Myrath – Live in Carthage

 “Asl” and Elen Oriental’s dance start this fairytale but as soon as the band takes to the stage, the oriental rhythms played on drums, darbouka and bendir suddenly transform themselves into the heavier and more metallic sounds of “Born to survive” as the guitars, keyboards and vocals take over. “Storm of lies” follows suit and before you know it, the whole amphitheater is headbanging, dancing, and jumping to the beat, as Zaher Zorgati’s powerful vocals dance over the instrumental. Before we go any further with this review, let’s make two things clear: (1) Myrath is a metal band and (2) Myrath is heavily influenced by traditional African music. As such their music is not unidimensional but veers into different directions, making them quite a unique band on the metal scene. That being said, it is obvious from the tracklist that the concert will delight both fans of the more aggressive side of Myrath with such numbers as “Wide shut”, “Merciless times” and “Madness” resounding in Carthage but also the ones that enjoy the groovier and more rhythmic aspects of the band with “Get your freedom back”, “Dance” and “Believer”.

 Amongst all these songs and dances, there were a few moments really stood-out to me, and “l’histoire d'amour” that is “Duat” is one of them as I really enjoy Zaher’s soft and passionate delivery and Elyes Bouchoucha’s keys adding an extra coating of harmony and melodies to the guitar, drums and backing orchestration. The jazzy “Endure the silence” makes for another stand-out moment with the public singing along to the song and Anis Jouini’s bass adding some groovy layers to the rhythmic section. At times punchy, at times mellow, I have to say I really enjoy Anis’s lively way of playing and the richness of sounds that he brings to the mix. Kevin Codfert sporting a keytar during “Wide shut” is another highlight of the show, and the lush melodies coming from both Kevin and Elyes’s keys merge superbly with Morgan Berthet stylish way of playing drums. And really Morgan is a beast behind the drum kit, as he is providing both meaty blast beats as well as groovy fills, depending on what the music needs. The Arabic chants on “Nobody’s lives”, “Tales of the sands” and “Beyond the stars” elevate the music to another level by adding a sense of mystery and mysticism to it, and which a European such as myself finds deeply fascinating. These chants are also the reason I consider Zaher Zorgati as one of the best metal singers of his generation. “No holding back” is an explosion of melodies and oriental rhythms with Malek Ben Arbia’s guitar lines adding so much harmony to the fold.