Michael Kammeyer interview

Interview with Michael Kammeyer of Pyramaze
by Steph Perry

February 6, 2008

No doubt you’ve experienced a whirlwind of emotions over the past year. You brought Matt Barlow out of retirement, a huge feat in itself! With Matt as new lead vocalist, you began writing and recording the new album. The excitement surrounding this new cooperation was monumental in the metal community. Then Matt makes the fateful decision to complete just this one album with Pyramaze, and return to his position as lead vocalist for Iced Earth. You’ve handled this situation with complete professionalism and utter respect for your bandmates and Matt. Is it too soon to think about what the next steps will be, after this album is completed with Matt?
Yes, a wirlwind of emotions is the right word i guess ha-ha. I’m glad you think the whole deal was handled well, and i assure you that the statements from Matt and myself were utterly from the heart. Before we make a search for a new vocalist, we will complete the new album. Matt will enter the studio on the 17th of February at Morissound in Tampa. The songs are turning out very-very well, and right now we are also working on completing the booklet. After the record is totally done, we will make an official search for a new singer, but until then all that counts is the new album.

Did your experience in this situation cause you to make changes in the lyrical or musical content?
No, not at all. The music was all done before things started to change, and most of the lyrics were ready too. We are still working as if nothing had changed. For now Matt is in Pyramaze, and he’s working his ass off to make some kickass vocal melodies, so we are all doing our best to make this record stand out in the metal community. The fact that Matt will go back to IE after the record is done does not change our dedication or expectations for this album at all. If anything we feel that this album will be very special, because this is a one time cooperation between Matt and Pyramaze.

The new album name– Immortal– was revealed recently. What was the inspiration behind the album name?
Well, actually multible things made me choose this name. First of all it stands for Pyramaze as a band, and the fact that we won’t let bumps in the road get in our way. Then it also refers to Matt being back in the biz stronger than ever. And last, it stands for the immortality of creation, and by that i mean what we as a band have created together.

What can we expect from the new album, is it a continuation in some form of your previous work, or have you gone in a new direction? What experiences and inspirations did you draw upon?
The new album has taken us to the next level on the music side. We have become a little bit more heavy, and the songs have mostly become a bit slower. It’s still 100 % Pyramaze of course, but just as the style on LOTBC was a bit different than MB, the new one will be a bit different than LOTBC. The songs a very melodic, and there are lots of memorable hooks and stuff. The album is not a concept album this time. All the songs have different stories, but i will not reveal any of the themes yet 😉

From the last record– Legend of the Bone Carver–the song “Era of Chaos” speaks to the balance between good and evil. What inspired these powerful lyrics?
Life in general I guess. How would you know good, if you had not tasted evil? And there is lots of evil in the world, but also lots of good. I wanted to convey my feelings by turning it into a fantasy story. It’s about love, hate, loss, power, honour and big subjects like that. The story itself was something that i developed on my own during the course of about one year. I was inspired for the main character my a painting made by American artist Rob Alexander.

For newcomers to your music, what 3 songs would you recommend and why?
Hmmm, i guess that would be ‘Legend’ from MB, ‘What Lies Beyond’ from LOTBC and also ‘Souls in Pain’ from LOTBC.  All three are melodic and powerful songs, pretty much the essence of Pyramaze.

Has Myspace, iTunes and other online music services allowed you to broaden your audience?
Yes, i would definitely say so. The internet in general is a brilliant media for spreading the word 😉

Any other news or info you would like to share?
Well, I just finished the last lyrics for our new album yesterday evening, and I’m very happy with the outcome.  I expect the album to be completely done mid March, and then it’s time to find a good record label. Cheers!