Is it possible to rock too much? Some would say it's wrong even to ask that question, while others might wonder if Baltimore's The Convocation Of..., on the strength of Pyramid Technology, doesn't give us too much of a good thing. Like the religious zealots in Egypt who spent years in the desert to prove their devotion, The Convocation Of... has a solid dedication to heads-down, hair-in-your-face rock.
Pyramid Technology sounds like it was recorded right in the Convocation's rehearsal space. The band is a power trio with George France on drums, Guy Blakeslee on bass and some background keyboards, and Tonie Joy, formerly of Moss Icon, on vocals and guitar. France is heavy but nimble: he sets up some plodding beats and then layers in intricate patterns behind Joy's textural guitars. Joy has a raw tone, deep and raunchy, with a thick, craftsmanlike sound. Even the seven-minute instrumental that ends the album avoids being ambling or pointless, and Joy resists the temptation to subject us to any obnoxiously flashy fretwork: they just dig in, Joy almost studiously building his anti-solo while Blakeslee's bass line thunders in the background, heavy and spare.
My only issue with Pyramid Technology is that all nine tracks sound very, very similar. Each song delivers short, thudding, dirge-like rock with the same bleak atmosphere. The band starts off angry, stays angry, and leaves angry, without any frills like an arc or a resolution. "Recognize" and "Walk Like a Panther" break into (almost identical) interludes with gentler guitar and mesmerizing drumming - but those are the only interruptions, and guest singer Sheri Kadeché's low monotone just makes her two tracks seem grimmer. Joy's own vocals are serviceably emphatic-- the talk-shouting works for his subjects, standard hard rock fare concerning monsters, Satan, and The Man.
If you're not up for the rock-- or if your dedication to the rock falters-- the Convocation may seem stifling. You may even be bored to tears. You might start clawing at the disc, digging for some kind of sugarcoating-- a catchy hook, some cheesy keyboards, maybe some really comic lyrics-- you know, something like "Iron Man." But that's not what the Convocation are about. This is serious business, and they're not gonna let you forget it.
