PHARAOH (PA) — The Powers That Be (review)

PHARAOH (PA) — The Powers That Be album cover Album · 2021 · US Power Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
adg211288
The Powers That Be (2021) is the fifth full-length studio album by US power metal act Pharaoh. It has been almost a whole decade since we last got an album from Pharaoh, that being Bury the Light (2012), so The Powers That Be is very much a comeback release even though the band has never been officially inactive during that time. The same band line-up is still in place as well, that of Tim Aymar (vocals), Matt Johnsen (guitars), Chris Kerns (bass) and Chris Black (drums). Pharaoh have been rocking this same line-up since before their first studio album, After the Fire (2003).

When a band falls off the radar for whatever reason, there must surely be a lot riding on their comeback. No band wants to go almost ten years without new material for their fans to say something like 'we waited this long, for this?' There should be no danger of this happening to Pharaoh however, as they haven't just delivered a great album with The Powers That Be, they've got something here that may just be their best album to date.

The sound of the album is unmistakeably that of Pharaoh, but this is a Pharaoh that feels somewhat rawer and harder than we've heard previously. They have always existed more on the melodic end of the USPM genre, with plenty of Iron Maiden-esque classic heavy metal influences also coming into play, while Bury the Light also saw them referencing seventies hard rock, but The Powers That Be seems to exist to make a big impact: riffy USPM, hitting hard and fast across the duration of the nine new tracks. There's a progressive sensibility and complexity in there as well, blended with aggressive playing to perfection to result in an album that not only seems like Pharaoh are screaming 'we're back!', they're screaming 'we're back, bigger and better than ever before'. To top this off, the changes in sound seem to suit the voice of Tim Aymer more than ever.

The Powers That Be is an album that was well worth the wait and a tremendous pay off for Pharaoh. That said, I really hope it also marks a return to some sort of regularity for them, since based on this, we definitely need this band to stick around. An album of the year 2021 contender for me.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
Nightfly wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Love this album.

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Suns of Perdition - Chapter IV: To Shadow Zion Black Metal
PANZERFAUST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Facilis Descensus Averno Death Metal
SAEVUS FINIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Merciless Crossover Thrash
BODY COUNT
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Vengeance [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - I Need You [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed