Pharoah Overlord - The Battle of the Axehammer
(Last Visible Dog)
Pharoah Overlord is yet another evil brainchild from prolific Finnish hyno-rock guru Jussi Lehtisalo. Those who worship Lehtisalo's other bands (Circle and Doktor Kettu to name but a few) will have already experienced Pharoah Overlord's two previous studio recordings (for all the bombast of the band name, these are called merely #1 and #2). While these two recordings showcase the bands own brand of repetitive power (#1 more than #2, which is the more subdued of the pair), The Battle of the Axehammer captures the band live, and this makes the difference between an enjoyable and an essential recording from this band.
On this disc, Pharoah Overlord takes Circle's gleaming polished steel and glass mesmerizing rock and slathers on a generous portion of viscous North Sea crude oil. Then it kiln-fires it at a temperature hot enough to blister Loki's fingers and hammers it deep into a glacier to cool until it is merely smoldering. Recorded at (and occasionally beyond) tape saturation, the live versions of the songs heard on their previous releases reveal new layers of grime and filth that the clean studio environment had concealed. The arrangements are stripped down and menacing with a palpable malevolence that threatens to erupt imminently. Lehtahlo's bass and Tomi Leppänen's drums pound out a subtly shifting hypnotic foundation for guitarists Janne Westerlund, and honorary Overlords Jyrki Laiho (ex-Circle) and Pekka Pirttikangas (Astro Can Caravan, et al.) to pummel.
All of the tracks are given extended improvisational workouts with punishing riffs that repeat until they etch themselves into the mind only to crumble under their own weight into echoes of themselves a la Skullflower. Just prior to completely disintegrating, searing solos peek out and soar over the lumbering morass. Dynamics are practically non-existent as that would interfere with the steady insistent and mind-numbing throb. Under the influence of this onslaught, the listener can feel as though they are in a sensory deprivation tank as a prelude to brainwashing. This is clearly the intent; Pharoah Overlord revels in seeing their audience driven before them.
The disc starts with the slinky guitar lead of "Mountain" then solidifies like its namesake rising volcanically from the Earth. "Skyline" rumbles into view with a low-slung, gutturally scouring bass line streamrolling the guitars into fearsome and bone crushing unison. After this attack, any skyline would be leveled. This onslaught yields to the minimal drum rim clicks of the introduction to "Mystery Shopper" as a feedback drenched sludge of guitars slowly materializes out of a murky haze. Wasting no time, "Mangrove" ignites almost immediately with incendiary power and metastasizes into a howling, yet always controlled fury. Summoned back to the stage by the stunned legion of the vanquished, Pharoah Overlord responds with "Black Horse" a not-so-tongue-in-cheek reference to the "End of Days" aural destruction they have already wrought.
It is hard to imagine this performance occurring anywhere near civilization; the music is more easily imagined as a hovering juggernaut scorching the earth. Yet, between each track an audience can be heard summoning applause from deep within their damaged psyches. And don't be misled by the self-deprecating representation on the cover art, Pharoah Overlord is not the prey of the apocalyptic aviator; instead they are summoning one of their minions to carry them forth to lay waste to the landscape.
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