Myrath – opening the “heavy metal” window to the east

For those who don’t know Myrath I can tell you that it is a progmetal band from Tunisia. This band is the first from the east that I have heard really kick ass in this genre (I would like to say with exception of some bands from Japan). Myrath origionally started covering symphony x songs, but moved over to their own repertoire, and that was a good move.

The vocalist is solid and he is quite unique in the way that he uses quartertones when he sings. This, in itself, is an art that is difficult to do as one is basically balancing between two half tones. Usually we call it off tune, but when it is done with great skill and artful precision we call it great music.

My understanding is that the band has released 4 albums and the last one hit the stores about one month ago. All have gotten good critics and the band seems to be doing well. I have kept my eyes on them since their second album “Hope” came out. Back then they were new and undiscovered. For those who have not yet discovered Myrath you can find them here: www.myspace.com/myrathband.

So how does this band relate to what is going on in the east? As it were Metallica just played a concert in India, Linken Park in Bangkok and you can hear about many Asian/eastern countries that are visited for the first time by western metal bands.

I remember back when Illusion Suite was started I used to say that metal would be almost mainstream in about 5-10 years. I think bands like Myrath gives us a glimpse into a future where Asia and the east has just started to fumble its way towards something I would refer to as a musical revolution. Perhaps the metal audience will double in a few years throughout the world. Maybe we will see a lot of eastern or Asian bands in the future playing awesome metal…