This must be the most Kranky-sounding release on Hydra Head so far, and yet I don?t like it. Maybe that?s due to the recent (and triumphant) Grouper and Xela releases, which help to put ?Pyramids? into perspective. I had figured that repeated spins would somehow make me ?get? this album, which, in fact, is getting a lot of praise. Instead, things got worse and I grew tired of it before I had even written the review. Because for all its floating guitars, for all its hushed voices swirling about and for all the obvious enthusiasm to escape metal clich?s, the ten pieces on here mostly fail to create any engaging atmospheres. Engaging for me, that is. Maybe that?s because they are, at no more than 3:44, rather short, making it difficult for the tracks to breathe and develop. That?s why I would really be interested in the remixes that come on a second cd and include versions that are up to three times the original track length and were done by James Plotkin, Jesu, Birchville Cat Motel, and others. Now that should be good, and it might in fact make the whole 2cd set worthwile. Sadly, the second cd is not included in my review copy so I can?t say anything about them. Why?s that? The release is marketed as a double cd, so ? strictly speaking ? this review is only about half the package. 5/10 -- Jan-Arne Sohns (9 July, 2008)