Review Summary: Myrath ascends.
For those unfamiliar to the Tunesian Myrath, this band started out as a progressive metal cover band, and slowly turned into a symphonic hard rock band with pronounced Oriental influences. The latter becoming even more obvious in their over-the-top video clips (which are a fun watch for sure). Myrath even went as far to implementing belly dancers and flying tables into their live performances to showcase their roots even more. On
Karma however, the band went all out on the symphonic hard rock aspect, and added more Occidental pop influences to their already catchy music. The eastern aspect is still there, albeit a bit less in your face, and everything is slightly more bombastic this time.
Well, slightly? Tracks like “Into the Light” and “Wheel of Time” sees you instantly flying with eagles’ wings towards the sun and surpassing it with ease. Hell no, you are NOT falling back to earth like that sucker Icarus did.
That’s the whole vibe of this record anyway. Feelgood epic rock with great instrumentation and, surprisingly, quite diverse songwriting. It really isn’t a formulaic record, there are some nice interludes and heavier segments scattered throughout the runtime of
Karma. The addition of unusual instruments to Myrath, like a horn section, are also tastefully executed.
Yes, the record is quite cheesy. “Let it Go” for example really puts the pedal to the metal in this department, letting the creamy goodness overflow from its power metal influenced cup. “Temple Walls” wears its Fall Out Boy influence on its sleeve, but this does not take away from the quality of the track. The different personalities of the tracks can really be seen as a strength of this record, especially since you do not usually see this trait on the more commercially tinted hard rock records.
Fans expecting the prog metal from a decade ago have hopefully realized this was never going to happen, but if you are still reading this and didn’t get the note: No, Myrath did not go back to making their own version of Symphony X. The prog metal elitists will probably throw up hearing “Words Are Failing”, which could literally be an Ariana Grande track if it had had different instrumentation. But here the diverse songwriting once again comes into play, with the bridge randomly exploding into quite a Dream Theater-like metal section. As if they knew this song could piss their old fans off…
One small personal detraction from the record is the track “Candles Cry”. It’s not that bad, it’s just nothing special, and the chorus really isn’t to my taste. I can see it being fun in a live setting though.
The record could also be a bit less polished perhaps, but that is honestly just nit picking. The production is clear and quite fitting for an album like this. The bass presence is also very nicely done.
All in all, this record is amazing if you love poppy rock, and can deal with some serious cheese. Be mindful of some unexpected twists and turns however! Strap yourself in tightly, cause otherwise you will, just like Myrath, ascend from life itself, straight to the stars.
