BEYOND THE EXOSPHERE

Evolution of Brilliance

It wasn't that long ago PYRAMID THEOREM posted videos ("Drive" anyone?) featuring smokin' hot 80's metal riffs and half-naked smokin' hot ladies plus classic hot cars.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

You could hear the influences in their earlier music-the Rush, Dream Theater, and other progressive metal greats.

You could sense that these guys were dynamite musicians, filled with verve, fire, and relentless energy, showing lots of chops and moxie.

It All Gels Now

So. "Beyond the Exosphere". Calm me down and call me out if you think I get too ridiculous, but here's how I hear this one.

Transcendence, pushing boundaries, searching for meaning. Trust or fear? What guidance is there, or are we alone, on our own in the vastness of the infinity of the universe (or the multiverse?)?

For Me, This is a Concept Album

Certainly from the epic opening multi-part title track...yet I think the next four tracks complete the saga.

It's all of a piece, from the clean burst of guitar/bass/drums/keyboards of the opening, the (bless you PYRAMID THEOREM) clean vocals, silky harmonies, the atmospheric and cinematic sweeps portraying a people with fear and hope fleeing a dying world and seeking another...

...To the final percussive, dark riffs of "Intonate" replete with dual guitar/synth lines, complex lead lines subsiding into near-orchestral piano, then strings, then in a building, growing stately passage in which the oh-so-energizing drumming- a highlight throughout, by the way- and all the way until the album is complete...

It Tells a Tale

The opening epic- and I have mixed feelings about opening with an epic track- covers quite an enormous, invigorating, vast progressive rock and metal territory.

It is captivating, the music complex, musicianship impeccable. Tempos change, guitar lines sing and surge, keyboards add flavor and the synth lines sizzle. The bass guitar (I'm a sucker for Rickenbacker basses, thanks to Mr. Squire) and the drums are more than foundational, they are transformational in depth, resonance, and energy.

The story line begins- searching for a home, for mastery through wisdom and technology- god-like leadership or demonic soul-crushing?

Under Control

Speaking of which (control, that is), PYRAMID THEOREM unhesitatingly wades into the contemporary world, with contemporary, timely questions and perspective.

May I just say, progressive rock fanatic that I am, we fanatics live too often in alternative realms, seeming to eschew and ignore the contemporaneous world about us- Tolkien, space travel, castles and dragons and sword fights, with damsels in distress...

...again, not that there's anything wrong with any of these.

Amazon. Trump. Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex.

Such matters are part of the quest for transcendence. Set over blistering riffs and mind-melding band interactions, the saga continues.

Freedom

Oh so tight, urgent playing urges us to WAKE UP, to raise our voices, and to exercise the free choices we are given. The music slows, becomes stately, rich, with use of chimes, cinematic keyboards and power chords. Regal...ending with a whir...

Closer to the End

Here, for a brief breather, there a gentle, eerie opening with distant vocals introducing the urgency, the world- weary realization that billions of soldiers/armies/armaments and so many 'noble causes' may ironically destroy rather than rebuild us.

Then heavy guitar chords enter, gorgeous vocal harmonies, pleading, "Find me a place where I can belong!"

Well, does that resonate with anyone else? What motivates so many of us?

Complex band musicianship underlies these questing vocal lines, almost as if some god-like being is part of the search, and perhaps, part of the solution?

Intonate

Again, slap me around if I'm too out there.

I think PYRAMID THEOREM is suggesting there IS something transcendent- not so far from us yet so much more than any one of us- the 'universal mind', melded with the 'fractal point of view'. If indeed an alien race from another corner of the universe/multiverse seeded and colonized us, how do we receive them? What if anything can we expect from them and ourselves?

Intonate pulses with dark, jagged riffs, amazing guitar/synth harmonizing, lovely vocal lines, subsiding, as I mentioned earlier, only to rebuild based on acoustic piano into an ever growing finale...

...That then slowly subsides and fades...

My Conclusions

Masterful. Impeccable. Brilliant. Thought-provoking. Mind-bending.

Since I think the term 'masterpiece' is thrown around too lightly, I won't go there, with all due respect to this album and PYRAMID THEOREM. Much respect.

I rate this one 4.5 out of 5 stars. Run- don't walk! Get this one!

Share this PYRAMID THEOREM review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Steve Conrad
• Report this review (#2445223)
• Buy PYRAMID THEOREM music online with PA partners
• Show all PYRAMID THEOREM MP3/Stream
• Go to PYRAMID THEOREM page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Beyond the Exosphere page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for PYRAMID THEOREM related discussions