Warthur Myrath play a style of prog metal inspired by Symphony X and mmmmaybe a little Dream Theater, but enrich this with influences from the music of their Tunisian homeland. Whereas some bands might slip in music from North Africa or the Middle East for flavour, Myrath are no tourists - these are musical traditions they know inside and out and they are able to truly integrate them into the structure of their songs rather than toss these cultural allusions in as an empty affectation. On top of that, their mastery of progressive metal is also laudable, throwing in just enough bombast to get their point across without getting tediously heavy-handed. On the whole, this is a mature album which will hopefully give a higher profile to this hard-working unit.

kluseba I discovered this exotic band from Tunisia with a song from their second album last year on a sampler included in the normally pretty weak British Metal Hammer magazine but I forgot to check them out. With the release of their new third record, I remembered this talented band and decided to take my time and check their discography out. Obviously, I started with the band's first strike called "Hope". The five young men from Tunisia didn't disappoint me indeed and deliver a strong first record somewhere between progressive metal, power metal, thrash metal and some folk influences.

The only negative thing I could see is that some instrumental sections are sometimes too long and pointless. I must also admit that the albums has a little down with the mediocre half ballad "Fade Away" and "All my Fears" that gets lost in overwhelming instrumental wankery.

The rest of the album is of the grandest kind and in the end one of the most convincing progressive metal releases of the year 2007. A great introduction with a gracious folk mood leads perfectly to the true opener which is "Confession". I must confess that this is an amazing opener that varies from a great thrash riff in the beginning to some power metal or even neoclassical metal and shred passages in the middle parts to a more and more elaborated progressive style with haunting melodies, some citations of the classic music genre and a couple of orchestral Maghreb folk influences. There are so many influences and details in this song that I could listen to it over and over again and still discover something new each time I do so. This is not just amazing, it is perfect because the song still sounds coherent and logical within a running time of six and a half minutes.

The next songs are all amazing but not perfect. The only reason for this statement is that Myrath sometimes sound too much like their American influences Dream Theater or Symphony X. The title track "Hope" still convinces with some unusual riffs and a few exotic folk vibes but the middle part sounds too traditional. The epic "Seven Sins" has the same problem. If someone has told me that this was a song from some old Symphony X record of the nineties, I would have believed this without a doubt. Still, the song itself is great and features some amazing piano melodies. What I really like about the song is the fact that all instruments have an important role and get their time to shine. The amazing album closer "My Inner War" has the same approach but it pleases more to me because it sounds more coherent and focussed.

An exceptional track might be "Last Breath" that convinces with stunning drum patterns and orchestral folk sounds with a fresh breath of thrashing heaviness. This track reminds me a little bit of "Acrassicauda" from Iraq and this track here could have been an excellent single choice.

After all, this debut album is very promising and the band already has a perfect song on this album plus many great moments. The only thing I feel they need to improve is to find their own style and have the courage to get away from the American progressive and thrash sounds and European power metal sounds. If they ever succeed to do so, they might become the leaders of a wave of African metal in the world, maybe with the help of their colleagues from Arkan who are living in France but mostly come from Maghreb countries or even Threatening from Ouganda which would be really interesting. Anyway, give this album a couple of spins if you like well made diversified progressive metal. Meanwhile, I will check out the band's next two records pretty soon.

Conor Fynes 'Desert Call' - Myrath (7/10)

Barring Antarctica and the Lovecraftian horrors that live there, Africa is the least prolific continent when in comes to heavy metal and progressive music. To most, this will come as an established fact rather than speculation; despite a wealth of culture, modern strife has kept Africa back from letting its voice out. There are exceptions however, as Myrath proudly indicates. Hailing from Tunisia, Myrath plays a polished style of progressive metal, in the style of Dream Theater and Symphony X. What sets Myrath apart- and thus makes them worthy of mention- is that they use sound of traditional Arabic music and fuse it into the metal sound. Similar in this respect to the more established Orphaned Land, Myrath has an exciting and epic sound, and 'Desert Call' will appeal to anyone looking for a progressive metal curveball.

