Review Summary: Let us roll around, throwing salt on every wound, headbanging and getting stoned, for this is Pyramido. Bring out the salt!
Out of the black, death and heavy metal lands of Sweden rises Pyramido. Starting on 2009 with their debut Sand, their sound isn't much different yet still manages to deliver an awesome sludge hardcore doom album on their second release, Salt. Worthy of mention before dwelling on the music itself is the cover. With its gentle colors, "Don't Panic" letters and discolored palette, it can confuse people with an 80s Genesis album, but after seeing their most recent video (from their newest release Saga) everything will make sense.
Starting with their most heavy song, Walking Blind, the slow, doomy riffs will have you moving your head up and down without you even realizing it. After the intro, a more sludgy pace with an equally addictive riff will introduce the singer Ronnie Källbäck (together with Dan Bengtsson for additional voice power) with an explosive entrance more reminiscent of hardcore vocals than anything else, yet without breaking the doom's trance with some happy, elaborated hardcore guitar.
After such a strong introduction to Salt, the band starts melting (and you will too) with Left To Rot, a song with a lot more sludge than anything else, the riffs here can be a little less memorable but still retains the magical aura that surrounds Pyramido's music. All throughout the album (especially here) Viktor Forss delivers an exceptional performance on drums giving us a slow paced, yet energetic, beat. Afterwards comes the odd child of the album, Saltstroder. It can throw you off balance with its easy synth and simple beat, but it compliments the rest of the album perfectly.
Onward with Onward (and Hollow Words), the formula doesn't change much from the first two songs. Although, we do see a couple piercing howls and some variation to vocals together with an awesome bass from Dan on Onward and a more fast paced song on Hollow Words.
Ending with Dr.Milton (Destroyer Of Worlds), a definitely more sludge song than Hollow Words, this album manages to deliver an unexpectedly energetic sludge doom from an unexpected place, thrusting salt on any wound you might have
and making you enjoy it.
