Интервю с Elyes Bouchoucha от MYRATH

I would like to say again, thank you Elyes Bouchoucha for the interview and thank you МYRATH for the great concert in Sofia, Bulgaria!

MH 18: Arabic metal on the European and world stage… How do you feel, how does yours fans accepting you?

Elyes: First of all, I need to say, we are not Arabic. We are North Africans. We don’t belong to Arabs. Our history is very, very big.

When we started doing MYRATH, we started as a band playing with influences of power metal, like bands like SYMPHONY X for example, and death metal. And then, with the help of our producer, when in Tunisia we opened for Robert Plant, our producer was there, with his band, he saw that we were putting a little bit of our tradition in our music. So, he said: “Ok guys, you are really great, and I want to work with you!” So, when we start to make our first album, he said: ”Ок, there are millions of bands who are playing death metal, progressive metal, heavy metal, whatever. But do you want to be unique?” So, he pushed us to be unique, with more sounds from our culture.

And so, we made the first album with a little bit of our tradition, and second album, and now „Legacy“, is the thing we want to do.

MH 18: I didn’t go to Kavarna Rock Fest, because I wasn’t in Bulgaria, but now I’m here specifically for your concert and for this interview. How did the Bulgarian fans in Kavarna accepted you?

Elyes: In Kavarna, it was our first experience as we never play here in Bulgaria. It was interesting as we already see some fans, people with our t-shirts, and with CD’s in signing session. So, when promoter saw that there was a fan base here, he said we will make a concert, there is a very good crowd, and they will come.

MH 18: This was my third question, but, what is your reason for coming twice in a year’s time, what drew you back in Bulgaria and did you do interviews with other Bulgarian media in Kavarna?

Elyes: Because, when we play in Kavarna, there are lots of fans here in Sofia, so they can’t go there in Kavarna, the promoter saying it would be great to have MYRATH in Sofia.

Yes, a lots of media.

MH 18: Why did you choose VELIAN for your supporting band? What is it that you like in their music, what drew you in?

Elyes: Ok, in the metal industry, there are a lot of famous bands, they will bring bands, and tour with them everywhere. We never forget how we started. We started with other bands, and I know, to promote bands, it’s very difficult. So, we think, as we are playing here, the best thing to do, is to take a band who represents Sofia. A new band, who maybe can’t afford to make a lot of promotion. We take a band from the local place, to help with exposure, and to help them promote themselves.

MH 18: Most of your fans perceive your music as exotic, but I guess this is normal for you. A friend of mine even called you the oriental DREAM THEATER…. Who are MYRATH ’s members inspired from?

Elyes: The great thing with MYRATH, every member has own favourite musical genre, for example me, I’m into oriental and arabic music, classical also, other member into death metal, blues, funk. Our drummer is into extreme metal, world music, latino, our singer is into pop, bass player into heavy metal. So we are five, and each one has own influences which combined, makes something unique. That’s why we are not just heavy metal as that would be boring, but in our music you will hear oriental, Tunisian, and our bass player would do some funk, and that’s why we are, all of us from the band, are putting something from his heart.

MH 18: What does MYRATH mean and how did you choose the band’s name?

Elyes: Ok, MYRATH means heritage. Heritage, it’s cultural. Our country is very rich, in an historical way, we had Greek, Romans, French, and then Arabs in the end, so all of those civilizations influence us. Even our language is a mixture of everything.

MH 18: Is it hard to make metal with oriental rhythms and how do you combine your texts in two languages – English and Arabic?

Elyes: When we are trying to sing, it’s not Arabic, it’s Tunisian. Even some Arabs do not understand what we saying. The sounds are heavy, not like English fluent. It’s like a laboratory. We have to find the right words, that people can pronounce, and watch the music. It’s exotic, it’s practice practice.

MH 18: Do you have a song with a French text too? I would personally like to hear such a song, why don’t you compose one for your next album?

Elyes: It’s our second language, but the thing is, yes, we can do it, but not many countries speak French, unlike English which is universal, so we have to sing in 80 % English, so, people have to know what we sing about, with some Tunisian, in the chorus.

MH 18: Who writes your lyrics?

Elyes: For the lyrics we have two people, from inside the family. Yes, MYRATH is a family. We do not hire people to write. Ayman from the first album, and also the producers wife, Perienne, who is a graphic designer, she design the hand from the album „Legacy“, and she is photographer, and she make the lyrics.

MH 18: Was it hard for you to be accepted as a metal band in Tunisia, I suppose you have fans in your home land too?

Elyes: Yes, we have fans there, and usually we play to 5000 to 8000 metal heads which is large for small country. Last time, we play in ancient theatre, but the same day we had tragic moments, when terrorists attack Tunisia. But that is problem, like all countries, when people ask us about Tunisia, we are not safe, we are protecting our country, but terrorism is everywhere.

MH 18: Where and when was your first big concert outside Tunisia?

Elyes: Our first concert was in France, in Marseille, and our biggest, biggest concert was in Japan. We play in front of 37000, the fans were crazy, and it was a great experience.

MH 18: I have your favorite song of yours, „Merciless Times“. I’m woken every morning by it on my phone. Do you have a favorite song from Myrath’s albums?

Elyes: Aww, thank you! Yes of course, I would say, „Endure The Silence“, for example, and „Tales of the Sands“, and „Beyond the Stars“…

MH 18: What’s your favorite band from the world stage, or what was your favorite band before you started playing music?

Elyes: SYMPHONY X. We toured with them in March.

MH 18: Favorite hobby in your spare time?

Elyes: Sports. 🙂

MH 18: You launched a major campaign for your new album and in particular for the video of „Believer“. I remember we wrote an article about this on our website MetalHangar 18. Was it difficult to find sponsors and did fans really help?

Elyes: It was a bit hard, because, when we want to make the video clip, we wanted to make something like cinema, that never created before. It cost around 37 000 Euro, its a mini film, a film of five minutes. It’s hard for a label to give money like that just for video, they maybe want to invest it somewhere else, so thats why we ask fans for help. We got something like 15 000 Euro and I want to thank our fans, as without them, MYRATH would not be at this stage. So, because of help from fans and friends, we are still in existence. So thank you so much.

MH 18: What can we expect in the future from MYRATH ?

Elyes: For future, touring, touring and spreading peace around the world. We are musicians, are religion is music.

MH 18: Say something special for Bulgarian fans.

Elyes: О, Боже, ние сме в България! (OMG, we are in Bulgaria) 😀

Interview: Strega

Photographer: ArthurDent