Moving up the Pyramid
Epitaph is the sixth studio album by the Danish Progressive Power Metal act Pyramaze. It is their first album under their new label AFM Records. It features guest appearances by Unleash the Arches’ singer Brittany Slayes, as well as former Pyramaze front men Matt Barlow and Lance King. As with all Pyramaze albums, Epitaph was produced by their current guitarist Jacob Hanson. In the last year Hanson has also produced albums by Volbeat, U.D.O., and Pretty Maids to name a few. I had the chance to catch up with Pyramaze keyboardist Jonah Weingarten and guitarist/producer Jacob Hansen to talk about the new album as well as a few of Hansen’s other projects from behind the boards.
Metal Express Radio: If I knew absolutely nothing about Pyramaze, how would describe the band’s music to me?
Jonah: I would describe Pyramaze as Melodic Prog/Power. It’s hard to put our sound into one subgenre because you can’t fit our sound into just one box. Our music is full of memorable melodies, powerful riffs, epic orchestration and soaring catchy vocals — to pull some descriptors from our band bio.
MER: Pyramaze released their 6th studio album Epitaph [review] through AFM Records. This is your first release for AFM. What lead to this new partnership?
Jonah: It was a pretty natural progression, really. Our time with Inner Wound Recordings came to an end and it was time for us to sign with a larger label.
Jacob: Yes, Emil from Inner Wound pointed us towards AFM, and the fact that I had done multiple albums for them and knew them years back really also helped a lot. The label knows me as well, and it’s only a 2.5 hour drive from me to the label.
So far, AFM has been doing fantastic for us. We were extremely happy with Inner Wound, and what Emil did for us was massive, but you can just tell that there are so much more power behind what AFM does and it shows everywhere.
MER: Were there any hard feelings from your previous record company?
Jonah: Absolutely zero hard feelings. Emil at Inner Wound was a total pleasure to work with, as well as an all-around great guy. Inner Wound was a great support system for our last two albums.
MER: Can you talk about the stories behind the songs you have released as videos/singles thus far….
“A Stroke of Magic” –
Jonah: Honestly, as a band we focus on the music first and once that is set we outsource our lyrics and vocal melody writing. Henrik Fevre Nørgaard of Anubis Gate wrote the lyrics and vocal melodies for “A Stroke of Magic” and Jacob wrote the music. The video for this song showcases some of our live footage from Ørland Rockfest 2019 in Norway.
“World Foregone” –
Jonah: This is a song that I wrote the music for, lyrics and vocal melodies again from Henrik. With how epic and sweeping the orchestration turned out for this song, I was extremely happy with Henrik’s choice to craft the message of this song around our planet and the environment. All of us in Pyramaze are dads and we would really love to leave a healthy planet for them someday.
This song really touches on those themes of mankind polluting the Earth and ruining our planet, and that it may be too late to save it. The video for this song really pushes that message home with the gorgeous backdrop of Norway’s fjords, mountains and oceans.
“Particle” –
Jonah: Particle is another Jacob song, and the lyrics and vocal melodies were written by Christoffer Stjerne from the Danish band, H.E.R.O. This is the first time we’ve worked with Christoffer and I really feel like he brought a whole new layer to our sound with his work on tracks like this, “Indestructible” and “Steal My Crown.” I feel like this a song that can mean something different to everyone who listens to it. I personally always really love the line “still I’m hunting the loss of you” — for some reason it always hits me in the feels.
MER: Brittney Slayes of Unleash the Archers [review] makes a guest appearance on “Transcendence.” How did Brittney get involved and what did she bring to the table?
Jonah: Brittney getting involved with this track was sort of two pronged between Jacob and myself. Jacob produced the last two Unleash the Archers albums, so he knows the whole band pretty well. I’ve been friends with the band for a while myself and a couple years ago my girlfriend and I drove from Minnesota to South Dakota to see Unleash the Archers and grab dinner with the band. Brittney and I got to talking about how awesome it would be to collaborate some time, and the rest is history! When we started talking about getting another metal singer to guest, Brittney was my first choice.
MER: I was surprised to see that two of Pyramaze’s former lead singers make an appearance on the song “The Time Traveler.” How exactly did this come together?
Jonah: Back in 2016 we performed at ProgPower USA and both Matt and Lance performed with us, each of them singing a couple songs from their respective albums. To close out our set we had all three singers on stage singing “Disciples of the Sun,” so I guess that’s where the seed was planted.
