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Be Gone is Pharaoh’s third album so far following on from 2003’s After the Fire and 2006’s The Longest Night. Both their previous efforts are very strong power metal, with The Longest Night being among some of the finest albums I’ve heard in the genre, so Be Gone has a rather high standard to live up to, but while Be Gone may not be quite as good as The Longest Night (though it comes close), I think it’s pretty safe to say that this to, is some exceptionally fine US style power metal. There are nine songs, clocking in at 47 minutes dead, so it’s not the longest album in the world (neither is it the shortest), but this is an album which is going to have you banging your head from start to finish.
Speak to Me is the albums opening track. It starts with some guitar stabs which build up into a complex and melodic riff, which quickly changes to a section which can only be called a build up to the main song. A brief section of clean guitars precedes the verse which is when the riffing gets heavier and the vocals of Tim Aymar come in. Those familiar with power metal bands with very melodic singers will have something of a surprise if they are not familiar with previous work by this man, since his usual voice is distinctly rougher in tone than most power metal, particular those from Europe. That’s not to say he sings in an extreme style, it’s still clean vocals, but with a real edge of them and that is just one element that makes Pharaoh the band they are. Speak to Me features a very interesting melodic guitar break in the song, in a place where some bands might have throw a fast solo, and it works so much better for it. When an actual solo does come (to lead the song out), it’s not a show off moment in spite of the obvious talent of Matt Johnsen. Dark New Life continues the high standard set by Speak to Me. This song totally lacks an intro, Aymar’s vocals hit you straight away, and unusually, it’s the chorus section, which has got some epic lyrics that invite singing along. Again the guitar solos impress me for not being about speed.
For me the true highlight of Be Gone is the fifth track, entitled Buried at Sea. At 7:03 it’s the longest track on the album and see’s the band take it down a notch for its intro (though it does start with some distorted guitars, it’s not overly heavy), which sees some softer melodic vocals from Aymar. They are much cleaner than his normal singing voice. It’s not a ballad though, as it gets heavy pretty quick and turns into a real epic, especially in the chorus.
What makes Be Gone so special though is the fact that despite that Pharaoh generally stick to the winning power metal formula, no two songs on the album sound the same and it never bores. The song writing which is shared between all four members of the band is superb on both music and lyrical fronts. Rarely do all members of a band contribute in such a way; most bands have one or two songwriters, but Pharaoh, with four, have proved that they can produce great albums such as Be Gone in a way that the songs have identity as Pharaoh and uniqueness at the same time. It may not be as good as The Longest Night, which I felt was the definition of power metal, but with highlights such as Buried At Sea, Red Honour, No Remains, Telepath, Dark New Life, Be Gone, Speak to Me, Rats and Rope and Cover Your Eyes and Pray...oh wait that’s the whole album! Yeah, every song is a highlight, and that’s just how I like my albums to be. Be Gone is without a doubt one of 2008’s best metal offerings and without a duff moment, it fully deserves this score.
(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven)