Whether this is the same Wilderness Of Mirrors that Mr Derek K Dick aka Fish held his Vigil, on his 1990 solo album I don't know, but it is the seventh studio album by Tunisian-French progressive metal band Myrath.
Since their debut Hope on 2007 they have been taking the metal world by storm with their fusion of progressive power metal and North African traditional music that has put them in the 'Oriental Metal' category but Myrath have always been a band who have been a lot more than that as the years have gone by.
They've never dropped the North African influences but their strongly defined power metal beginnings have softened into more other styles as they have added AOR, modern metal and more to their sound without moving too far away from where they began.
If anything they've just gotten more expansive and cinematic with what they do, witnessed here by the opening epic The Funeral, the theatrical Les Enfants Du Soleil and mega ballad Soul Of My Soul.
Both of these tracks remind a lot of Kamelot who also manage to balance the baroque sound of film music and the numbers of various metallic elements. This album follows a compilation of their earlier years which perhaps gained them some new fans and new appreciation for their older material for anyone that may have only joined the party on Karma.
That album was the first to feature new keyboard player Kevin Codfert (then as a session member) whose background in Adagio brought in the more dare I say 'Western' symphonic sounds rather than just the Arabic styles.
Myrath still have plenty of their heritage on Still The Dawn Will Come, Edge Of The Night, and Until The End which features Elize Ryd of Amaranthe, employing a host of guest players to bring qrageb, saz and even their own orchestra. However with you can hear these more recent influences on The Clown, Breathing Near The Roar and Echoes Of The Fallen.
This Wilderness Of Mirrors, is more like a metropolis of glass. A clear, direct message of the band Myrath are in 2026. A cinematic, symphonic experience, built on their cultural musical history, that will have you wanting to replay it over and over. 9/10
Godsticks - VOiD (Kscope) [Matt Bladen]
After being holed up in the studio for 18 months, British prog act Godsticks return with the follow up to their 2023 This Is What A Winner Looks Like, and in the words of band founder/vocalist/guitarist Darran Charles their "toughest and most demanding record".
It's definitely their most instant as it begins in earnest with M.I.A and Hold Back both driven by that chugging, modern meets retro sound Godsticks are known for, not quite in the aggressive crush of Tesseract and not quite the melodic beard stroking of Rush.
Godsticks have always sat in their own field in the UK prog scene with a heaviness that gives them some headbanging grooves, virtuosity that allows them to wield some technically impressive solo sections but also an ear for composition where the song is at the core of what they do.
VOiD is a an album of frustration, obsessed by disillusionment, the overwhelming movement towards disenfranchisement and the world's continuing drift towards division, the erosion of the centre ground, with the band offering a solution to these issues as retreating to your own little void.
In this case it's a void containing some of the bands heaviest and complex tracks the band have produced with Charles shares the writing with drummer Tom Price and guitarist Gavin Bushell, who have both been a major part of the band for a few album cycles now. Price a drummer of skill, precision and power whilst Bushell's guitar playing provided harmony and counterpoint to Charles'.
His vocals still a unique prospect in the progsphere and while they though VOiD is the debut record for bassist Francis George who has added his own dynamic to the band locking into some modern polyrhythmic grooves that lend themselves to the themes of dread and paranoia.
There's a lot of great noises coming from this VOiD of Godsticks, dive in and find your own solace in some top tier heavy progging from these South Wales veterans. 9/10
Vanir - Wyrd (Mighty Music) [Mark Young]
Hardly a week goes by without a melodic death metal release dropping into my in-box. I’m not sick of as a musical movement but I am fatigued by it.
Finding bands that can do it at a level where I am enthused by them are hard to come by and in a lot of cases it’s definitely me, not them as being the problem. With this in mind, lets hear what Vanir have to say.
Against The Storm is their opening gambit and does a suitably good job of getting things going. It’s built from the tradition methods associated with this genre and in its favour is that it doesn’t look backwards at any point.
Against The Storm is their opening gambit and does a suitably good job of getting things going. It’s built from the tradition methods associated with this genre and in its favour is that it doesn’t look backwards at any point.
This is there statement of intent; this is who we are and this is what we do. If you dig this, then you will almost certainly dig the rest of this album and from that respect it succeeds. It tells you everything you need to know, how they go about things and how everything will unfold for you.
Never Surrender takes that concept and ups that ante by bringing some devilish melodic guitar as a means of raising interest. In its build, its much like Against, its front facing and heavy, which is what you want from them. It’s not saying anything new, but then I’m not sure there is anything new to be said.
Never Surrender takes that concept and ups that ante by bringing some devilish melodic guitar as a means of raising interest. In its build, its much like Against, its front facing and heavy, which is what you want from them. It’s not saying anything new, but then I’m not sure there is anything new to be said.
Putting that to one side, it continues to bring the riffology, which for me is all that matters at this point. Those melodic touches that dropped here and there are done in a way that they don’t become overused, they are tastefully deployed and we are onto Braavalla which wisely goes for build that is slower but no less engaging.
Seeing Amon Amarth noted within the FFO section, this swinging, Viking hall arrangement is welcome with a quality central riff line that must be mint to play as a guitarist. Three songs in and I think we have a good handle of things here. We know that based on these they can do the fast and medium paced melodic builds without losing any of the energy.
For me, these songs should be delivered in short kinetic blasts of energy, they lose some of that impetus once they go past 5 or more minutes. Boudica starts off in restrained fashion before launching in a way that is similar to Braavalla. The way its chorus lines are constructed mark it out as being this albums centre point.
