Interview with guitarist Matt JohnsenInterview with guitarist Matt Johnsen
Pharaoh is a band featuring the talents of Control Denied/Psycho Scream vocalist Tim Aymar, guitarist Matt Johnsen, Dawnbringer drummer Chris Black, and bassist Chris Kerns. Their debut, After the Fire, is out now and it's full of progressive power metal with influences from traditional bands like Iron Maiden and Rage, but with a more technical sense of musicianship. Guitarist Matt Johnsen has been a long time scene supporter from his magazine Feast Or Famine to his work with Metal Maniacs. Here are some questions we sent to find out more about his work as a musician.
Tell me about how the band came together.
In late 1997, Chris Black (who was mainly focused on Dawnbringer) and a friend of his, Keith Barnard (who played guitar at the time in a Philly-based death/thrash band called Final Prayer) decided at a party that they wanted to start a band that played more traditional, melodic metal. Though they were both playing in extreme metal bands, they both grew up listening to Iron Maiden, Metal Church, Helloween, and so forth, and I guess after playing more brutal stuff for a while they wanted to try something else. I knew Chris through the zine circuit (he had put out a half dozen issues of Word of Mouth, and I had just published the first issue of Feast or Famine) but we actually lived quite close to one another, so he asked me by email if I would be interested in being the second guitarist in this new band, which they had already dubbed Pharaoh, even though they hadn't even had a rehearsal. I hadn't played in a band since high school, but I was totally into the great second wave of power metal that was huge in Europe in the mid 90s, so I was definitely excited about the opportunity to play in a melodic band. We got together at Keith's apartment sometime around Thanksgiving of 1997 and we wrote "Slaves" at our first meeting. It was definitely pretty exciting. Shortly after that, however, Keith quit, presumably because he didn't like the music I presented to him (which at the time were just parts of "Now is the Time" and "Solar Flight"). We never even looked for another guitarist. Chris Black eventually brought in Chris Kerns (a friend of his at college) as our bassist, and that became the core lineup of Pharaoh. In our six years of existence, though, the three of us have only rehearsed together twice.
Why did you choose Tim as a vocalist?
Obviously because he's an amazing singer. Actually, we didn't so much choose Tim as acquire him through very good luck. We had recorded four songs, one of which was a cover of "Aces High" before we had a singer. We auditioned a few people from around the country by mail, but none of them were really what we wanted. I knew of Tim from Psycho Scream, a band he had been in with my good friend and guitar hero Jim Dofka. We needed to find a singer quickly, because our Maiden cover and an original were scheduled to appear on an Iron Maiden tribute. Tim and Jim had gotten into some sort of squabble, and at the time (I guess this would have been late 98, maybe?) Tim was not actually in Psycho Scream anymore. I would never have asked Jim if he could help secure Tim's services, but when I told him we needed to find someone to sing, he said, "Tim's not doing anything else, so he'd probably do it." I was overjoyed, because Tim's performance on Psycho Scream's Virtual Insanity demo is absolutely mindblowing, and just the idea of him singing songs I wrote was thrilling. So I called Tim and asked him to sing on those songs, and he agreed, and the rest is history. I should explain that when we got Tim, he was not even in Control Denied: he had recorded the demo with Chuck, but then Chuck decided to put Control Denied on hold to do another Death album (The Sound of Perseverance, most of which was actually written for Control Denied) and Tim was in Limbo. We had written and recorded all of the instrumental tracks for After the Fire before the Control Denied album came out. Why it took until 2003 to release our album is a great mystery for the ages.
What direction did you have in mind when forming Pharoah?
Like I said, Chris Black's original idea was a Maiden-inspired sound. I was willing to go along with that suggestion, but it was my plan to inject some of the more moden power metal ideas that I had. Remember, this was before Hammerfall was big and the third wave of power metal hit. I wanted to play music like Rage, Scanner, or Conception, and Pharaoh seemed to be as good a venue as any for that. When all of our ideas came together, the end product is definitely more in the Iron Maiden vein, but I think that a lot of my vision still came through.
How did Tim's singing style effect your plans?
