Sublime Death
I love press releases.
"Four years of deathly silence, hidden activity and distant meditation have passed...Prepare for the sound of ascension, light-speed retribution on the so-called experts and anonymous critics of this dimension and the next."
In other words, Mithras has a new album out and we reviewers are in for it.
Mithras is a two-piece death metal act from the UK and 'Behind the shadows lie madness' is the band's third release. From the outset it is obvious that Mithras aren't your average run of the mill death metal act. They certainly have the blast-beats and machine gun drums courtesy of Leon Macy, but they have some quite appealing growling from bassist Rayner Cross., but the thing that sets them apart from the death crowd is the overall guitar work, which is first class.
Did I say first class? I could also use the word 'stunning' because occasionally the guitar lines seem at odds with the brutal rhythm track yet the two mix perfectly and there's not better example of this than at the 1:44 mark 'To fall from the heavens'. Such a simple catchy guitar is joined by some frantic thrashy backing but it all sounds simply divine. The following song 'Under the three spheres' is another quality tune which first sees the use of the band's heavily reverberated and delayed guitar lead sound. Imagine if you will Meshuggah's 'Chaosphere' without the staccato rhythm work and replace it with a little Morbid Angel and a dash of Nile and you're about in the same ball park. This isn't to say Mithras sound like any of the above but I can bet my last pound that if you're a fan of the above then you'll appreciate 'Behind the shadows lie madness'.
'When the light fades away' allows for a rest from the blasting noise with a little orchestration and atmosphere but pulverising in once again with 'Behind the shadows'. The lead guitar work once again cuts in after a minute and a half and it is these lead breaks that make the whole album so accessible even though it's shit heavy. All through the album this strength is played out and it certainly makes 'Behind the shadows lie madness' become a brilliant piece of extreme music.
I would say that this album should be in the collection of every extreme metal fan, the performances are superb, the songs are well thought out and brilliantly put together and the guitar work is simply sublime. After reading their press release and biography my advice to any budding listener is to ignore all the bullshit and over-written passages and just listen to the music, its what it's about and simply good enough without any explanations. As a 'so-called expert and anonymous critic' consider me a victim of your light-speed retribution.