Ostensibly it’s a fine song but because it loops through the same lines twice it feels overlong. It has the potential to go better once its deployed live, but on here its slightly flat.
Da Lammet Brød Det 6, Segl with its spoken narration arrives in a hurry, and successfully mixes between the two tempos, both frenzied and controlled bringing in melody lines that again are tasteful but have that thing about them that raises the material to a higher level.
Da Lammet Brød Det 6, Segl with its spoken narration arrives in a hurry, and successfully mixes between the two tempos, both frenzied and controlled bringing in melody lines that again are tasteful but have that thing about them that raises the material to a higher level.
They don’t forget to bring that bottom end or the machine gun drumming resulting in the Vanir train getting back on the right tracks in terms of harnessing that aggression once more. Helgrinidir recognises this need and brings it’s A-Game.
They stick within the core themes associated with melodic death metal and rather than confining themselves they come up with a cracker. Its one of those with the almost ever-present double bass that propels it forward at every turn.
Mor & Ære completes the resurgence, making sure that the ending is as good as the start, and then we are into the end game with De Forbandede År and Nine. Of the former, this has a stilted rhythm to it, and hits like it has traditional form, updated to suit. It shares a lot of common ground to the ones before it, but its not as direct as Helgrinidir as an example.
Mor & Ære completes the resurgence, making sure that the ending is as good as the start, and then we are into the end game with De Forbandede År and Nine. Of the former, this has a stilted rhythm to it, and hits like it has traditional form, updated to suit. It shares a lot of common ground to the ones before it, but its not as direct as Helgrinidir as an example.
Still, its not a ballad or an instrumental interlude which really would have upset me. It’s the sound of a band that is comfortable with how they go to work, and this is crystallised with Nine. If you imagine someone asking a guitarist, play me something that will make me nod my head, it would sound like this. And that is a consistent theme for this album, riffs that make you nod your head again and again.
Nine does it with what is a simple build, its just that its done with an energy and an eye on getting you up and moving. In that respect, Vanir have been successful. I mentioned earlier that there is a little bit of fatigue setting in when it comes to things melodic. Vanir have crafted a decent set of songs that will be consumed with glee by fans of this music.
From a personal view, it hasn’t quite removed this but I found a lot to like here and I think you will too. 8/10
SolNegre - Anthems For The Grand Collapse (Meuse Music Records) [Mark Young]
Anthems For The Grand Collapse came at me from out of the mist and I’ll be honest took me by surprise. A new band on me, and it’s a welcome introduction to them with an album that snuck in, gradually cajoling you in and then once it gets those hooks in you that is it, you stay until the end.
Seeing it tagged as being Death/Doom, initially I’m not that excited to press play as it can be such a mixed bag but this is quality. It has the virtue of sounding like no one else I’ve heard but keeps within what I consider ‘Good’ sounds like. Of course, you and will differ, but stick with me and I’ll try to justify myself.
The Axiom – Song For The Inert Part II is the expansive jumping off point. Its gives you a plain indication of how things are going to play out here; Everything is delivered so that it is massive in scope, the doom pace meaning that they have the time and space to do it.
The Axiom – Song For The Inert Part II is the expansive jumping off point. Its gives you a plain indication of how things are going to play out here; Everything is delivered so that it is massive in scope, the doom pace meaning that they have the time and space to do it.
Its amazing to think that 9 minutes passes by so quickly in its company with each component part seated so there is just a natural flow. And the lead break around 5minutes is just chef’s kiss. Its both emotionally driven and technically minded, flurries of notes put together before they bring the big riffs out.
The thing that strikes here is the way that they have constructed it, its in perfect synch and a cohesive whole. And what’s more they just casually start things off with it. This approach remains in place as we progress through it, the general vibe is to stay within that specific Doom lane in terms of tempo, which I admire.
They don’t try to change things around in an effort to sound different, they just rely on the sheer strength of their songs. For All That Could Have Been, sitting at the mid-point continues to entrance, using all the tricks to keep you in place.
Piano led moments that break into their big-riff changeovers, clean into guttural vocals and just sublime, introspective parts that allow you to take a breath and start afresh with them. It’s a powerful statement that again passes the 9 minute mark without feeling like it.
I should also note that amongst this display of strength we have a song of beauty, In the Stillness Of The Womb is a gentle, driven piece where guest vocals are provided by Gadea Es Ineseta, and they are breathtaking. Delivered in a way that befits the build, it’s an example of how devastating a song like this can be when approached in this manner.
It’s a favourite of mine on here, probably my standout moment in all honesty because it feels here as everything has aligned in the right way.
They end as they came in, with another epic slab of melodic Death Doom. A Path Of Aloneness (I & II) is their goodbye and provides the right climax following the introspection of the track before. It’s a masterclass in how to do epic songs, and I think that much is evident based on the content here.
They end as they came in, with another epic slab of melodic Death Doom. A Path Of Aloneness (I & II) is their goodbye and provides the right climax following the introspection of the track before. It’s a masterclass in how to do epic songs, and I think that much is evident based on the content here.
It’s a build that attempts to bring its title to life as a self-contained tale. This is the thing; you could take any of the songs from here and listen to them in isolation and they would not lose anything. Each is built to machine tolerance, slotting in and out as the album moves through its gears. They rely on the little, deft touches to make each one fly and its something to behold, especially on this final track.
It does all you would expect from this genre, but its unique to them, at least as far as I can tell. It’s a fantastic release, and hopefully it’s the start of something special for them. 9/10
No comments:
Post a Comment