Mythra go all the way back to the late 1970s and back then were at the head of the emerging New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Their Death and Destiny EP a bona fide NWOBHM classic. How I wish I still had my copy.
Whilst things didn’t work out for them those few decades ago the band reformed in 2015 and issued a mighty fine album – Still Burning – in 2017.
Some six years later here in 2023 they’ve hit us with another fine album titled Temples of Madness. The flame remains strong in Mythra. The album is an excellent shot of powerful NWOBHM-style mayhem with a fresh feel to it also.
Huge riffs slashing and cutting away at will. Monstrous powerchord rhythm guitar leaving plenty of room for the blazing solos. All very nice indeed.
Mythra don’t muck about. Not their style. A dozen hard hitters over a run time of around three quarters of an hour. No padding out the time here.
Generally shortish songs full of energy which all pack quite a punch individually and collectively. The power starts from the first big riffage of Stabbed in the Back and does not relent thereafter until the last note of Wild and Free.
The exception to the right in your face three minuters is the excellent title track which clocks in at around five and a half minutes as the band stretch out in to a very indeed tasty mini-epic.
The gentle atmospheric intro starts it off and you know at some point it’s going to take off. And indeed it does. The mid-section is breathless and bombastic. Riffs flying in from everywhere, the guitars screaming and shredding away with blazing solo work before it calms down to fade out at the end.
Have a watch of Mythra performing it live:
Full marks to Mythra for still doing the good stuff for around four and a half decades and remaining enthusiastic enough to be doing what they do so well putting out albums as good as Temples of Madness.
For old NWOBHM fans such as your reviewer or any fan of honest to goodness heavy metal. Check it out. Available from Mythra’s Bandcamp or Bigcartel pages. Here are the links:
https://mythra.bigcartel.com/
https://mythra.bandcamp.com/album/temples-of-madness