Myrath

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Biography

MYRATH – “Karma” (BIO 2024)
“Myrath might just be the most underrated band ever. Their new album really excites me –
they have something fresh and back it up with a great stage show. They played a tiny stage
at Wacken where nobody brings more than guitars and amps, and brought a two-truck
production. It was amazing!” – Pär Sundström, Sabaton
Myrath’s musical mission has been series of hard-fought triumphs. Formed in Tunisia in
2001, they skilfully conjured their own unique strain of melodic heavy metal, incorporating
influences from their multitudinous cultural backgrounds and imbuing every note and riff
with conviction and hope. Early albums like Hope (2007) and Desert Call (2010) grabbed the
attention of metalheads, both at home and abroad, and despite facing numerous challenges
– geographical, logistical and financial – Myrath were able to forge connections with fans all
over the world. Consummating that relationship with many club shows and festivals,
including a high-profile tour as chief support across Europe to prog metal titans Symphony X
in 2016.
That same year, Myrath released Legacy, their third and most ambitious album. It firmly
established the Tunisian/French band as a major force in progressive and so-called “oriental”
metal, while dazzling an international fan base with its huge melodies and seamless blending
of esoteric elements. After touring extensively for Legacy, the band began work on their
fourth album, Shehili. Released in 2019, it was a profoundly progressive and elegantly
orchestrated record that cemented Myrath’s reputation, garnering effusive reviews from
critics across the globe.
The next part of the story is a familiar one. Myrath were touring to promote Shehili when
the Covid pandemic slammed the door shut for touring bands. Stranded in Europe, the boys
convened at long-time collaborator (and now fully-fledged member) Kévin Codfert’s home
studio in France and set about devising a new masterplan. The end result was the creation of
a brand new studio record, Karma. Myrath’s fifth album is the first since the departure of
keyboard player Elyes Bouchoucha in 2020, and it sounds like a joyous rebirth for the entire
band.
“A lot of people have asked about the main changes since Shehili,” Codfert begins. “We’ve
changed keyboard player, and I am now the official keyboard player! A lot of people don’t
seem to know that I’ve been working with the band for 15 years. I’ve played a few times live,
before I was officially in the band, but I always played all the piano parts on the albums.
But of course, it was difficult for us to separate from Elyes. We were in different states of
mind about business and strategy, so it was more of a technical difference than a musical
one.”
Four years on from their last album, Myrath – Zaher Zorgati, Kévin Codfert, bassist Anis
Jouini, guitarist Malek Ben Arbia and drummer Morgan Berthet – have given their sound a
box-fresh upgrade. While still retaining all the Arabic and North African influences that made
previous albums so distinctive, Karma is easily the most direct and engaging record that they
have ever made. A tour-de-force of artful power metal with progressive touches galore, it is
full of mesmerising melody and invigorating aggression, with vocalist Zaher Zorgati’s careerbest performance sealing the deal.
“I would say that it’s completely different from all the other albums, but you can feel the
aftertaste of Myrath!” says Zaher. “Some people said that when we released the first single,
Heroes, that it was like any random song from any occidental metal band, but if you focus
really, you will still find the aftertaste of Myrath. If you gave the skeleton of the song to any
other band, it would never be like this, because behind it there are layers that give the
distinct flavour of Myrath. The sound is massive and the songs are bombastic. We are just
Myrath, a metal band from Tunisia and we play Myrath metal. That’s it.”
“We never try to intellectualise or calculate anything. I think that the main and only
difference between previous albums and this album is Covid!” adds Kévin. “We were all
together in the same place, and that was the first time that happened. With the internet,
the whole process of composing an album is basically sending each other files. It’s a long
process. Karma is the first album where everyone was in the same place to compose
something. Maybe it made a difference, I don’t really know”
Not just the sharpest collection of songs Myrath have released to date, but also their biggest
and most bombastic record yet, Karma captures the band in a moment of refined creativity.
The essence of their trademark remains, but these are songs that get to the point quickly,
with razor-sharp riffing, huge, arena-size choruses and a strong sense of momentum and
urgency.
“I think it’s partly because of our producer, Jacob Hansen,” says Kévin. “We decided to work
with him for the production, and to benefit from the way that he manages equalization,
compression, and all the things that make his sound. So when applied to Myrath, it’s a cool
mix of doing something straight to the point but with all the details we provide. Jacob
decided to lower the volumes of some instruments, to raise the volume of other
instruments, and to make it more to-the-point, lowering the amount of information, so the
brain of a regular human being can focus on the most important element of each song.
We’re very proud of how it came out.”
On a lyrical level, Myrath have never shied away from contentious or meaningful subject
matter. Where previous albums have relied heavily on allegory and myth, Karma is an album
full of heartfelt declarations and unifying themes, ranging from battles with addiction and
the horrors of war, through to the eternal quest for inner peace.
“In general, on this album we wanted just a glimmer of hope in every song,” says Zaher. “We
have The Empire, which I call a ‘vegan song’ [laughs], because it’s about ecology and Mother
Nature, and how to preserve them and our natural resources for future generations. We
don’t need superheroes. You can be a hero, you know?
The song that is 100% about war is Candles Cry,” the singer continues. “In the studio we
called it ‘Kévin’s Song’ because he sings the chorus, not me! Into The Light is where I talk
about the inner struggle between you and yourself. On Words Are Failing, I talk about
addiction, and depression, because I struggled with them both for a long time. There are a
lot of different themes on the album, and it’s very personal.”
As for the new album’s title, Zaher offers a straightforward explanation.
“I picked the title because I believe in karma,” he shrugs. “What goes around, comes around.
I believe in it. Many fucked up things happened through all these years, and karma will come
back very soon. In general, if you do good, you receive good, and if you do bad, you receive
bad. Karma is a bitch. Everybody agreed it was a good title, and we’re talking about karma in
most of the songs, so it represents the album well.”
As a new dawn rises in Myrath’s world, this most determined of modern metal bands are
collectively aflame with optimism and renewed enthusiasm for making music. Karma seems
to have awakened a new spirit of adventure in the Tunisian/French band, and with the
strongest album in their history ready to roll, they could be more unstoppable than ever.
“We are all very excited about the future,” says Zaher. “in the live situation, the new songs
sound really good. We played them at Sweden Rock and HellFest in France, and people loved
it. They’re made to be played live, all of the songs from the record. The music comes from
our identity, as Tunisians and North Africans, so despite all the obstacles we have to face, we
are able to forge ahead with our music. We have to stick together and prove ourselves, so
that with every album and every show you can feel the improvement of the band. It’s time
to conquer other horizons, but always with our own unique touch, of course!”
“There are too many great songs on this album to pick favourites.” – 9/10, Powerplay (UK)
“This band will explode internationally in 2024” – Fireworks (UK)