Pharaoh Overlord - Horn [Ektro Records - 2013]“Horn” is a CD reissue of a live Pharaoh Overlord vinyl only release from 2011, and it finds the band at their most raw, rocking & repetitive. Coming off like a churning ‘n’ dirty fixed mix of US noise rock, 1970’s Garage rock, with hints of Neo-psychedelic guitar scaping, and locked down 1980’s rock guitar soloing. This 2013 reissue offers up the vinyl releases original four tracks, plus an extra just shy of 19 minute track that’s exclusive to this reissue. So in all you get five tracks & just shy of an hours worth of music here. The five tracks last between just over the seven minutes, to just under the fourteen & a half minute mark. Each track here follows a fairly similar/simply frame-work with a single down ‘n’ dirty rocking riff, that’s pounded & pounded out in a very repetitive manner. Sometimes wailed 'n' ragged vocals appear, other times not. Sometimes you get hammered piano backing, or other subtle instrumental churn, other times not. But always there is the constant repetitive churn 'n' batter of the rough ‘n’ rocking riffs. I found this release very much mood dependant- if I’m in the mood for no nonsense & locked-down rocking, I rather enjoy & get into this. But on the other hand if I stick this on in a more random fashion I find the whole too samey, un-dramatic & more than a little one dimensional. “Horn” is certain showing off the more raw side to this Circle Side project, and if you’re a fan of either Pharaoh Overlord or Circle this is worth a look- if you enjoy either bands more locked, rocking & repetitive side. But it’s certainly not a place to start if you’re a newbie to either project Roger Batty
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