MYRATH & Disconnected - Live @ Espace Julien - Marseille (FR) October 10th 2024
Updated: May 25, 2025
On this October 10, 2024, the line-up in front of the small Espace Julien venue in Marseilles is sporting T-shirts that leave little doubt as to the metal tone of the evening, which will see Disconnected open for the much-anticipated Tunisians from Myrath. In the hall, the merchandising stands attract our attention with a beautiful vinyl edition of the superb album “Tales of the sands”, which your reviewer is quick to acquire, a black felt-tip pen hidden in his pocket, for the signing session which is sure to take place, as it almost always does in this venue, which lends itself perfectly to it. We're very excited that evening, as we've never yet had the chance to see Myrath live on stage, but we've loved their oriental-sounding metal albums.
Disconnected, whom we only know by name, soon set the stage ablaze with their punchy metal, in the vein of Gojira, with a genuine melodic identity that sets them apart from current productions. With a handful of albums under their belts and a long-standing reputation on the live scene (they opened for the legendary Judas Priest, among others), they unleash one track after another with a mind-blowing energy, driven by Ivan Pavlakovic's powerful, arranging phrasing, and supported by the steamroller-like Jelly Cardarelli, who manhandles his drums, and the sonic trio of Adrian Martinot, Florian Mérindol and Romain Laure, guitarist and bassist respectively. It's easy to see that, despite their powerful playing, Myrath have spotted in them a sense of contact with the audience, which is precisely what characterizes the Tunisians. A perfectly calibrated introduction to Myrath.
Myrath's performance was an unforgettable encounter: the band set the Espace Julien stage alight! The Tunisians are happy to be in France, confiding that they don't have the same freedom to perform at home, and we're proud to welcome them, for their classy metal, their values and their generosity. The show is intense, colorful and warm, and we dance as much as we sing, to the frenzied rhythm of tracks from all their albums, and especially their latest, “Karma”, which they've come to promote on this French tour. Even though the room is packed, and Myrath have already opened for some very big names, it's impossible not to think back to Angra's first, still intimate stages at the time of Holy Land.
What a pleasure to see, hear and feel a crowd of diverse origins (including people who have crossed the Mediterranean to applaud and support the musicians), gathered like a big family to celebrate their reunion. On stage, Anastasia Lihnka, the choreographer and dancer who accompanies the group, wields scarves like a sword, delivering bewitching dances that bring out before our eyes all the magic of the Orient contained in the music of the great Myrath. For it's clear that the troupe led by Zaher Zorgati for over twenty years, who recruited the talented Morgan Berthet (Eths, The Mars Chronicle, Klone ... ) to support the powerful rhythmic base of Anis Jouini on bass and Malek Ben Arbia on guitar, and to which Eliyes Bouchoucha (multi-instrumentalist, who has worked for Sepultura, Pretty Maids but is also a producer, arranger and musicologist) brings an incredible musicality, has acquired the stature of the greats while retaining a rare closeness to his audience, a fervor and sincerity that also enlivened the photo and autograph session.
A date has been set for 2025. We'll be there! Until then, don't give up, guys!
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