Myrath, Roses of Thieves
Tuesday, 21 April 2026
Orto Bar, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Once again, a solo trip into (almost) uncharted territory. I hadn’t heard of support act Roses of Thieves before, and Myrath — like so many proper prog bands — I’d caught only sporadically: an album here, a track there, a concert on whatever streaming platform happened to serve it up. Everything I did hear, I always liked: glorious vocals, world-class instrumentalists, catchy melodies, syncopated rhythms. Here, though — and I’ll own my cultural narrow-mindedness — the orthodox Arabic rhythms and melodies of the early albums sometimes rubbed me the wrong way.
The Hungarian six-piece Roses of Thieves kicked off their hour-long set right at eight. Petite newcomer vocalist Ivett and the crew — bassist, guitarist, drummer, violinist, and accordionist — immediately floored it and rattled through their razor-sharp set to the delight of a roughly one-third-full Orto. For me, this band is the living proof of that old saying: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Every member is a solid and capable enough performer, but the band and the performance delivered far more than that. Infectious energy, singalong tracks, folk-flavored touches, and a bouncy feel got even the last stubborn wallflower moving. Perhaps unsurprisingly — or maybe it was — the biggest cheer went to the cover of the instant 80s hit Boys (Summertime Love) by buxom overnight sensation Sabrina. The sound for a support act was genuinely good — the accordion got a little swallowed up, while the bass, in a somewhat surprising contrast, ruled the mix with an assist from the violin. Since I always have to grumble about something: the pre-recorded choir vocals and keyboards bugged me. A six-piece band — couldn’t they just play their own music live?
Setlist:
1. Fend off the Dark
2. Be the Captain
3. Synonym for Blasphemy
4. White Wolf
5. Not Your Fate
6. Boys (Summertime Love) (Sabrina Salerno cover)
7. Blunderbuss
8. Keep the Night Inside
9. Can’t Look Back
10. Once Upon a Time
11. Taste of Freedom
12. Hymn of Hell
13. Not Your Fate
Myrath. Legacy. The legacy. This Tunisian band, now based in Paris, dropped their debut album Hope all the way back in 2007. Initially dismissed as an Arabic version of Symphony X, they’ve spent the years since building a musical identity that’s entirely their own — one that draws freely from the rich tradition of progressive rock and, above all, metal. Their international breakthrough came in 2016 with the album Legacy, where they loosened their Arabic shackles a little and introduced rhythms and melodies with broader international appeal, without ever, for a single moment, denying their origins or their musical roots.
And so, guided by a charming and mysterious dancer, they took us through the evening on the hypnotic power of Zaher Zorgati‘s extraordinary voice — commanding a pleasantly half-full Orto with quiet authority and a crystalline emotional depth. This was probably the most technically accomplished live performance by any band I’ve ever witnessed in my long and eventful concert-going career. Every member was eerily composed, yet together they put out music that was charged with energy and emotion — music that took complete hold of you. Amid all this “Zen-Buddhism,” I did find myself slightly worried about the drummer, whose stage getup suggested he’d just arrived from a plague zone. Or that the plague was lying in wait for us at Orto Bar.
I have to give a special mention to the band’s guitarist and founder, Malek Ben Arbia. Complex riffs, dreamy solos, and hellish breakdowns all poured from his seven-string with an almost unearthly ease. On my personal ranking of “effortless” metal guitarists, he slots in at number two — right behind Jørn Viggo Lofstad from Pagan’s Mind.
The crowd and the band became one, and Zaher effortlessly commanded the energy in the room. The sound was crystal clear, yet packed the necessary punch. Whoever made that happen could’ve taught a thing or two to the crew from the show exactly one week earlier. Special mention goes to audience members Sanela and Blaž, old friends of Zaher‘s, who spent the rest of the show gently bathed in the glow of the stage lights.
The women of the evening made a major contribution to what was an outstanding show. Ivett as the support act’s vocalist, and then in Until the End stepping into the shoes of Eliza Ryd (Amaranthe), who sings on the studio version. And then there was an exotic dancer of unknown name, who added a touch of mystery to the most enigmatic-sounding parts of the setlist. For the coup de grâce, Myrath had been saving Believer — a staggering masterpiece from the already-mentioned breakthrough album Legacy.
Setlist:
1. The Funeral
2. Born to Survive
3. Dance
4. Until the End
5. Into the Light
6. The Clown
7. Through the Seasons
8. Tales of the Sands
9. Still the Dawn Will Come
10. Breathing Near the Roar
11. Endure the Silence
12. Beyond the Stars
13. No Holding Back
14. Soul of My Soul
15. Les Enfants du soleil
16. Believer
It’s been a long, long time since a live show left this kind of mark on me. Wild, intense, top-class. If you’ve got even the faintest trace of prog-power blood in your veins, don’t you dare miss the next Myrath show. Seriously.
Words and photos: Igorac
