PHARAOH: ‘After The Fire’ Debut To Receive Vinyl Release

Ground-zero, catalog number “Cruz01” and the album that started it all for Cruz Del Sur MusicPHARAOH’s 2003 “After The Fire” debut provided an early glimpse of the label’s unflinching commitment to releasing high-quality, true heavy metal. The album also positioned PHARAOH as one of the most promising and classy melodic metal bands in recent memory, earning the band much-deserved praise both on domestic and international shores.

Now, 15 years after the fact, Cruz Del Sur is releasing “After The Fire” on vinyl on Aug 31, with a different, alternative mixing, new mastering, and fresh, updated liner notes by Matt Johnsen!

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PHARAOH and Cruz Del Sur are still doing what we do, in our stubborn ways!” says drummer Chris Black. “How little has changed in this regard. I guess our producer/engineer Matt Crooks wasn’t yet on board, but otherwise with ‘After the Fire’, we have already included all of the same people and roles as we do today. I’m talking about the musicians/songwriters but also Enrico Leccese of Cruz Del Sur and JP Fournier, who has painted all of our album covers.”

PHARAOH, rounded out by vocalist Tim Aymar, guitarist Matt Johnsen and bassist Chris Kerns, was originally formed to play, according to Johnsen, “the kind of melodic heavy metal that was highly unfashionable when we first met.”

Chris had SAXON and IRON MAIDEN in mind, while I was thinking about RAGE and ANGRA,” he says. “And although none of us have the same tastes, exactly, I guess they’re close enough where it counts! “Since ‘After the Fire’, we’ve all grown immensely as players and writers, but the basic templates we established for ourselves on that record have held up surprisingly well.  Our newer songs are much harder to play, but they’re clearly cut from the same cloth as the ones on our debut.”

PHARAOH has released three studio albums since “After The Fire” and are hard at work at their next full-length, tentatively titled “The Powers That Be”. But, the memories associated with “After The Fire” hold lasting impact, making the vinyl release all the more important.

“Finally having ‘After The Fire’ on vinyl will be great for our fans who cherish this format,” says Black. “It’s understandable that it didn’t happen in 2003, but as the years have passed and all of the other albums have been pressed on vinyl, it has become way overdue. But as it happens now, it’s a great way to say happy 15th birthday to the album and to Cruz Del Sur as well. A just reward for our continuity!”

PHARAOH Hard At Work On Fifth Full-Length Album

Comments Johnsen: “We’re doing this one a bit differently, in that before we always completed the full complement of songs and then hit the studio, but this time, we’re recording tunes a couple at a time as we finish writing. Because we’re not a rehearsing band and because we all live in different cities, recording as we write makes it possible to get more done in less time; while Chris Black is tracking drums for one song, I can be tracking guitars for any songs he’s already recorded, and then when I’m ready to move onto the next set of rhythm guitars, Tim can start tracking vocals. We’re still early in the process, though; Chris only just started tracking the first tune.

Melodic metal veterans PHARAOH – featuring vocalist Tim Aymar, guitarist Matt Johnsen, bassist Chris Kerns and drummer Chris Black – are currently hard at work on their fifth full-length album, which is tentatively due in mid-2018 via Italy’s Cruz Del Sur Music. The album will be the band’s first 2012’s “Bury The Light”.

Comments Johnsen: “We’re doing this one a bit differently, in that before we always completed the full complement of songs and then hit the studio, but this time, we’re recording tunes a couple at a time as we finish writing. Because we’re not a rehearsing band and because we all live in different cities, recording as we write makes it possible to get more done in less time; while Chris Black is tracking drums for one song, I can be tracking guitars for any songs he’s already recorded, and then when I’m ready to move onto the next set of rhythm guitars, Tim can start tracking vocals. We’re still early in the process, though; Chris only just started tracking the first tune.

“We have four songs completed as far as instrumentation goes, and three more at about seventy-five percent. Then there are three to five more which are no more than fifty percent finished. In the past, the riffs to most songs were more or less written by one guy, and then fleshed out collaboratively with vocals and lyrics at the end, but this time, the majority of songs have been put together from the beginning with riff contributions from two or more members, and we expect to do more tinkering with the riffs than we usually do once the vocal lines are introduced.  Then again, maybe we won’t!”

