“This album is a schizophrenic array of heaviness,” says the Pharaoh dudes from their hometown of Somerville, New Jersey. “Musically and lyrically it gathers from a lot of our separate influences as a band yet each song is its own. We have definitely showcased growth and way more of what we can do as a heavy band and it probably isn’t what people will expect. That is a good thing.”
Indeed, variation or variation on themes is always a good thing when you’re talking about heavy, sludgy, slightly doomy music. Pharaoh shouldn’t be confused with their like-named peers (if heavy metal is a peer to sludge) a state over in Pennsylvania. No, sirs and madams. There are no high-pitched screams or high-throttle guitar histrionics to castles in the sky or wolves in New Jersey’s Pharaoh. The Garden Staters are far more grounded and not nearly as toothy. The music of Pharaoh is more like slowly drowning in a stinky swamp. If drowning in a stinky swamp can be related to.
Alright then. Give in to Pharaoh. Give in the urge to fight back. It’s pretty much useless. “The Slasher” is off Pharaoh’s upcoming album, Negative Everything. Cheerful stuff, right?
** Pharaoh’s Negative Everything is out October 31st on A389 Recordings. It’s available for pre-order HERE. For $16.66, natch.