Instrumentally, not much, as more than half of the music was written before I even met Tim, and the rest came shortly thereafter. Vocally, though, it was nice knowing that we had a singer who could do more or less anything. I can't stress enough how much I admire Tim's singing: I'm more of an Amyar fan than an Aymar bandmate, really. I wrote the melodies for "Solar Flight" in about twenty minutes at Tim's place, the day before he recorded his vocals, and even though I asked for some ridiculous notes and phrases, he hit them all. I also let Tim write lyrics and vocal melodies to two of my songs, "Forever Free" and "Now is the Time," and I think it's clear from those that he's a better melody-writer than the rest of us. For the next album, most if not all of the vocal melodies will be written by Tim.
Explain your style as a guitarist. What makes your playing special?
My rhythm style is based on a lot of syncopation. I love technical and progressive metal, but I'm really not skilled enough to play that kind of music. Still, I'm not really interested in always working with the very simple and conventional tropes of power metal, so I try to keep things lively. When I write riffs, I write them without any heed for vocals, and for me to keep a riff, it generally has to stand on it's own even if it were to remain instrumental. Whether or not I succeed is an issue for the listener to decide. As a soloist, my style is mainly based on laziness and an unwillingness to take lessons and really improve my playing. I've slowly learned to play some pretty tricky stuff, but I think I take a lot of shortcuts that any truly great player wouldn't need, but at the same time, I think I'm developing my own sound. There are tons of players that I really admire, but I have never gone out of my way to try to emulate any of them, though I would say if there were any players whose influence could actually be heard in my playing, they would be Chris Poland and James Murphy.
How often do you practice a day?
I play guitar every day, but I don't really practice. When I'm playing, I'm either trying to write new riffs or aimlessly noodling. My aimless noodling, however, has become a little less aimless over the last few years, as I tried to actually improve some of my techniques. For instance, I couldn't bend for shit when Pharaoh was formed, or when we first started recording, but Chris Black is really into the traditional styles of people like Adrian Smith or Phil Campbell, so I've tried to bring some of that into my playing, and slowly I'm getting there.
Do you feel technique is more important than feeling?
It's important, because I think it's probably hard to play with feeling without at least decent technique. I have to admit, I'm not ultra-focused on my lead playing, and I would say my focus is neither on technique nor feeling, but composition. I would like to think my best solos are well composed, although they could certainly have been played with more feeling. But I would need better technique for that. I'm trying these days to work on my "feel" (as well as my tone) so hopefully the next album will bear the fruits of that labor.
Do you plan to keep the band full time and possibly tour or are you basically a studio band at this point?
We're definitely a studio band, as we all live across the country. Chris Kerns, Tim, and I all live in Pennsylvania, but not too near one another, and Chris Black lives in Chicago, so rehearsal and touring is really out of the question. Still, Pharaoh is my only band and I am writing new material, so the band continutes to exist full time, if only in my mind. We would all love to play live, and hopefully we'll get a chance someday, but none of us are working very hard at fulfilling that goal at the moment.
As a prominent writer and scene supporter for many years, what is your opinion of the current metal scene?
I think the scene is great, because there is a lot of diversity, and metal fans are finally starting to open their minds again across the various subgenres of metal. In the 80s, I think it was cool to like Queensryche, Slayer, and Overkill at the same time, but in the 90s the scene became fractured, and the fans who listened to death metal avoided progressive metal, and the progressive metal fans wouldn't listen to thrash, etc. Now I think there is a general willingness among fans to listen to a wider variety of metal, and this is being borne out by the tour packages we're seeing, such as the Metal Gods tour with Halford, Primal Fear, Testament, Carnal Forge, and Amon Amarth.
What bands have made an impact on you in recent years?
That's a hard question, because I listen to a lot of music. There are some bands, though, that have had a particular influence on me as a writer. Soilwork is one: their first three album are damn-near perfect, and I like a lot of the things the guitarists do, especially on A Predator's Portrait. Meshuggah have been a big influence as well (as is proven by the bridge in "Forever Free"). Spiral Architect are the best band of the last decade, though, and if I could play more like them I would. For recent bands, I really like Arwen, Corprofago, Andromeda, Martyr, Gordian Knot, Decapitated, etc. The list goes on and on. There are not as many great power metal bands now as there were a few years ago, but it's still a strong scene.
