Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Myrath - Shehili (2019)

Another adventure awaits in the lands of Myrath. Shehili refers to the Southern winds blown across Tunisia, and just like those winds, the notes and compositions would blow you away. This kind of feeling of mystical as f***!

Oriental metal was first invented by Orphaned Land with their 1993 demo The Beloved's Cry and 1994 debut Sahara. Fast forward 25 years and Myrath have been making album after album of kick-A metal with emotion and Middle Eastern instrumentation. Melodies and rhythms are performed quite well in the metal and orchestration. The songs are all brilliantly mixed. And while there's not a lot of variety, it's still enough to display their usual progressive folk metal sound of hope.

The brief intro "Asl" consists of oriental woodwind and vocal chanting before the folky prog-metal kicks off in the next track... "Born to Survive" is a solid catchy example of that sound. "You’ve Lost Yourself" exemplifies that even further with its unbreakable metal heaviness gone folk combo. The vocals soar as guide you into the memorable final third with that bridge and solo that shall be remembered. And there's more of that masterful soloing and soaring vocals in "Dance", a Syrian dancer determined to follow his dreams despite being on the run from ISIS. And d*mn, those keyboard melodies can really shine without being too overwhelming.

Now things get a little darker with "Wicked Dice". Same with "Monster in My Closet" which has more aggressive riffing. That's the kind of music to both dance and headbang to. Slowing things down is another majestic highlight, "Lili Twil". Although it's a cover of an old Tunisian song, it has been more progressive guitarwork not too far off from Dream Theater, fitting well with the Arabic vocals. ''No Holding Back'' stands out with its keyboard orchestrations and percussion, giving us promising melodies and rhythms.

"Stardust" starts off with sorrowful piano that makes me think it would lead to a song in the style of Amaranthe, Galneryus, Xandria, or Delain. However, it instead leads to a symphonic ballad with slight heaviness. More melodic drama comes in ''Mersal''. Guest appearing is Tunisian singing veteran Lotfi Bouchnak whose dark range has brilliant contrast with the melodic light of Zaher Zorgati. Theatrical orchestrations and riffing appear again in "Darkness Arise". You gotta appreciate the talent guitarist Malek Ben Arbia has. The closing title track does grand justice to the melodic prog-folk metal sound of Myrath and Orphaned Land's later material.

With all that said, I'm glad Myrath still have what it takes in Shehili. They have shown us that there's still hope and joy in a world of hate and war. They've motivated us with these anthems of wonder. Awesome rhythms, inspring vocals... They all sound so unique. Shehili is an excellent powerful release. So turn it on and let it be the soundtrack to your journey through these majestic Middle Eastern lands!

Favorites: "You’ve Lost Yourself", "Dance", "Lili Twil", ''No Holding Back'', "Mersal", "Shehili"