Scott's Spotlight #50: Myrath

 

Welcome to Scott’s Spotlight (#scottsspotlight) issue #50.  For more information about this series, please click here:

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Today we are featuring a band from a part of the world we’ve never visited before in any of my reviews or spotlights: Tunisia.  The northern African nation is not known for its plethora of prog-rock bands, let alone prog metal! Yet, that is what we have here with the wonderful band Myrath!  For those who don’t know, Tunisia is on the northern coast of Africa, with a Mediterranean coastline and wedged between Algeria and Libya.  The location of the ancient empire of Carthage is in modern-day Tunisia.  Over the centuries, it was founded by Berbers, joined by Phoenicians, defeated by the Romans in 146 BC who ruled the region for the next 800 years, during which they introduced Christianity. They were then defeated by Arab Muslims who reigned for just as long as the Romans did, and changed the overall religious culture, until they became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1546, until 1881 when the French defeated the Ottomans.  They gained independence finally in 1956.  So, as one can see, this country has a very long and complex history (of which I have only scratched the surface here).  This is the world from which Myrath emerged in the early 21st century. 

The roots of Myrath go back to 2001 guitarist Malek Ben Arbia, then only thirteen years old, founded the band, then under the name of X-Tazy.  He gathered other childhood friends to round out the band and began by playing covers of blues, heavy metal and death metal songs.  Tunisia, as it turns out, is far more open to western cultural influences than its neighbors in the region, as a result of its French colonial era and close proximity across the Mediterranean to Italy, France and Spain. As is the case in most teenage rock bands, of which I speak from experience, the membership would constantly change.  Eventually though, in 2003, a keyboardist/vocalist named Elyes Bouchoucha would join, and remain for many years.  Once he joined, they began to move in a more progressive metal/oriental metal sound, writing their own material. By 2005, the band released a demo EP called “Double Face”, distributing the music by way of USB flash drives, a strategy which I had never heard before.  Around this time, following the release of the EP,  they had changed their name to Myrath, which means “Legacy” when translated from Arabic.  Before long, the music spread outside of Tunisia, and even gained a following in southern Europe. This led to the band being signed by the French label Bremmis Music, becoming the first Tunisian band to be signed by a European record label.  Soon after, they met French music producer/keyboardist Kevin Codfert, who would remain their producer to this day.

By the time their first album, “Hope” was released in 2007, the line up was as follows: 

- Malek Ben Arbia / guitars

- Elyes Bouchoucha / keyboards, vocals

- Anis Jouini / bass

- Saif Ouhibi / drums

With:

- Kevin Codfert / keyboards (4), backing vocals, production & mixing

On this album, Myrath immediately made their mark on the prog metal world.  While Symphony X is often listed as their main western music influence, I really hear a lot of Dream Theater as well. To my ears if you take Dream Theater’s “Scene Six: Home” from “Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From a Memory”, but add a more authentic Arabian music cultural influence, you will gain a good understanding of what Myrath sounds like.  Right from the beginning, on “Intro”/”Confession” (2 separate tracks best played in tandem) I was blown away by not only the cultural fusion in the music, but also the high level of musicianship.  Other standout cuts include the title track, “Seven Sins” and “My Inner War”.  A strong debut that nails their signature sound right away.

Following the release of “Hope” however the band went from being a quartet to a quintet with the addition of lead vocalist/frontman Zaher Zorgati. Zorgati got the gig due to his ability to combine Islamic chants with metal singing.   The first album on which Zorgati appears is 2010’s “Desert Call”.  While Bouchoucha was strong on the debut, Zorgati took them to the next level. Some standout tracks on this sophomore effort include “Forever and a Day”, the title track, “Madness”, “Silent Cries”, “Empty World” and “Shockwave”. Arbia is a very overlooked guitar hero; this guy can play in league with Yngwie Malmsteen, John Petrucci and other greats!

By the third album, released in 2011, titled “Tales of the Sands”, the drum throne passed to French drummer Piwee Desfray. I can find no explanation for the change.  One thing that I have noticed, starting with this album, all the way until the current time, there are no songs over 6 minutes in length.  On the previous albums there had been numerous tracks between 6 and 11 minutes.  I can find no information as to why this change occurred, but for it to continue to the present day implies to me that it was a conscious decision.  The music, however, is still strong, if not expansive.  Tracks that I have enjoyed include “Under Siege", “Merciless Times”, the title track, “Sour Sigh” and “Apostrophe for a Legend”.

