind are explored, the depths so deep that one cannot help but go further. The composite of acoustic mellowness, feedback-laden craziness and wobbly phaser sounds is exactly what I would expect of Pyramidal and their prolonged sonic excursions. - A true pleasure for a psych-head such as myself.

As the opening riff to “Sons of Light” makes its entrance I am already deeply enthralled by the album, yet these hypnotic grooves seem to bring me one step further. It could be the introduction of some hazy, chanting vocal work. Or it could just be my mind melting. Anyway, whereas the previous track “Beyond the Lost Orbs” seemed to have a too hypnotic groove to it, effectively being so self-indulgent that I lost my focus, “Sons of Light” makes a comeback for the EP with some beautifully fuzzy and dynamic solo work reminiscent of the greats of the genre like Acid Mothers Temple, Causa Sui, Samsara Blues Experiment and others.

As the album comes to a long-running close via the 24 minute long title-track, there seems to be an interesting mix of Hawkwind, Syd Barrett-led Pink Floyd and Samsara Blues Experiment going on as the track develops from near-whimsical melody lines, heavily distorted riffs and a bass-line that is vastly reminiscent of Lemmy-era Hawkwind. – I deem it safe to say that Pyramidal have crammed in a bunch of influences here without ever coming off as a dime-a-dozen band, instead creating something quite distinct, dare I say unique.

While Pyramidal is definitely not for everyone, I think it’s safe to say that drug-crazed stoners, eccentric psych-heads and other peculiar fans of this type of music (like myself) will inevitably agree with me on the sheer fact that every single release from Pyramidal, this one included, is a cosmic journey you wouldn’t want to miss.

Download: Altar of Delusion World, Sons of Light, Frozen Galaxies
For The Fans Of: Electric Moon, Hawkwind, Causa Sui, Acid Mothers Temple
Listen: facebook.com

Release Date 20.04.2013
Krauted Mind