Although metal is a community which often prides itself on being progressively-thinking and open-minded, too much metal gives the sense of deja vu; that it's already been done before, and will be done again. Ironically, progressive metal is a central offender for this, as it sometimes feels every band calling themselves 'prog metal' these days is either a Dream Theater clone, or a melodic hard rock group looking for an added edge in their marketing. Myrath fits the glove with the sound of current progressive metal, but they are made memorable by their defining trait; that is, there is a strong sound of Middle-Eastern music running in tandem with metal. Much like the bands Kamelot or Nightwish merge their metal elements with Western classical music, Myrath does the same with their own culture, and the outcome is impressive. Myrath are a very capable prog-power band regardless of the Middle-Eastern sounds, but without this new angle, I would not have such a vivid memory of them.

Importantly, 'Desert Call' does not use these traditional Arabic sounds as a gimmick, but beefs them up so that they're an integral part of the music and sound. Malek Ben Arbia's guitar playing is firmly rooted in the school of John Petrucci and Michael Romeo, but Zaher Zorguatti's vocals are keen to switch between acrobatic power metal wails and a signature Islamic holler, often within the course of a single vocal line. Seif Ouhibi's drums find the balance as well, at times delivering the powerful metal pummel, but also occasionally conjuring a beat that sounds like it could score a cinematic chase through Baghdad. The songwriting's greatest strength is their near-seamless ability to work the Middle-Eastern sounds into the music, but the more power metal-oriented aspects can exert a certain level of cheese. Many of these songs have memorable melodies and song structures, but I often felt that by the end of most tracks, I had heard a run-through of the chorus one, or two too many times. Bring into focus a lackluster sense of flow and possibly overdone length, and 'Desert Call' begins to lose its status as the 'metal revelation' it could have been.

Myrath's signature style was born with their debut 'Hope', and it continues to run strong in the blood of 'Desert Call'. Although the current trends of progressive metal are starting to die out, Myrath's ambitious pledge to bring the sounds of their home culture to metal gives a refreshing new perspective on a style that has rarely managed to hold my attention in recent years. Its cheesy power metal theatrics aside, 'Desert Call' is worth an easy recommendation.

J-Man Although it's a fairly established fact that Africa does not have the world's most abundant metal scene, an increasingly global economy has allowed plenty of excellent bands from exotic parts of the Earth to see greater commercial success than ever before. One band that has benefited from the modern age of internet communication and economic globalization is Tunisian progressive metal act Myrath. Though their country is currently in political turmoil, they've managed to see an impressive amount of recognition from metal fans worldwide with their third album, Tales of the Sands. And well-deserved recognition it is, indeed. Myrath's unique blend of melodic heavy metal, progressive metal, and traditional Arabic soundscapes immediately sets them apart from other prog metal acts on the scene today, and the fact that they have plenty of technical chops to back it up makes their music all the more worthwhile. Tales of the Sands is a highly successful effort that is both adventurous and professional; fans of progressive metal who are willing to hear the genre convincingly mixed with Arab influences are going to find lots to love on this record.

At the surface, Myrath's root sound can appear to be roughly similar to bands like Symphony X, Royal Hunt, Anubis Gate, and Kamelot with a few Arabic tendencies thrown in, but this is actually a rather false speculation. Rather than taking the established progressive metal formula and sprinkling Middle Eastern flavorings on top, Myrath instead takes both styles and puts them in a blender, thus allowing the two radically different genres to be thoroughly integrated into a style that can only be described as the band's own. Tales of the Sands is also a very heavy album, especially by your 'traditional non-growling' prog metal standards. The riffs chug along with a clear influence from more extreme variants of metal, the vocals are dynamic and powerful, and the drums frequently veer into fast double-kick sections. In spite of the distinctly modern brand of heaviness displayed by Myrath, they never lose sight of melody throughout Tales of the Sands - most of the songs are rather straightforward from a structural standpoint, but the melodic and catchy choruses keeps the band's 'formula' from ever growing stale. Of course, the spellbinding riffs will have an irresistibly headbanging effect on most metalheads, but I think it's the way these spectacular riffs are melded with memorable, yet entirely cheese-free, choruses is what will truly make this a memorable album for years to come. As nice as it would be to see Myrath venture beyond the five-minute songwriting format, they have obtained such a level of mastery on this style of composition that it's tough to complain.

