MYRATH
Hailing from Tunisia and France, Myrath have been seasoning their prog metal output with Middle Eastern flavours ever since their debut album, 'Hope', in 2007. However, it wasn't until 2010 that I was able to sample their exotically spiced sonic stew first hand, with their festival-stealing performance at ProgPower in the Netherlands... including a mid-set belly dancer to introduce a little theatrics in their show. Why so many culinary analogies you might be wondering? Well, the music on 'Legacy', Myrath's fourth full-length studio album is utterly delicious. It's so rich with sublimely textured melodies in each of the interweaved layers that constitute the eleven songs on offer, that it stimulates all of the senses at once... just like a fine dining experience. In fact, so expertly combined are all the layers here, that it's no surprise to discover the seemingly ubiquitous Jens Bogren had a hand in the mix (alongside producer Kevin Codfert). The Fascination Street Studios main man really is a genius when it comes to combining so many disparate sonic textures... and he shines here once again. And Codfert's production is magnificent.
A fine production and mix is one thing, but Myrath's music is EPIC in its layered grandeur, with metal, rock, and orchestral elements blended to perfection within each of the compositions and arrangements. And, I have to say, the songwriting on 'Legacy' is simply incredible. The Western/Eastern musical influences have been fused in the most natural and exhilarating of ways, as guitar riffage is adorned with majestically sweeping orchestral parts that invoke a genuine sense of the exotic (aided by some beautifully incorporated quarter tone melodic progressions). There are no falsities in the music or faux orchestral/metal blends here. This is the real deal. All wannabe symphonic metal acts should take note of this release. This is how you combine the orchestral with the metal. Seriously. It's that good. And frontman Zaher Zorgati delivers a fantastic vocal performance throughout the entire album. A man with a great range, he manages to add enough theatrical-induced drama in each of the narratives he sings, while simultaneously eschewing clichéd metal histrionics that all too many prog metal bands seem to succumb to (with James LaBrie at the top of the list of perpetrators, who's been stretching his voice beyond its limits for far too many years).
Basically, I can't recommend this album enough; it's an astonishingly great work. Orphaned Land might be universally lauded as hegemonists of Middle Eastern prog metal (or, as it's also been labelled, Oriental metal), but Myrath have created something truly special here, that equals the might of said Israeli outfit. 'Legacy' is surely the album that'll propel this talented bunch to the next level. It'd be well deserved.
A fine production and mix is one thing, but Myrath's music is EPIC in its layered grandeur, with metal, rock, and orchestral elements blended to perfection within each of the compositions and arrangements. And, I have to say, the songwriting on 'Legacy' is simply incredible. The Western/Eastern musical influences have been fused in the most natural and exhilarating of ways, as guitar riffage is adorned with majestically sweeping orchestral parts that invoke a genuine sense of the exotic (aided by some beautifully incorporated quarter tone melodic progressions). There are no falsities in the music or faux orchestral/metal blends here. This is the real deal. All wannabe symphonic metal acts should take note of this release. This is how you combine the orchestral with the metal. Seriously. It's that good. And frontman Zaher Zorgati delivers a fantastic vocal performance throughout the entire album. A man with a great range, he manages to add enough theatrical-induced drama in each of the narratives he sings, while simultaneously eschewing clichéd metal histrionics that all too many prog metal bands seem to succumb to (with James LaBrie at the top of the list of perpetrators, who's been stretching his voice beyond its limits for far too many years).
Basically, I can't recommend this album enough; it's an astonishingly great work. Orphaned Land might be universally lauded as hegemonists of Middle Eastern prog metal (or, as it's also been labelled, Oriental metal), but Myrath have created something truly special here, that equals the might of said Israeli outfit. 'Legacy' is surely the album that'll propel this talented bunch to the next level. It'd be well deserved.
LABEL:
FORMAT:
earMUSIC
Album
LEGACY
Review by Mark Holmes
RUNNING TIME:
51:08
RELEASE DATE:
29th April 2016
TRACK LISTING
1) Jasmin
2) Believer
3 Get Your Freedom Back
4) Nobody's Lives
5) The Needle
6) Through Your Eyes
7) The Unburnt
8) I Want to Die
9) Duat
10) Endure the Silence
11) Storm of Lies
2) Believer
3 Get Your Freedom Back
4) Nobody's Lives
5) The Needle
6) Through Your Eyes
7) The Unburnt
8) I Want to Die
9) Duat
10) Endure the Silence
11) Storm of Lies
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
Tunisia
"It's so rich with sublimely textured melodies in each of the interweaved layers that constitute the eleven songs on offer, that it stimulates all of the senses at once... just like a fine dining experience."
