The line-up
He didn't have to look far to find the first two musicians, as local drummer Morten Gade Sørensen and bassist Niels Kvist immediately jumped on the opportunity to join Michael in his quest. The next person to sign on was American keyboardist Jonah Weingarten, who Michael had met over the Internet. The newborn band began rehearsing the written material on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean: the Danish guys on one side, and Jonah in the U.S. They sent demos back and forth combined with many phone conferences as part of the creative process. With a core band around him, Michael then booked the studio to record the debut album. He hired on the well-known producer Jacob Hansen, a man with a long list of fantastic productions behind him, ranging from Hatesphere and Mercenary to Manticora and Falconer, to name a few.
The debut album
In January 2003, Jonah flew to Denmark and the band began recording the CD in Jacob's studio in a small town called Ribe. After having laid down all the tracks besides the vocals, producer Jacob decided to send a couple of MP3s to his long-time friends at Intromental Management - a Danish metal agency, who already had worked together with Jacob on numerous recordings. The guys at Intromental fell totally in love with the Pyramaze material and gave Michael a call. After a couple of phone conversations, the two parties, Pyramaze and Intromental, decided to join forces, and the band suddenly found themselves being promoted professionally. One of the things that came with the signing to Intromental was the decision of finding a really fantastic pro-singer: someone who not only would fit the material, but also be able to lift it to even higher levels. Michael agreed to the idea, and Intromental sent him a bunch of CDs with different vocalists doing their stuff. After listening carefully to everything, Michael found that only one singer truly stood out, and that man was Lance King, known from such great power and progressive metal acts as Balance Of Power, Mattson, King's Machine and Gemini. Lance was approached with the material, and he agreed to become the new vocalist for Pyramaze. The already-finished music was sent to Lance, along with all the lyrics, and Lance commenced the recording of the vocals in his own studio in Minneapolis. A few months later the vocals were finished, and the material was sent to Denmark again, where it was finally mixed and mastered back in Jacob's studio in Ribe.
Getting the band signed
The time had now come, to find a record company that would publish PYRAMAZE's debut album 'Melancholy Beast'. Fortunately the reactions to the album were extremely positive, and offers began coming in right away. After negotiations were concluded, the band signed with the following labels: NTS Records (now known as REPLICA Records) for Europe and Canada, TOSHIBA-EMI for Japan, and NIGHTMARE Records for the U.S. A common release date was set and the album was available in all regions by the end of May 2004. PYRAMAZE had gained exceptional reviews from the media all over the world, and in 2005 a deal for the Asian market (outside of Japan) was also inked with Melodic Heaven in Korea.
On the road
The band had a run of live shows in the summer of 2004 in North America, Denmark, Germany, and France to support their debut album MELANCHOLY BEAST. Danish Guitarist Toke Skjønnemand was added to these shows, and soon after the touring was completed, Toke was asked to join the band as a permanent member.
The follow up album
Michael began composing what was to be the second Pyramaze release in the winter months of 2004/2005, a concept album entitled "Legend Of The Bone Carver" that has a unique story flowing from beginning to end. Once again recorded with Jacob Hansen at the helm, this new opus was completed in the summer of 2005. Immediately upon completion Intromental Management followed up with all the bands' record companies, and in addition to Replica Records (formerly NTS) for France, Nightmare Records for the U.S., and Melodic Heaven for Asia, new labels were found for Japan and Europe: King Records and Massacre Records respectively. A unified release date was set for the end of February 2006. In January of 2006, PYRAMAZE had already been scheduled for several highly sought-after festivals (Kløften Fest in Denmark (June 23)/ Bloodstock Open Air in England (July 14th) / Headbangers Open Air in Germany (July 15th)/ and a highly coveted spot at ProgPower USA music festival on September 15).
2006 brought about the release of Pyramaze's second album, LEGEND OF THE BONE CARVER, which was received with great reviews. Toward the end of 2006, it was announced that vocalist Lance King would leave the band.
The new vocalist has been announced. Matthew Barlow (ex-Iced Earth) will be joining and a new album is anticipated in 2008.
