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The appeal of Pharaoh's music has eluded me somewhat since I first heard their album Be Gone. While I appreciated their heavy, melodic style, I always thought of them in terms of "oh, yeah, Pharaoh, they're kinda cool." My ambivalence is officially over with the release of the band's fourth full-length album Bury the Light.

Pharaoh kicks all kinds of ass on Bury the Light from the opening notes of "Leave Me Here to Dream" they never let up, not for a second. I may be late to this party but the way the band combines their incredibly heavy sound with amazing melodies is fantastic. And everything is heavy; the guitars, the vocals, the bass, the drums. It is an all-out assault on the ears, yet one you'll gladly subject yourself too over and over. The songwriting is top notch, with nary any filler in over 48 minutes of music. "The Wolves" is one of my favorites with its speedy drumming and melodic chorus that rises, seemingly out of nowhere, from the relentless riffs of the song. "The Year of the Blizzard" is another standout and features a spare, relatively unadorned guitar riff that hit me the same way as the opening riff to The Who's "Pinball Wizard" did 30+ years ago. Yeah, the sound of the guitar is cool, and Pharaoh recognizes and celebrates that fact.

Bury the Light is an excellent album, regardless of which genre you choose to put it in; Heavy, Traditional, Power, it doesn't matter. All fans of Heavy Metal should check it out, regardless of your favorite style.