LEGEND OF THE BONE CARVER

"Legend of the Bone Carver" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Danish power metal act Pyramaze. The album was released through Nightmare Records in February 2006. It´s the successor to "Melancholy Beast" from 2004 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as guitarist Toke Skjønnemand has been added to the ranks, making Pyramaze a sextet on "Legend of the Bone Carver". It would be the last album featuring lead vocalist Lance King, as King was fired from the band in late 2006. As King was the owner of Nightmare Records, Pyramaze also left the label. "Legend of the Bone Carver" was produced (mastered and mixed) by prolific Danish producer Jacob Hansen.

Stylistically the material on "Legend of the Bone Carver" is US influenced power metal with omnipresent use of keyboards, which provide the music with a symphonic edge. King is a strong vocalist, with a voice and singing style somewhere between Geoff Tate (Queensrÿche) and Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) (mostly the former), and he is perfect for the material. Having a highly skilled vocalist in your band doesn´t matter much, if the other musicians can´t deliver on a similar high level, but that´s not a problem here, as Pyramaze are an exceptionally well playing band. They master both harder edged riffs and rhythms as well as the more melodic and symphonic sections with ease. It´s not the most dymanic music though and the listener is constantly bombarded with multi-layered choirs and omnipresent keyboards, which on top of the more "regular" heavy metal instrumentation of two guitars, bass, and drums, sometimes result in an almost overwhelming wall of sound. The word subtle does not exist in the world of Pyramaze, and the listener is kept on his/her toes for the duration of the album.

"Legend of the Bone Carver" is a concept album, telling a fantasy tale (which could be inspired by one of the tales of the bible), and the story works well with the epic atmosphere created by the music. The professional, detailed, and powerful sounding production job further enhances the epic nature of the music. This is through and through a high quality release, and fans of harder edged, but still melodic and occasionally symphonic US influenced power metal should find lots to enjoy here. I have one complaint which drags my rating down a slight bit, and that´s the vocal melodies. Or to be more precise how memorable they are or aren´t. Because considering how melodic the material is and how melodic the vocal melodies are, the melodies actually aren´t that memorable, or at least many of the tracks sound a lot a like in that department. Stronger vocal hooks on individual tracks would undoubtedly have made "Legend of the Bone Carver" an even stronger release than it already is but a 3.5 star (70%) rating is still fully deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)