On disc: Pharao

 
 Road To Nowhere
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 


 
 Road To Nowhere
 
- Umberto Mino -
 
 

Road To Nowhere

(www.saol-music.com - 2010)



 
 

 

A comeback that you can never imagine, Pharao from Berlin, Germany a real legend because this new Road To Nowhere is among us after 20 years from their latest album. And guess what.... this comeback is very good and it has a lot of very important guests: Biff Byford, Paul Quinn, Tom Angelripper and Mario Le Mole (Mind Odyssey) that give to songs something more, and the band (Jacky Lee Man - vocals, T.R. Jorg - Guitars, Steven Floyd - Bass, Lars Thomas - Drums) is still in perfect shape. But let's talk about the songs of this Road To Nowhere: this album starts with On The Attack a fast mid-tempo that PharaoPharao and Saxon's Biff Byford perform in perfect harmony. Why >Not! has in Mario Le Mole another guest, and also this time the result is excellent. Mother Earth offer the melodic side of Pharao to us, and the title track Road To Nowhere is power metal track with a chorus that is good for live performances!!! The Other Side is  a mid tempo with many Saxon echoes, Like A Phoenix is a good power ballad and the next We Are One is another killer mid-tempo song with guests: Paul Quinn and Nibbs Carter from !!!! Seven Seas is another track where the guitar solo is made by Paul Quinn, a nice melodic powerful song. I Believe is maybe the worst song of Road To Nowhere, and the follower Seconds To Minutes is perfect for growing up our interest on Pharao. Before The Storm has the last guest, Tom Angelripper, and also this time the result is very good. Road To Nowhere is closed by a cover version of You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet (originally performed by Bachman Turner Overdrive) that personally I don't appreciate so much....

Anyway, after all Pharao has made a very nice comeback, and personally I hope that their next album will be the album of consecration.

 
 










Umberto Mino


  
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Road To Nowhere

(www.saol-music.com - 2010)



 
 

 

Some might remember Pharao, a heavy metal band from Berlin which released their debut Bad Boys From East in 1990. Now 20 years later they are back with Road To Nowhere.

The band was founded back in 1984 in the German Democratic Republic as Countdown. After joining forces with Regenbogen they renamed in 1986 and are known as Pharao ever since. A year later they decided to write their lyrics in English and soon were on the index, they didn't fit into the system of the GDR. Jacky fled to Western Germany, got the band a record deal and so the others could follow him into the Western parts. When their debut was released the GDR was history. In 1991 they disbanded after legal problems. After restarting the band in 1998 Jacky Lee Man had to put them band on hold due to health problems. The band broke up again. For the 20th anniversary he wrote some songs, gathered some musicians and the result is Road To Nowhere.

Thunder leads you into the opener On The Attack where singer Jacky Lee Man is joined by Saxon main man Biff Byford. The fast riff-base rocker is a powerful heavy metal tune which reminds me of some 80's stuff. Next in line Why Not! which features Mind Odysseey singer Mario Le Mole, the song shows a different facet. Partly a bit melancholy, partly quite heavy with aggressive deep vocals. Guitarist T.R. Yorg add some interesting leads. Mother Earth is the first track without guests, again it somehow sounds familiar... Lyrically this is about planet Earth and how mankind is destroying it. The title track has a prominent bass riff, aggressive guitar riffs and is so far the most aggressive track. Road To Nowhere changes a bit and offers a hymnic refrain. At the metal hymn We Are you can hear The Chiliboys, Saxon members Nibbs Carter, Paul Quinn and Nigel Glockler joining in for the refrain. The song could have been taken from a Saxon album... After Paul Quinn adding to Seven Seas Pharao show their balladesque side with I Believe, a powerful balladesque rocker. The heavies track is Before The Storm where Sodom's Tom Angelripper is adding some growls while Jacky Le Man is doing the clean vocal parts, but the growls aren't a big part of the song. As a closer they choose Bachman Turner Overdrive's You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, but somehow this version can't hook me up...

Well, Road To Nowhere is a decent album which fans of traditional heavy metal should dig. Some of the songs sound very 80's-like, but have a modern sound. If you are looking for something outstanding and unique you won't find it here, but if you still love to listen to your 80's albums, then give it a chance!

 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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