Sweden’s Pyramido continue their progression with a third full length that confirms them as one of the most shining realities of European doom sludge. Saga is a relatively short work but with an intensity that more than compensates for a rather reduced minute-length: the six tracks show a band devoid of sags and capable of proposing a sludge that in some ways is not even too hostile, thanks to an innate harmonic sense that avoids turning the tracklist into a sequence of alienating, raw, but difficult to memorize episodes. That being said, it is not that Pyramido should be mistaken for a soft band, far from it; from the very first notes the caliginous sound, overlaid by Ronnie Källbäck’s vitriolic vocals, leaves no doubt about the Scandinavians’ clear intent to create a wall of sound that is both disturbing and enthralling. If you will, the tracks enjoy a sometimes excessive uniformity however high-level, but this front is ably broken, in the central part of the work, by the instrumental Klockrike, three minutes based on prog and psychedelia that amply demonstrate how Pyramido are more than just tetragonous sludge doomsters. Saga is a must-have release for those who prefer these sounds and confirms the vitality and steady rise of the Swedish scene gravitating around the doom genre.

2013 – Farewell Records