Tales of the Sands is also incredibly well executed from all fronts, and the sleek production is probably what will immediately jump out to many listeners. The powerful, meaty sound perfectly complements the masculine metal riffs and progressive arrangements, and whilst it may be a bit too polished for some listeners, the quality of the sound is objectively spectacular. The musicians in Myrath are clearly quite experienced, and the tight rhythm section is arguably the band's finest asset - the downtuned, chugging riffs set the backbone for all of the tunes here, and they are simply hypnotizing. Zaher Zorgati's melodic and powerful vocals deliver every melody with precision and emotion, and his mid-ranged singing style consistently suits the mood of the music. His voice bears resemblance to more 'masculine' power metal vocalists like Russell Allen or Ralf Scheepers, but he still manages to sound like himself throughout the full album.

This is a memorable and professionally executed observation from Myrath, and there's really not too much to complain about when we're talking about an album with this level of quality. Tales of the Sands shows a creative young band with the ambition and ability to succeed in the crowded progressive metal climate, and I'm sure their heavy, melodic, and eclectic take on the genre will please many fans of the style. This is a truly excellent album, and I'll play it safe right now with a big 4 star rating. I may raise it even higher sometime in the future, but as of now Tales of the Sands still stands as a near-mandatory purchase. This is one of the most recommendable progressive metal albums from 2011.

Conor Fynes 'Tales Of The Sands' - Myrath (8/10)

Over the past few months, the world's eyes have been set on the Arab world, with breaths held in anticipation of the rapid political changes that are taking place. Myrath is a progressive outfit emerging from one of the region's smaller nations, Tunisia. Being the first metal band in the country to ever reach a wider audience, Myrath (the Arabic word for 'Legend') have engaged audiences already with two albums of top-tier progressive metal, fusing Middle-Eastern traditional musical influences in with their brand of melodic metal, much as the more established band Orphaned Land does. With a unique mixture of sound, excellent songwriting, and great execution, Myrath's 'Tales Of The Sands' is a fantastic album in its own right.

Being someone who was under the impression that exciting melodic prog metal died around the turn of the millennium under a blanket of Dream Theater clones, it has been a huge refreshment to hear a band that may be doing something similar to the legends of the genre, but are putting a validating new angle on their sound. Before listening to what Myrath had to offer, I was admittedly fighting a doubt that this could be a run-of-the-mill power metal band, using sounds of their homeland as a gimmick to pull in listeners, but as is fairly rare for my experience with metal music, I was proven wrong. While progressive power metal mixed with Arabic music sounds pretty much as one might expect, the Oriental sounds in the music are infused superbly in with the metal, not sounding contrived, but instead as a sincere element of the songwriting.

As far as Myrath's overall sound is concerned, I could most easily compare them to the neoclassical power metal titans Kamelot, except with the obvious replacement of European classical influence in favour of Middle-Eastern music. 'Tales Of The Sands' is a noticeable lean away from the Oriental sounds when compared to their earlier work; the Arabic music is still an integral part of the music, but its presence is more moderate. Without this main draw of their sound though, Myrath would still be an upper tier melodic progressive metal band. They do sound quite a bit like bands like Symphony X or Kamelot, but the whole thing is done so well, and unlike so many melodic prog metal apostles, Myrath knows how to make it heavy . The guitar parts here are chugging and low in many parts, especially on a track like 'Sour Sigh', which moves from a dramatic symphonic intro to a series of dark and heavy riffs that makes you think there could be a growl around any corner, but Myrath sticks to the clean and melodic vocals.

Zaher Zorgatti really a magnificent vocalist, and while at times he sounds like a pretty standard power metal vocalist, its his ability to do the metal vocals and traditional Arabic vocals with equal strength. The metal instrumentalists here are excellent, with a particular applause going to the rhythm guitar sections, which manage to sound larger than life. The Middle-Eastern sounds here are also much more than the gimmick I thought they might pull; it really sounds like authentic Arabic music has been mixed in with the metal. It's the Oriental influences which take the album from being great to being excellent.

There's really not too much I could complain about when it comes to Myrath's third album. The songwriting is all top-notch, even when the band ends their album on an AOR note with 'Apostrophe For A Legend'. It would be great to hear this band take their exciting blend of styles past the four or five minute mark and compose something even more ambitious, but Myrath's work is consistent and expertly produced. This is a great album from Tunisia's contribution to the metal scene, and I've been pleasantly surprised by this band's sound.