Myrath

A progressive metal group originating in Tunisia, Myrath fuse their North African roots with Arabic and Middle Eastern instrumentation inside an intense blend of power metal and cinematic prog rock. They became the initial Tunisian ensemble to secure a recording contract beyond national borders. Prior to unveiling their globally praised debut Hope, the musicians devoted five years refining both personnel and style, passing through hard rock, blues, and a period performing as a Symphony X tribute act. Desert Call, issued in 2010, presented an array of timbres supplied by regional folk instruments and introduced metal audiences to the ensemble’s emerging sonic identity, enriched by strings and orchestrations that wove elaborate melodies alongside heavier, more driving metal elements. The band solidified this direction on Tales of the Sands in 2011. Beyond cultivating a following, the album attracted the attention of international tour promoters and press outlets. Following extended road work, Myrath delivered Legacy and immediately resumed touring, issuing only singles for the subsequent years. In 2019 Shehili placed them on metal charts worldwide.

Located in the coastal city of Ezzahra, Myrath began under the name X-Tazy, established in 2001 by guitarist Malek Ben Arbia at age thirteen as a blues and hard rock unit. Applying their progressive approach, they started composing original material and appearing at festivals. The 2005 demo Double Face, released on USB flash drive, reached listeners outside Tunisia through metal media coverage and earned approval from European critics for its sonic and textural choices. Two years afterward, after becoming the first Tunisian musician to obtain a European label agreement—with France’s Bremmis Music—Myrath issued their official debut album, Hope, as a quartet featuring Ben Arbia, drummer Saif Louhibi, keyboardist/vocalist Elyes Bouchoucha, and bassist Anis Jouini. Produced by Adagio keyboardist Kévin Codfert, the recording traveled beyond Tunisia and reached international metal journalists, who noted the refreshing and exotic quality of the group’s intricate musical aesthetic arising from its use of Arabic and North African folk instrumentation. Myrath performed across Europe, opening package tours and headlining club dates.

The band released its sophomore album, Desert Call, in 2010 on the French label XIII Bis Records, introducing new frontman Zaher Zorgati. His capacity to shift fluidly between acrobatic power metal wails and prayerful Islamic chants—frequently inside a single vocal phrase—supplied the missing element in the band’s sonic framework. Their refined, progressive, and melodically infectious approach drew favorable comparisons to Dream Theater and Symphony X. Although they promoted the album with a short tour, Myrath promptly returned to the studio. Again collaborating with Codfert, the occidental/progressive metal fusion gained further breadth through the mixing of Frederik Nordstrom and the mastering of Jens Bogren on 2011’s Tales of the Sands, which also featured new drummer Morgan Berthet. Critical response proved not merely positive but enthusiastic. Myrath continued to merge hook-driven melodic prog metal, power metal, elements of thrash, and an occasionally near-classical treatment of Arabic music by employing a string trio and securing guest backing and duet vocals from Visions of Atlantis frontwoman Clémentine Delauney. Reception throughout Europe, Central and East Asia, North America, and Brazil proved strong. The musicians spent multiple years on tour, supporting Dream Theater, H.I.M., W.A.S.P., and Tarja Turunen across Dubai, India, Europe, and North Africa. The band also made its initial live appearance on U.S. soil at ProgPower USA in 2013 and headlined ProgPower Europe in the Netherlands. Myrath obtained a prized support slot on Symphony X’s Underworld tour in early 2016 while composing and rehearsing fresh material on the road. After signing with Verycords in Europe, the group entered the studio with Codfert later that year to record Legacy. They obtained lyrics from Tunisian poets and songwriters, while their producer—who also arranged and recorded the album—engaged a string section, a folk trio, and a backing choir, all mixed by Bogren. Despite the extensive instrumentation and ambitious production, Legacy emerged as the band’s most accessible and widely embraced album to that point.

Myrath launched its own global headlining tour while also performing on festival bills. Over the next three years the musicians appeared at virtually every major metal and prog rock festival; their sole releases were the 2018 compilation Merciless Times and a pair of singles.

In 2019 the band delivered its fifth album, Shehili, to mark its new international agreement with earMUSIC. During the hiatus, fans debated on internet forums how far Myrath might extend its distinctive sound, constructed from musical traditions separated by centuries. With Codfert overseeing the entire project as producer, arranger, engineer, recordist, and mixer, the music on Shehili reached new levels of ambition. More than a dozen guests participated, including chamber strings, choirs, and both Western and Middle Eastern woodwinds. Yet Shehili became the group’s most hook-oriented and accessible release, appearing on digital metal charts across nearly every continent. After years of touring, Myrath independently issued a live video from a concert in Sweden, followed by the meticulously recorded Live in Carthage CD/DVD package. One year later, Live in Carthage appeared as a standalone audio release.