Myrath

Myrath are a Tunisian progressive metal band widely regarded as the most internationally successful act ever to emerge from the Arab world's metal scene. The group began in 2001 in the Tunis area — the members grew up in the same neighbourhood in Ez-Zahra, a coastal suburb south of the capital — when guitarist Malek Ben Arbia, then only 13, put together a covers outfit called X-Tazy. As the teenage line-up matured, the band shed its blues and death metal covers, adopted the name Myrath (Arabic for "legacy") around 2005-2006, and set about building something few had attempted: a metal sound rooted in the melodic language of North Africa and the Middle East. Their debut album, Hope, arrived in 2007 and made them the first Tunisian band signed to a label outside their own country. Desert Call followed in 2010 and Tales of the Sands in 2011, the record on which their identity fully crystallised. Rather than adding "exotic" decoration to conventional riffs, Myrath build songs on Arabic maqam scales and quarter-tone melodies, layering oud, violin, darbuka and other traditional percussion over progressive and power metal arrangements, with sweeping orchestral parts arranged by keyboardist-producer Kevin Codfert, a long-time collaborator who became a full band member in 2022. Zaher Zorgati, who joined on lead vocals in 2007, sings largely in English but with the ornamented phrasing of traditional Arabic singing — a defining part of the band's texture. Legacy (2016) was their commercial breakthrough, earning chart placings in Europe and opening the door to major festival slots and international touring, including runs with Symphony X and appearances at ProgPower USA. Shehili (2019) — named after a hot Saharan wind — pushed the oriental element further and refined what the band themselves call "blazing desert metal". Karma, released in 2024 on earMUSIC, brought their most polished production yet and consolidated a global audience, followed by Wilderness of Mirrors in 2026. Alongside Ben Arbia, Zorgati and Codfert, the current line-up features Anis Jouini on bass (since 2006) and French drummer Morgan Berthet (since 2012). Beyond record sales, Myrath's significance is cultural: they proved that a band from Tunisia could tour Europe, North America and Asia on its own terms, singing about their region's history and landscape without softening either the metal or the Arabic music at its core.