Why do you think Glenn Harveston has been so successful with Prog Power when others have failed in forming festivals?
Because he's a macho stud, of course. Actually, his success should come as a surprise to no one. He treats both bands and fans with the utmost respect (making him fundamentally different from, say, Jack Koshick, who respects neither) and at the same time he runs his festival like a business, which differentiates him from all the other guys who organized the many labor-of-love festivals that were entertaining failures, like Powermad or the Classic Metal Fest. Glenn books great bands and puts on a great show. I think he's the king, especially now that he's booked Rage, my all time favorite power metal band (except for maybe Angra, whom he also brought to the U.S.) I hope that Glenn is able to grow his festival to the size of the Milwaukee Metalfest at it's peak, although I wouldn't ever expect ProgPower to achieve the sort of size the big European metal festivals do, just because the U.S. is too big for a metal event like that.
As someone who dedicates so much time to metal, do you feel all your efforts have been worth it?
Absolutely. I think that my work for Metal Maniacs helped in some way to fuel the resurgence of melodic metal in the past few years, and I know a lot of people who really liked Feast of Famine (a zine I will continue to produce: look for a new issue soon) But really, my interest in metal is primarily selfish, and it is a hobby. It makes me happy, so of course it's worth it. If I help the scene with my writing, or entertain someone with my music, then yes, my efforts are fully rewarded. And really, my "efforts" have not been perilous labors or any sort of tribulation, so it's not like I've really suffered for metal (except insofar as my long hair made me a pariah to the ladies for a long time.)
What gets you most frustrated?
I'm not easily frustrated, as I have a sound grasp on the ultimate importance of what I do in this metal scene. I'm not changing the world; I'm just listening to the music I like. How frustrating can that possibly be?
How do you feel you have grown and evolved as a person and a writer in recent years?
I've changed a lot, although the big changes are yet to come. Getting too wrapped up in the "biz" of music journalism can make you bitter, but I don't want to be a bitter person. I am also tiring of the predictability of how I write, and I'm working on some new things to keep my writing and perspective fresh. When Feast or Famine 5 comes out, this should be evident. As a person, I'm always trying to be "better", be it nicer, kinder, more sympathetic, more responsible, etc. These are things, though, that wouldn't necessarily come through in my persona as a journalist and musician.
What is the next step for Pharoah?
Another album. I have written a lot of music for the next one, but I need to get together (somehow) with my bandmates to polish everything. I don't think we'll get into the studio before the end of the year, but I would expect to record a new album in early 2004. I'm really curious to see how After the Fire does, sales-wise and in the press. I have never had any hopes of "success" with the band, and if I sell 100 copies I'll be happy, so anything beyond that is a bonus, and I've already been pleasantly surprised by the early press, so I'm looking foward to experiencing it all. I'm actually really interested in why people don't like the album. I have my own complaints about it, and it will be interesting to see how those dovetail with others' complaints. I want our second album to be better, so I will certainly be listening to the critics.
Final comments?
I used to (and still sometimes do) ask this question when I interview bands, and when they say, "Not really," I always thought, "If it was me being interviewed, I would have all sorts of cool things to say!" And yet, when I'm asked this question, nothing ever comes to mind. I guess I'll take this opportunity to plug some things I wouldn't normally get the chance to talk about. I think everyone should rush out to their local comic shop and buy or order a copy of Grickle, a collection of short comics by the most brilliant writer/artist in recent memory, Graham Annable. His website is www.grickle.net, but if anyone reading this values my opinion at all, they will just blindly order the book from amazon.com or somewhere else, because it is simply the funniest, most touching work of literature I have read in a long time. People should also read Tim Kreider's strip "The Pain: When Will It End" which is available online at www.thepaincomics.com. Be sure to root through the archives, as there is som ridiculously funny stuff there. Hey Mister is another fantastic comic, information about which can be found at
Discography:
2003... After The Fire (Cruz Del Sur)
Current line-up:
Tim Aymar... vocals
Matt Johnsen... guitars
Chris Kerns... bass
Chris Black... drums
| TTM reviews of albums by Pharaoh: | |
 | 2006 - 'The Longest Night' |
 | 2003 - 'After the Fire' |
