Every once in a while there comes along an album so unique that it’s impossible not to love. For all you progressive metal fans out there – this is just that album.
[tracklist]
01. Jasmin
02. Believer
03. Get Your Freedom Back
04. Nobody’s Lives
05. The Needle
06. Through Your Eyes
07. The Unburnt
08. I Want to Die
09. Duat
10. Endure the Silence
11. Storm of Lies
[/tracklist]
[details]
[record_label]Verycords FR[/record_label]
[release_date]February 26th 2016[/release_date]
[/details]
Tunisia’s Myrath have spent a decade perfecting a sound that seemlessly incorporates the vast array of musical influences that has trickled into the North African country. We’re not just talking modern metal influences here – we’re talking centuries worth of sounds ranging from the Andulus to the Middle-Eastern. With their third album ‘Legacy‘, the band throw everything into the pot, and it is a delectable audio feast.
Myrath set the tone of where they are coming from with the culturally-infused ‘Jasmin‘ demonstrating their North African and Arab themed instrumental, before transitioning into the monumental ‘Believer‘ track. The huge chorus hardened with Arabian undertones spells out what is to come in the album – a progressive journey through centuries of Tunisian sound.
The full cultural embrace sinks in when the mellow ‘Nobody Lives‘ graces the speakers featuring a feat rarely heard in metal music, an Arabic language chorus. But what is even more impressive about this album is the craftsmanship involved in each track.
It’s tracks like ‘Get Your Freedom Back‘ that feature a seamless thread of impressive songwriting, ensuring that each technical moment is lain with something epic and ethnically relevant – such as the theatrical chorus matched with Arabian violins, and the intermittent bass solo breaking down with tribal African drumming.
As like most progressive albums, diversity in tempo and dynamics reign free. Technical hits such as ‘The Needle‘ bring forward the expertise of the traditional heavy metal instruments, where ‘Storm of Lies‘ bring the headbanging moments with added Arabian vocal fluctuations on top.
It’s clear Myrath have a complete love of their music. Over the course of the previous two albums have made valiant attempts to fuse everything they love into something that they can truly call their own. With ‘Legacy‘, there is absolutely no question that they have accomplished that. It’s an album worth investing in – it’s the complete package of pristine progressive musicianship.
For someone who really loves this kind of effort like myself, it’s hard to see how any album will top this in 2016.
[verdict]Yes[/verdict]
[why]Myrath have adopted centuries of cultural influences into one unique package. ‘Legacy’ is one of the most exciting progressive albums to comes out in the last few years, and marks big things to come for the band.[/why]
