Obvious question, Matt, why the name Pharaoh?
MATT JOHNSEN: By the time of the very first Pharaoh rehearsal Chris Black had decided the name would be ‘Pharaoh.’ I don’t know what specifically inspired him to pick that name, but in many ways it is the perfect heavy metal name. It is a single word, but it is not a single syllable. There are only so many good single-syllable bands. It is easy to remember and has all the connotations of kingliness and grandeur. The band Nile notwithstanding, in 1997 the first thing you would remember is the cover of Iron Maiden’s Powerslave when you say you are the metal band Pharaoh. I think that tied into it. We did some research and couldn’t find any bands that had done anything of note under the name Pharaoh. It turns out there was an East German band called Pharao without the ‘h’ at the end. We actually decided right from the beginning that we would never write any songs about Egypt! That would be too obvious. Except Chris Black and I forgot to tell Chris Kerns that and he went and wrote By The N
