Control Denied's ex-vocalist Tim Aymar participates in this epic triumph of power metal. His vocals shine leading to perfection that goes into the music and aura of the release. The guitars by Matt Johnsen were incredible. There are so many different elements that he adds to the band on a whole scale. Clean guitar, distorted tonality, leads, all were performed in one hell of a impeccable accomplishment. Drums by Chris Black and bass by Chris Kerns flowed well.

Song tempos weren't very fast, just filled with amazing efforts by the band. Clean riffs go well with Tim's awesome vocal outputs. The distorted guitar also went well with his harsher tone. The musicianship was incredible on this album. Rhythms that really are outstanding in their own way. Very catchy, well thought out, played with precision as well as the leads. Matt is definitely a very advanced guitarists from all aspects. Really an unknown and underrated guitarist.

The album featured a smoothly filled melodic output and is very easy to get into if you like power metal in general. Nothing too heavy here, all played with immense feeling and passion. Tim leads the way for the band and Matt just follows his unique vocal style. The tremolo picked guitar parts were quite technical and abrasive, but fueled with extreme emotion. The chord progressions go well along with the tempos and leads were just placed in the right place plus they were really technical.

I would have to say that a better production was needed to make this album into giving it a perfect score. That's the reason why I didn't rate it as that. Everything was well heard. The guitars, bass, drums, and vocals all came into one unison in admiration. It was that the album just needed a stronger sound to make everything work. If it was more solid in loudness regarding every musician's efforts, then this one would've ranked even higher than the present score.

If you're into power metal and have not heard of Pharaoh, well you need to make them known in your memory banks. They play this genre with incredible musicianship as was previously mentioned. You need to hear this album especially because it's a triumph in 2012. So much variety in musical tone and every song deserved utter praise for it's pure originality. I'm not a huge fan of power metal, but Bury the Light shines in one heck of a follow-up. Get this now!

Rating: 9½ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Death8699
03/06/2012 20:44