The album title Epitaph is really a nod to how our music is our legacy, and honoring where we’ve come from. It was really awesome to not only bring back Matt and Lance to guest on the song, but to also bring back our founder and original songwriter of Pyramaze, Michael Kammeyer, to write the lyrics and vocal melodies.
MER: Are there plans for some type of live performance from Pyramaze this year (live, socially distanced live, YouTube, etc…)?
Jonah: We had to reschedule some shows in Norway we had planned for March of 2020 to sometime in 2021. We don’t have new dates confirmed just yet. Other than that, there’s nothing in the books just yet but we’d love to get some festivals on the books for the next year or two, for sure.
Jacob: We were actually talking about making a studio live performance of some sorts, but it just keeps on getting harder and harder to meet and do stuff like that. Oh well, we’ll see what can be done, because we’d love to interact with our fans more and show them that we care.
MER: Where did the name Pyramaze come from?
Jonah: Our founder, Michael Kammeyer came up with the name Pyramaze. You’d have to ask him!
Jacob: I believe it’s a mixture of words. The word PYRAMID and MAZE.
MER: Jacob, you’re not just the guitarist for Pyramaze, but you also produce their albums. Do you ever find it difficult trying to analyze your own work?
Jacob: That I can’t judge myself, haha! Well, I think it’s in many ways a great thing. I draw from all the experiences I have with other bands, and I am doing this 8 hours a day, every day except for Sundays, so it would be a shame not to utilize that in Pyramaze. I think it’s very valuable that I can contribute with many things into Pyramaze.
For instance, our drummer Morten is a genuine computer wizard, and he does a lot of stuff like setting up our systems for in-ears, back tracks and such, as this is something he can easily wrap his head around. We all have different roles that is very important to use, and my role was from the beginning (remember I was the producer since the very start – also before it was even a band) the producer. Later, I became the guitarist, and I think – in my humble opinion – that it was wise of the band to ask me to keep on producing. Plus I love it.
MER: In addition to Pyramaze, you produced several notable rock albums over the past couple of years. What do you remember about the recording sessions for….
Torch – Reignited [review]–
Jacob: This one was a mixing job, and I wasn’t familiar with the band, so I had to wrap my head around how I could mix something in a classic way, but with a modern touch. I spoke to some of the guys and they were awesome people and it all kind of came to life in the right way, I think. I believe they’re very happy with my work.
Volbeat – Rewind, Replay, Rebound –
Jacob: This album I produced and recorded. It was a truly great experience. This one was a little different, as many of the songs had a different feel to them. I referred to this one as the “grown-up” version of Volbeat, and they all agreed with me. However, we felt that something was missing.
The madness and tongue-in-cheek feel they’ve had from the beginning. It got a little too grown-up, haha! So the band returned to the studio a month after we actually ended, and recorded three extra songs that Michael wrote over Christmas. These songs still give me the chills. Maybe some of the best he ever wrote.
Pretty Maids – Undress Your Madness –
Jacob: I’ve made so many Pretty Maids albums that I can’t really tell them apart, haha! But it’s always great fun to work with these guys. And the discipline of Ronnie is amazing and admirable. The way he can bang out a song’s worth of vocals in two hours and it’s just perfect – that is crazy. This man has so much musical insight and melody in him it’s uncanny.
U.D.O. – Steelfactory [review]–
Jacob: This was amazing. We did most of the guitar recordings in my studio with Andy. Udo supervising from the couch. Such sweethearts. I’ve met Udo a couple of times before, but this time, I got much more involved in the process, and I think it came out fantastic. Moreover, the addition of Sven on drums was a huge step forward, I think.
MER: Are you currently working with any bands on their upcoming album or are you sworn to secrecy like every other producer I’ve asked that question?
Jacob: Most of the times, bands are not that interested in getting it out there that they’re working on new stuff. Sometimes it’s because it can take up to almost a year before it’s finally out, and fans get frustrated. Other times there can obviously be other numerous reasons for that, but yeah, I am constantly working on something cool, I think. It’s such an amazing business to be part of, as I get to hear these albums slowly come to life by my hands. Sometimes these albums become classics, sometimes not, but it’s always a memorable, if not life-altering experience for somebody out there to listen to a new song from their favorite band, and I cherish that.
Pyramaze is
Terje Haroy — Vocals
Morten Gade Sorensen — Drums
Jacob Hansen — Guitars, Bass
Jonah Weingarten — Keyboards
Toke Skjonnemand — Lead Guitars
Band Links
Official Website
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