Pyramids: Pyramids With Nadja

Artist: Pyramids
Album: Pyramids with Nadja
Date Released: October 27, 2009
Genre: metal, post-metal, alt-metal, experimental, avant-garde metal, ambient, minimalism
Rating: 8.4

Pyramids with Nadja (streaming audio available) is a massive collaborative effort between Pyramids, Nadja and a number of other musicians. All members of Pyramids (f. coloccia, m. dean, m. kraig, r. loren, d. william) and Nadja (Aidan Baker & Leah Buckereff) perform on all four tracks on the record.

In addition to this, Pyramids with Nadja also features Simon Raymonde of Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil (performs bass on track one and four), Albin Julius of Der Blutharsch (performs vocals on track four), Chris Simpson of Mineral (performs vocals on track two), Colin Marston of Dysrhythmia and Behold the Arctopus (co-produced/engineered track one) and James Plotkin of Khanate, Khlyst, O.L.D. Phantomsmasher (mixed and mastered the entire album).

As the number of contributors would suggest, the music on Pyramids with Nadja is a remarkable integration of diverse sonic influences, a palate that includes ambient, industrial, shoe-gaze, and experimental/minimalist metal. While Pyramids and Nadja dominate the album, there's no question that this is a product of many musical minds.

The album itself consists of four long-play tracks that weave in and out of the listener's conscious awareness. Pyramids with Nadja is about slowly morphing texture, mood, and walls of soundscapes; it's a very 'visual' album in this sense. Remarkably, despite the minimalism and atmospheric bliss-outs, the album contains a definite melodic quality. Without a doubt, this is one of the most original and remarkable albums of the year.