01. To The Star
02. Into The Light
03. Candles Cry
04. Let It Go
05. Words Are Falling
06. The Wheel Of Time
07. Temple Walls
08. Child Of Prophecy
09. The Empire
10. Heroes
11. Carry On
It’s been a sticky road to release for Karma, but eventually Myrath’s newest effort has been let loose in thee world. Thankfully, after all the kerfuffle, this new album has turned out to be worth waiting for.
Unquestionably the shining light of North African metal, Tunisia’s Myrath started life as Xtazy before rebranding under the name they subsequently forged a reputation with in time for 2007’s debut album, Hope. The early Myrath releases were firmly in progressive metal territory, but drew liberally from Arabian folk music to create a style that was fully their own. Refinement of their music occurred across Desert Call and Tales Of The Sands (my introduction to the group), before Myrath began shifting towards more anthemic songwriting from Legacy onwards. Their latest record, Karma, was seemingly initially slated for an Autumn 2023 release, but following a September 2023 leak and conflicting sources regarding a release date, it finally was officially shared with the world almost a half-year later in March 2024.
Musically, this latest outing represents a continuation of Myrath’s trajectory of the past decade. They haven’t completely left progressive metal behind; instrumental and rhythmic complexity sneak into songs across the record, such as in “Wheel Of Time” and “Temple Walls”. Still, much like acts such as Amorphis or Evergrey, Myrath offer a more accessible interpretation of prog in which subtle complexity is embedded into songs built around conventional structures, and Karma is arguably the group’s most accessible release to date; there’s not a track here over 5 minutes, and each one delivers grand, catchy choruses poised to hook themselves in your brain.
Capping all of this off is an instrumental richness provided by elaborate symphonics and folk instrumentation; producer and keyboardist Kévin Codfert (Adagio) arguably crafts the most luxurious and exquisite arrangements to date on a Myrath album. It sets a perfect stage upon which for the band’s latest roster of songs to shine, and by and large they deliver deftly. Zaher Zorgati once more demonstrates his outstanding ability as a frontman, bringing power and smoothness with a voice that delivers such a compelling tone. On a rich, triumphant anthem such as “Into The Light”, he takes all that symphonic bombast to another level in the huge, infectious chorus.
Tales Of The Sands was my introduction to Myrath, and has remained my pick of their albums since, but it does perhaps have a smidge of inconsistency in song quality. While I’m not sure Karma ever quite reaches the peak of that album’s best tracks, it does have a very solid level of consistency throughout. The closest I get to not being won over by a song here is “Candles Cry”, whose funkiness doesn’t quite do it for me, and which has a chorus that falls short of the heights that other songs on Karma reach. That song aside, it’s pretty much hit after hit here. “To The Stars” kicks things off in grandiose style; the driving mid-tempo force and supporting symphonic bombast remind me somewhat of Ad Infinitum’s debut album. On the flip side, the straightforward “Let It Go” has a very similar lightness and accessibility to it as several songs on Teramaze’s more recent albums.
Earlier, when I provided examples of songs with progressive elements to them, I named two tracks in the second half of the album, and arguably the home stretch of Karma features its more complex songs. Perhaps the turning point for this change is “Words Are Failing”, which is the album’s most pop-oriented effort, bringing to my mind acts such as VRSTY; however, I reckon there’s a bunch of pop artists who wish they could serve up vocal melodies as sweet and infectious as those on this song.
“Words Are Failing”, while possibly being the most divisive track here, is probably my highlight of Karma, but that doesn’t mean that the pivot towards slightly more progressive writing afterwards is unwelcome. “Wheel Of Time” (another strong vehicle for Anis Jouini’s excellent bass skills) excellently weaves its Arabian melodies into an elaborate modern prog-metal framework, while “Child Of Prophecy” packs some quality riffs into its runtime, while also nicely accentuating the chorus with dancing violin. One final highlight of Karma is “The Empire”, a song as domineering as its name would imply, but with some beautiful singing from Zorgati in the pre-chorus before the magisterial chorus.
Myrath are a band that I have reliably enjoyed, but admittedly I’ve not found their albums, Tales Of The Sands aside, to be ones that draw me back for repeat listens. Karma is their first release in a decade that leaves me eager for more; the group have really found a solid balance between accessible writing and majestic production, while also retaining their heaviness, their homegrown musical influences, and the progressive inclinations, and it all comes together really effectively here.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 9 |
 | Written on 12.03.2024 by Hey chief let’s talk why not |