MYRATH IS STILL THE ONLY INTERNATIONALLY SUCCESSFUL BAND ON THE MUSIC SCENE FROM TUNISIA, A COUNTRY SO ATYPICAL FOR ROCK ANE METAL MUSIC. THEY WERE CAPABLE OF MAKING FULL USE OT THEIR TUNISIAN ORIGIN AND THE CULTURE OF NORTH AFRICA IN WHICH THEY GREW UP. FROM AN EARLY AGE, THEY WERE ALSO INFLUENCED BY THE MUSIC OF THE WESTERN WORLD, SO THEY EASILY COMBINED EVERYTHING INTO ONE WHOLE, WHICH THEY CALLED BLAZING DESERT METAL. THANKS TO THEIR OWN UNIQUE STYLE, THEY ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHER BANDS OF THE ROCK AND METAL MUSIC SCENE. THE UNIQUENESS OF MYRATH IS UNDERLINED BY THE VOCALS OF FRONTMAN ZAHER ZORGATI. ZAHER IS ONE OF THE SINGERS WHO HAS PERFECTLY BALANCED BOTH FUNDAMENTAL LEVELS, TECHNICAL AND EMOTIONAL. THROUGH THE MUSIC AND THEIR PERFORMANCES, THEY SYMBOLICALLY TRANSFORM US TO A DIFFERENT WORLD THAN THE ONE THAT OFTEN SETS THE HARSH REALITY FOR US AND, ABOVE ALL, THEY FILL US WITH POSITIVE ENERGY AND HOPE.
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A legend called MYRATH (“legend” in the Arabic language) began to be written in 2001, at that time under the name X-TAZY. MYRATH is still the only internationally successful band on the music scene from Tunisia, a country so atypical for rock and metal music. Some members of the band live in France and one even in Georgia (Zaher Zorgati, vocals – Tunis, Malek Ben Arbia, guitars – Tunis, Anis Jouini, bass guitar – Georgia, Elyes Bouchoucha, keyboards – France, Morgan Berthet, drums – France). The band has undergone several line-up changes during its almost twenty-year history. The line-up has completely changed since the beginning of their career, with an exception of the only member, which is the founder and guitarist Malek Ben Arbia. The year 2006 is a complete turning point for the band. MYRATH get the opportunity to perform in front of former LED ZEPPELIN frontman, Robert Plant and the French progressive band ADAGIO. At the concert, they meet the keyboardist of the ADAGIO band Kevin Codfert, who becomes the key person for MYRATH on their future journey.
Kevin Codfert became the producer and later the manager of the band. Thanks to his approach and humanity, he is one of the rare exceptions in the music world. He has been supporting MYRATH selflessly from the very beginning, and instead of the typically tough business model, he treats the band members as if they belonged to his family, and their music became part of himself. As a producer, Kevin Codfert has already participated in their debut album “Hope”, released in 2007, and since then he has been behind every release of MYRATH. The band has received favorable reviews from music critics since their first album was out, and fans’ interest in their work is growing rapidly with each new release.
From the outside, it may seem that these musicians are at a disadvantage due to their background. But the opposite is true. Although they come from a country like Tunisia, they were not raised as Orthodox Muslims. As they themselves emphasize, they have nothing to do with religion except the fact that they were born Muslims. Their work and personal mission have nothing to do with religious topics. They were capable of making full use of their Tunisian origin and the culture of North Africa in which they grew up. From an early age, they were also influenced by the music of the Western world, so they easily combined everything into one whole, which they called BLAZING DESERT METAL. Thanks to their own unique style, they are completely different from all other bands of the rock and metal music scene. Enormous perception and openness to various musical genres and cultures also enrich their work. Stylistically, MYRATH cannot be unambiguously categorized, as they combine not only the influences of their native culture, but also hard rock, metal and blues, enriched by elaborate parts of progressive rock. The uniqueness of MYRATH is underlined by the vocals of frontman Zaher Zorgati. Zaher is one of the singers who has perfectly balanced both fundamental levels, technical and emotional. Only someone who can really absorb the specifics of North African culture and, at the same time, the specifics used by the singers of the Western world from an early age, can really sing like him. In this matter, I highly recommend going in depth by listening to the studio recordings of the band MYRATH. What you will hear is, in many cases, not at all easy to sing live.
MYRATH is not one of the bands that builds its image on exaggerated poses and artificial self-presentation. Their expression feels natural and spontaneous, whether it is a concert show or a personal meeting with them. Through the music and their performances, they symbolically transform us to a different world than the one that often sets the harsh reality for us and, above all, they fill us with positive energy and hope.
