ALBUM REVIEW: Yun – Pyres

With a myriad of events that took PYRES away from having a monumental start with their first LP Year of Sleep back in 2013, the announcement of their new album, Yun feels like they’re finally getting their chance to shine. The years have not dulled the intensity of PYRES‘ sound, as they boast thick riffs, thunderous drums and roaring vocals.

Yun breaks open the gate with Mononeurvosa, a hearty stomping riff and growling vocal treat. It’s an immediate showcase of the duality of PYRES. Super melodic moments with harmonising guitars and strong cleaner vocals, tumbling into complex, sludgy it’s a very promising start. There’s genuinely something for everyone on this record (providing you like your vocals gravelly and your guitars deep, of course.) From a rip-roaring tale that encompasses the best parts of dual guitars, stoic vocals and bombastic drive in Some, Not All, Came Back, to the pensive A Depth Charge In A Dead Sea, there’s a wealth of talent laid out.

It has to be said that A Depth Charge In A Dead Sea, with an undercurrent of something pained and lamenting deep within, is quite a sallow giant. This slow burn of a track broods and churns with a great sense of depth and power. There’s a lack of urgency in it’s doomy trudge, and the melody is all the stronger for it. Either way, PYRES are flexing their strengths in both fuzzed up, meaty riffs in comparison to lush, reverberating delays and more reserved songwriting and playing. There’s been no dulling of keen ideas and arrangements in the time between records, and Yun has an excellent flow.

Granular Flow takes the brooding of A Depth Charge In A Dead Sea and churns it up into a stonking tempest. It’s a slab of hard galloping, filled with so much determination you’ll be hard pressed not to head bang along. The drums crack and pound super satisfyingly, and the guttural vocals are so easy to scream along to.

Again, not ones to repeat a theme, but rather add new tones and influences, Nova Cruciatus pushes into the psychedelic side of PYRES a little, but mostly just hits the gas with the full throttle sludge aggression. It’s a meaty track, with plenty of nuggets of enjoyment, but maybe doesn’t shine as brightly as some of the other tracks. The initial riff is good fun, and it’s got a delicious mean streak by the midpoint solo. It’s maybe a case of pushing in a few different angles, which is one of PYRES strengths, Nova Cruciatus is definitely more of a grower track to ease into over a few listens, rather than immediately captivating.

Another brilliant blend of grungy sludge is Lineage. A hook that grabs you from the off, the rumble of the verse is just as tasty as the main chorus. This record has hearty offering off all the best parts of classic rock soloing, very tastefully done, while still allowing the more extreme hard metal elements have their moment. Lineage is a prime example of that, and is a full bodied, gloriously guitar driven good time that people from blues to prog metal fans can sink their teeth into. While the preformance in and of itself is powerful, lyrically Yun also holds weight in it’s introspect and honesty.

The bow out of the record, Old Dogs has a melancholy, but a pride and resilience in it that feels both lamenting and soothing at the same time. PYRES have managed to take their formula for hard hitting sludgey riffs and filtrate it into pensive, almost post rock ambience. Definitely more on the sombre side overall, it’s a worthy ending.

PYRES have once more provided the world with a strong, bold collection of songs that blend through sludge, progressive metal and hard rock with ease and maturity. Yun offers a stellar range of moods from battering to brooding, an exciting reintroduction to PYRES and an album worth the wait.

Rating: 8/10

Yun is out now via Hypaethral Records.

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