Pyres – “Year Of Sleep”

Sludge metal is one of those genres that can go either way with me – I’m not a huge fan, but at the same time I do like me the occasional album; when it’s played right the results can be pretty spectacular! Year Of Sleep by Toronto’s Pyres, while not spectacular, is still a pretty damn good album and certainly a pleasant surprise. While many songs sound like pre-Yellow & Green Baroness (Parts of “Atlas Cast No Shadow” sound like a dead ringer for Baroness’ “The Sweetest Curse” for example) Pyres still comes across as fresh and exciting.

One of the downfalls of many sludge albums is that the songs can sometimes stretch out and at times get a trifle dull. Pyres; however, successfully managers to avoid this pitfall. Through catchy riffs and headbangable songs, Year Of Sleep successfully manages to be one of the better sludge releases in recent memory, not to mention one of the best debuts so far this year.

Fans of old Baroness rejoice and check out Year Of Sleep for what could have happened if that band had stayed their musical course instead of changing into a mainstream act.

Track Listing:

01. Proximity Anxiety
02. Deserter
03. Year of Sleep
04. Atlas Cast No Shadow
05. The Anchorite
06. The Everbearing

Run Time: 39:59
Release Date: July 2, 2013

Check out the song “Deserter”