Spearheaded by artist Lance Sawyer, the progressive supergroup Pyramid was created from his co-operation with some of the best musicians of the metal scene like Tim Ripper Owens (ex-Judas Priest, ex-Iced Earth, among others), Andry Lagiou (The Harps), Harry Conklin “The Tyrant” (Jag Panzer) on vocals, Mike Abdow (Fates Warning) on guitars, Chris Quirarte (Redemption) on drums, Adam Bentley (Arch Echo) on guitars and mixing engineer, Joey Izzo (Arch Echo) on the keyboards and Perrine Missemer on the violin. With all these metal heavyweights coming together, Pyramid released 4 records to date Gold Tooth (2019), Amnesty (2020), Validity (2021), and Rage (2022) and today we’re gonna have a chat and get to know them more.
1st of all, thanks for being here with us on Rock Era Magazine
- Pyramid is a progressive heavy metal supergroup with such strong names in the metal world, how did this massive collab come to life?
Lance: I have always love creating and writing music. So it made sense to bring this creativity to a different level. I had an idea of what the music required so having the awesome collaboration was very helpful. It was carefully thought out.
- I believe this might be one of the FAQs but, what’s the story behind the name Pyramid?Lance: It’s lonely up top and cluttered at the bottom. Something your readers can ponder with.
- With such a busy lineup how usually your writing process goes?Lance: It all starts with the foundation and structure which is the bass which is me. I write the music and arrangements. Drums are then recorded added and mixed. Guitars are then recorded added and mixed. Keyboards are then recorded added and mixed. The vocals are then recorded added then mixed. Last but not least the violin which is that last special touch that ties all this together which is then recorded added then mixed. It’s then all throughly reviewed with adjustments with fixes then sent to Maor Appelbaum to master.
- You have 4 records in your discography so far, what’s the difference in your approach and sound between these records?Lance: No difference in my approach other than different artists involvement. It’s all the same creative and writing process.
- Were there any changes in your process or special happenings during the writing of your latest record Rage?Lance: No not really other than all the elements and arrangements seemed to gel with each artist perfectly. It’s a universal feeling.
- Rage is such a complex progressive journey with a subtle deep meaning within its music and lyrics, is there a unified theme binding these 9 songs together? Does it have anything to do with the spacey, apocalyptic vibes of most of the videos?Lance: 100% my friend. That’s the whole idea and structure behind Pyramid.
- How do you manage to coordinate your schedules for writing and recording?Lance: It’s never rushed first off. I work with each artist systematically. Like what I wrote above. It’s one artist at a time for each song. We were ALL able to record and do our own creative process on each of our parts very fluently.
- What are your plans for 2024, should we expect a new record?Lance: I’ve been asked a lot about a Pyramid instrumental. So I’ve been arranging an album with selected songs off the last 4 It gives a different perspective and understanding of the structure of the music. It will be a real treat for all Pyramid fans.
- Are you planning any festival appearances or tours in the near future?Lance: We would love to. With all members actively touring and performing makes putting all this together at the moment a bit difficult. It’s definitely not out of the question though. It’s an eye opening band.
- If you’d pick a song off your discography for someone who wants to get into your music what would it be?Lance: Dungeons and Dragons definitely sums up the whole diversity and complexity of Pyramid.
Thanks so much for your time, wishing you all the best. Rock on!