Legend
Pyramaze Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where it's never been before
Much living petrified at night
And gone is all light
One girl
One boy
A mistake that gives, the Dark Lord joy
The Unicorns, came to her chest
Enchanted, they both are
Eyes are fixed on one another
Shadows creep up behind
Claim the magic horn of the Unicorn
The Unicorn, the Unicorn
The night has been reborn of the Unicorn
The Unicorn, the Unicorn
The legend has begun
The girl was weeping for sins
Her pain grows from deep within
Running away in agony
She could not bare to see
Someone waits, for her to move
The darkest lord, he wants her too
He must own, her special light
To sweeten his, darkest nights
This one boy, consumed by love
Must find his way, to the Dark Lords realm
Fighting through, to find his love
And claim the magic horn of the Unicorn
The Unicorn, the Unicorn
The night has been reborn of the Unicorn
The Unicorn, the Unicorn
The legend has begun
The legend has begun
The legend has begun
Through the darkness and despair's love carries him
Forward on swift wings through mazes in front of him
Guided by spirits that remain beside him
He must heal his world again
Save his princess from the shadows taken hold of her
The evil growing wants to rule the world with iron fists
Fighting for a kiss from her sweet lips he forges on
He brought back the light, settings things right
And so the legend says
Through the darkness and despair's love carries him
Forward on swift wings through mazes in front of him
Guided by spirits that remain beside him
He must heal the world again
Save his princess from the shadows taken hold of her
The evil growing wants to rule the world with iron fists
Fighting for a kiss from her sweet lips he forges on
He brought back the light, settings things right
And so the legend says
The song "Legend" by Pyramaze has a storyline with a mythical feel to it. The lyrics describe a world where everything is covered in ice and is petrified at night. It talks about a girl and a boy who are enchanted by Unicorns that came to her chest. They are fixed on each other, but shadows are creeping up behind them to claim the magic horn of the Unicorn. The lyrics mention the Dark Lord who wants to own her special light to sweeten his darkest nights. The song speaks about a boy who is fighting his way to find his love and reclaim the magic horn of the Unicorn. The lyrics state that "through the darkness and despair, love carries him forward on swift wings through mazes in front of him. Guided by spirits that remain beside him, he must heal his world again." The song ends with him saving his princess from the shadows and the legend reborn.
The song is quite cryptic and can be interpreted in different ways, but the song's primary theme is love, hope, and triumphing over despair. It speaks about the power of love that drives the man to fight against the darkness and reclaim what was stolen. It is a reminder that love conquers all and can heal even the most broken soul. The song is structured in a way that progressively tells the story of the singers as they traverse through different challenges and emerge victorious.
Line by Line Meaning
Ice covers the land
The world is frozen and barren
Where it's never been before
This is unprecedented
Much living petrified at night
People are afraid and statuesque
And gone is all light
There is no hope or joy left on Earth
One girl
A young woman who is special
One boy
A young man who loves her
A mistake that gives, the Dark Lord joy
Their love is a threat to a powerful and evil ruler
Her beauty, her goodness
She is kind and virtuous, and loved by many
The Unicorns, came to her chest
Mythical creatures are drawn to her purity
Enchanted, they both are
The girl and boy are under a magical spell
Eyes are fixed on one another
Their love is all-consuming
Shadows creep up behind
Danger is lurking in the background
Claim the magic horn of the Unicorn
They must obtain a sacred object to defeat their enemy
The girl was weeping for sins
She is tormented by guilt
Her pain grows from deep within
Her suffering is intense
Running away in agony
She cannot bear to face her troubles
She could not bare to see
Her pain is too much to bear
Someone waits, for her to move
Their enemy is watching and waiting
The darkest lord, he wants her too
The evil ruler desires her power
He must own, her special light
He wants to control her goodness
To sweeten his, darkest nights
He seeks to use her to satisfy his dark desires
This one boy, consumed by love
He is willing to risk everything for her
Must find his way, to the Dark Lords realm
He must journey to the enemy's lair
Fighting through, to find his love
He endures many obstacles to save her
And claim the magic horn of the Unicorn
He must obtain a powerful weapon to defeat the enemy
Through the darkness and despair's love carries him
His love for her gives him strength and hope
Forward on swift wings through mazes in front of him
He perseveres through challenges
Guided by spirits that remain beside him
He has help from otherworldly beings
He must heal his world again
He is striving to restore what has been lost
Save his princess from the shadows taken hold of her
He wants to rescue her from darkness
The evil growing wants to rule the world with iron fists
Their enemy seeks to dominate and oppress
Fighting for a kiss from her sweet lips he forges on
His love for her continues to drive him forward
He brought back the light, settings things right
His efforts were successful in defeating their enemy and restoring hope
And so the legend says
This story has been remembered and retold as an epic tale
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
YoshuYamaki
11 years after listening to this song for the first time and it never gets old.
komo4o 7ma1
same
Wander Decoriah
Obra prima , atmosfera impecável \m/ \m/
Bjelly
Lance King...i mean bloody hell what a voice!
Παναγιωτης Καρλιωτης
these opening riffs man...from another world!!!!!!!!
Sop
One of my fav. Songs from Pyramaze
Panos Karliotis
The first two albums of this band were absolutely PHENOMENAL
Siverson Gorski
FODA PRA CARALHO!
Que introdução! ! !
Fucking BADASS band!!!
What an intro!!!
Raff Awk
He brought back the light setting things right and so the Legend says... mother of all synth solo
Kryllion
have many songs i really like. but this Danish band. like im Danish.. just rule. great story