There would be another change behind the kit as another Frenchman, Morgan Berthet, took over the sticks in 2012. This would be the last of the line-up change until 2020. It would be 2016, however until album #4 would appear; a five year gap between albums.  The title of the album, fittingly, is “Legacy” which, if you’ll recall, is the English translation of Myrath. Not only would this be Berthet’s debut as drummer on an album, but they would also employ a multitude of guest musicians on this album. 

The album credits are thus:

Line-up / Musicians

- Zaher Zorgati / lead & backing vocals

- Malek Ben Arbia / guitars

- Elyes Bouchoucha / keyboards, backing vocals, arrangements

- Anis Jouini / bass

- Morgan Berthet / drums

With:

- Audrey Bedos / backing vocals

- Aurélien Joucla / backing vocals

- Perrine Perez Fuentes / backing vocals

- Kevin Codfert / guitar, piano, backing vocals, arrangements, production

- Akram Ben Romdhane / lute

- Koutaiba Rahali / nay

- Bechir Gharbi / violin

- Hamza Obba / violin, viola

- Mohamed Gharbi / violin, viola

- Riadh Ben Amor / violin

As a result, the album has a highly orchestrated flavor that matches the majestic nature of the compositions.  Some of my favorites on the album include “Believer”, “Get Your Freedom Back”, "Through Your Eyes”, “I Want to Die”, “Duat” and “Endure the Silence”.

In 2017, Myrath returned to Tunisia for the first time in 3 years to perform at the historic Theater at Carthage.  This concert was filmed and recorded for a live video and DVD released in 2020.

Album #5 would appear in 2019, titled “Shehili”.  “Shehili” is defined as a hot desert wind coming from the south in Tunisia, and the band used that title as a metaphor for their music. The only change to the line-up is that long time producer, and de facto band member Kevin Codfert has been named an official band member on this album, thus making the band a 6 piece.  Much like on “Legacy”, additional musicians are utilized to orchestrate the sound, as follows:

- Mehdi Ayachi / vocals (1)

- Lotfi Bouchnak / duet lead vocals (10)

- Pierre Danel / acoustic guitar

- Skander Ben Abid / clarinet

- Koutaiba Rahali / nay, gasba

- Bechir Gharbi / violin

- Hamza Obda / violin

- Mohamed Gharbi / violin

- Riadh Ben Amor / violin

- Samir Sghaier / viola

- Mohamed Lassoued / viola 

The song lengths may not be epic, but the arrangements are.  Notable tunes on this outing are “Born to Survive”, “Dance”, “Lili Twil”, “No Holding Back”, “Mersal”, and the title track.

In 2020, founding keyboardist and original lead vocalist Elyes Bouchoucha departed from the band, although that was not revealed until 2022.  That leaves Kevin Codfert as the sole keyboardist.  Myrath released their sixth and most recent studio album titled Karma in 2024. As with the previous two releases, extra musicians were brought in:

- Pierre Danel / guitar, acoustic guitar, guitar solo (4)

- Khaled Kalbousi / strings ensemble

- Ryadh Ben Amor / Berber strings

- Alexandra Vallet (aka Laya) / occidental strings

- Julien Duchet / trumpet, saxophone, trombone

Tracks on this album include. “Candles Cry”, “Let It Go”, “Temple Walls” and “Child of Prophecy”.  In 2025, the band followed this album up with their first compilation “Best Of” album, called “Reflections”, a 2 CD affair with the second disc having “Karaoke” versions with the vocals removed.

If you are looking for a band that is a bit exotic, mixing cultural heritage with their prog metal, with fine musicianship, Myrath might just be the prog-oriental-folk metal band for you!

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Prog On!

Scott

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LINKS FOR LISTENING:

From “Hope”

“Intro/Confession”:

https://youtu.be/nb2jPYwzp-o

“Seven Sins”

https://youtu.be/1rDQccuLEvY

From “Desert Call”

“Forever and a Day”

https://youtu.be/-jFdMFNpqfk

“Desert Call”

https://youtu.be/YtRAjz4VhKM

From “Tales of the Sands”

“Under Seige”

https://youtu.be/xueFpUcxNSM

“Tales of the Sands”

https://youtu.be/gcDXB000XIs

From “Legacy”

“Believer”

https://youtu.be/u2AHZc_QHdA

“Duat”

https://youtu.be/d04wn_I7DUI

From “Shehili”

“Lili Twil”

https://youtu.be/EivzH7XjfUM

“Shehili”

https://youtu.be/d2ZCQ72hllM

From “Karma”

“Candles Cry”

https://youtu.be/ZHUVfIDjsGo

“Carry On”

https://youtu.be/fqxreGL7cY4