Johnsen promises PHARAOH’s forthcoming new LP will continue in the same vein of their previous efforts; however, some new wrinkles are being thrown into the mix, namely from the technical thrash world with bands such as CORONER, HOLY TERROR, REALM and FORBIDDEN serving as inspiration.

“My arrangements involve much less repetition of riffs than is customary from a power metal band,” he says. “Lots of ‘one-and-done’ riffs, and a lot of left-field bridges and codas. At the same time, I’ve also started a couple tunes which are almost doom metal, assuming a definition of doom metal that encompasses MEMENTO MORI and early TYR. We’ll see how those pan out, but I expect at least one of them to make the album.”

PHARAOH has released all four of its studio albums with Cruz Del Sur Music, starting with 2003’s “After The Fire”, which was followed by 2006’s “The Longest Night”, 2008’s “Be Gone” and 2012’s “Bury The Light”.

Related links:

https://www.facebook.com/PharaohOfficial

https://pharaohmetal.bandcamp.com/music

ARGUS Premieres ‘You Are The Curse’ Lyric Video; Prepares For European Tour With HIGH SPIRITS

Comments vocalist Brian “Butch” Balich: “‘You Are The Curse’ was the first song we wrote for ‘From Fields Of Fire’. Dave [Watson, guitar] brought it in and it immediately fit. I knew we had exciting things coming for the album when it came together. It’s classic ARGUS and a good song to introduce ‘From Fields of Fire’ to our friends worldwide. It’s an up-tempo, rhythmically aggressive but melodic song shot through with dark undertones. Lyrically, this song deals with the idea that sometimes we need look no further than ourselves for why things go wrong in our lives…as you sow so shall you reap. It’s been a live mainstay for about a year-and-a-half and one we expect to play often.”

Pittsburgh, PA traditional metal force ARGUS have released the lyric video for “You Are The Curse”, which is taken from their forthcoming “From Fields Of Fire” album. The LP is set for a September 8 release via Cruz Del Sur Music.

Pre-order “From Fields Of Fire” at this location: http://tinyurl.com/ycssx53j

Comments vocalist Brian “Butch” Balich: “‘You Are The Curse’ was the first song we wrote for ‘From Fields Of Fire’Dave [Watson, guitar] brought it in and it immediately fit. I knew we had exciting things coming for the album when it came together. It’s classic ARGUS and a good song to introduce ‘From Fields of Fire’ to our friends worldwide. It’s an up-tempo, rhythmically aggressive but melodic song shot through with dark undertones. Lyrically, this song deals with the idea that sometimes we need look no further than ourselves for why things go wrong in our lives…as you sow so shall you reap. It’s been a live mainstay for about a year-and-a-half and one we expect to play often.”

 

To coincide with the release of “From Fields Of Fire”, ARGUS is embarking on a nine-date European tour with Chicago high-energy rock heroes HIGH SPIRITS. The tour kicks off September 8 in Dornbirn, Austria, culminating with their September 16 appearance at the Storm Crusher festival in Püchersreuth, Germany.

 

HIGH SPIRITS have been friends of ours for several years and a band we all really dig a lot,” says Balich. “We are very excited that this came together—it’s going to be a great show for the fans of both bands —the energy HIGH SPIRITS and ARGUS put out on stage is very high, and I think we complement and balance each other as well. It truly is a can’t-miss show. We’ll be playing material from the new album, of course, but expect to hear something from every album including a couple songs we haven’t played in a long time. All of us in ARGUS cannot wait to return to Europe. It’s something we look forward to doing every year and this trip is going to be a blast getting to hang out with and watch HIGH SPIRITS every night, too!”

HIGH SPIRITS + ARGUS “Motivatour” European tour schedule:

SEPT 8 Dornbirn, AT,- Schlachthaus
SEP 9 Olte, CH – Coq D’Or
SEP 10 Münster, DE – Sputnikhalle
SEP 11 Marburg, DE – Trauma G-Werk
SEP 12 Oldenburg, DE – MTS Record Store
SEP 13 Hamburg, DE – Bambi Galore
SEP 14 Berlin, DE – Urban Spree
SEP 15 Weimar, DE – Kasseturm
SEP 16 Pückersreuth, DE – Storm Crusher Festival