Out this Friday on The Flenser, Pythagoras is the daring new album from Pyramids, a bold study in genre synthesis. Since their influential 2008 debut, the band has continually pushed boundaries in both sound and aesthetic, blending jagged fragments of black metal and shoegaze into something uniquely their own.
With Pythagoras, Pyramids introduce new layers of reggaeton and neoperreo into their music, adding unexpected textures to both voice and rhythm. Named after the ancient Greek philosopher, the album reflects the band's ongoing commitment to innovation—embracing complex structures and rhythms that both challenge and captivate. At its core lies an intricate balance between the aggressive blast beats of black metal and the syncopated pulse of reggaeton’s signature dembow rhythm, born from founder Rich Loren Balling’s immersion in both extreme music and contemporary pop.
Today, Pyramids release Pythagoras’ third and final single, "Bones and Eggshells," accompanied by a new visualizer.
Rich Loren Balling describes the track:
"This song plays on the edge of fate and forged reality — the inescapable reality of freedom of the will locking fingers with a world that overpowers, overrides, and overwrites our selves. The burden of freedom. The heart of moral experience. Bones and Eggshells captures most precisely the vision that we set out to achieve with Pythagoras.
When I envisioned the organic relationship between the rhythmic pattern of reggaeton and the blast beat of black metal, and its ability to house tremolo guitars and gauzy washes of sound, this is what I heard.
This song also best presents the cadence of the Spanish vocals and their interplay with our existing vocal sound. Despite representing our end goal, we didn't release it first—its jarring intensity left no room for gradual introduction. But now that the cat is out of the bag, I am proud to put this one on full display."
The journey to Pythagoras began after the release of Pyramids' 2015 album A Northern Meadow (Profound Lore), a work praised for bringing greater focus to the band's already genre-defying sound. Over the following nine years, Balling and original members Matthew Kelly, Matt Embree, and David Embree delved into harsher noise territories before tracing a lineage in extreme music—from Black Sabbath to Darkthrone—where increasing intensity ultimately returns to something transcendent.
In parallel, Balling developed a deep appreciation for the innovation happening within modern reggaeton and neoperreo, citing influences like Emjay, La Zowi, Six Sex, Bea Pelea, Karol G, and Rosalía. This connection between the visceral rhythm of reggaeton and the aggression of black metal became the conceptual and sonic foundation for Pythagoras.
Through this album, Pyramids create a dynamic fusion: global rhythms collide with atmospheric shoegaze textures, all anchored by black metal’s ferocity.
Pythagoras is more than just sonic evolution—it is an exploration of musical extremes and cycles. Balling sees genre intensity as a journey: reaching a peak of sonic density and chaos, then folding back into a kind of melodic transcendence. This idea is reflected throughout Pythagoras in dense, layered compositions that overwhelm and soothe simultaneously. Its rhythm is a mathematical interplay, where blast beats meet the pounding dembow in a hypnotic collision.
To help realize this vision, Pyramids enlisted vocalist Emy Smith, whose neoperreo-influenced performances add an ethereal dimension to the album. The striking cover art, created by Miami-based nail artist Kro Vargas (aka Krocaine), mirrors the album's fusion of genres and cultures.
With Pythagoras, Pyramids reaffirm their status as one of the most forward-thinking forces in extreme music. Their blend of delicate beauty and devastating intensity invites listeners into a space suspended between warmth and emptiness—a daring, innovative work that challenges convention and opens new realms of sonic possibility.
[vinyl] [merch] [cd] [the flenser membership series seven]
