Mithras – Worlds Beyond The Veil

article by Svennerick

Morbid Angel’s output after Covenant led to a huge divergence between Extreme metal fans. After the huge failure and one of Death metal’s biggest downfalls, which was Domination, the band decided to change things up, which is a move that has to be admired, since many bands would milk out such a success and let their own music suffer in mediocrity.


The change was to be heard on Formulas Fatal To The Flesh, which introduced Steve Tucker as the new frontman, who might not be as charismatic as Vincent but does his job better and is a much more proficient player. Formulas… saw the band reinventing its style, while going back to the fast, aggressive and spiritual roots we heard on the outstanding debut Altars Of Madness.

One of those new elements was Trey’s soloing, the LAVA, mostly consisting of tapping licks which stood in contrast to his manic style of spastic, disharmonic soloing and therefore created an ethereal and even inspiring vibe.

A few Modern Bands took influence from that era of Morbid Angel and it’s not Behemoth recycling Gateways To Annihilation until the end of time, it’s the UK band Mithras, who built a great emphasis on Morbid Angel’s new stylistic directions but with greater ambition.

The Duo of both multi instrumentalists Rayner Coss and Leon Macey reached their peak of sound and atmosphere on their second offering Worlds Beyond The Veil, but it’s to say that their debut Forever Advancing… Legions is also a competent work of combining hyperspeed brutal death metal with atmosphere and melody while writing memorable riffs, but that certain atmosphere is even more realized within aforementioned Worlds Beyond The Veil which was released in 2003.

Similar to Morbid Angel’s Heretic which came out in the same year, this album is rather unorthodox in its production. The guitars have a warm, thick and “wall of sound” like character to them, yet they sound really washed out, which might raise a few eyebrows next to the sampled drums which turns people off for various reasons. Other than that, you will have a hard time hearing the bass, but according to the band the bass gives all the low end we hear on this disk, so it has found it’s place in the mix. The vocals are handled in the typical Death metal manner, not much use of any effects except for some compression and reverb.

The riffing on this record range from basic power chord riffs to more advanced concepts and weird tone choices found in technical Death metal and are spiced up with pinch harmonics. Most of those riffs aren’t “Out Of The Body” tier riffs (except the Riff on the title track at 1:29) but they lay a great foundation for the lead guitar, which is Mithras’ trademark and makes them stand out compared to the basic shredders we find in today’s Metal.
Like mentioned earlier Mithras is massively inspired by Tucker Era Morbid Angel and the leads prove that since they mostly “flow” above the riff attacks and hyperfast drumming. They mostly consist out of divebombs which occur throughout the rhythm sections and give a sense of progression during the song, similar to reaching a next level in a video game. Then those solos move into a two handed tapping affair or fast licks while always giving off a very ethereal, divine and majestic vibe that indulges the listener, examples being “Lords And Masters” and “Psyrens”.

Next to your Metal tracks are some longer ambient like pieces, combining the lead guitar playing on its own with various techniques, layers and effects. This might seem gimmicky and uninspired, but fits rather well in the concept of the record with it’s cosmic atmosphere.

Blasting along to his guitar playing, Leon Macey showcases us extreme metal drumming in breathtaking speeds. With that being said Mithras’ music isn’t accompanied by complicated rhythms, but mostly by playing blast beats and double bass with minimalistic designed fills which know how to transition from the riffs into the solos and how to give the tracks are bigger and larger feeling, which adds a lot to the impact Mithras try to achieve here.

Aforementioned bass isn’t as present in the mix here as on most modern technical Death metal records, but it adds low end and even has it’s moments to shine in songs like “Voices Of The Void”.

Rayner Coss who sings next to playing bass uses a very throaty, barbaric mid range growl similar to David Vincent on Covenant. The vocals are used to tell us stories from outer space and enrich the already gigantic sound of Mithras’ music as they are sung in a very commanding manner showing us that man has to go beyond his realm, similar to the music which shows us that we can achieve insane skills and craft art that’s not from this world.

In summary this record showcases a lot of ambition and passion, considering that only two people achieved this huge sound with such intense songs which can put you into another dimension.

While it’s not a perfect album and it is reminiscent of The Key by Nocturnus, due to the Space related themes and crazy guitar playing, but not as cheesy, I think it’s fair to assume that a band that was this young during the composition period really found their own sound with this disk and shows us what potential a human can hold, even if it’s only for lead guitar.

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28 thoughts on “Mithras – Worlds Beyond The Veil

  1. Eli says:

    Good write up! Enjoyed reading it a lot. I’m a long time Morbid Angel fan. The only thing I would ask, is when was the last time you gave Domination a listen? Maybe its not for everyone, but I love the hell out of it. Its also the first album I heard from them, which we all know can influence the way we look at something. But still, holds up well for me to this day. Gonna have to get the rest of the Mithras catalogue now. Cheers!

    1. retard jesus says:

      dumbination is clownin ass brocore and even covenant is feeble compared to the spiritual heights (or is that nadir?) that was achieved on blessed. where the slime live could almost have easily appeared on illud. seriously listen to maze of torment or immortal rites back to back with world of shit or sworn to the black, the deficiencies of the latter will be glaringly obvious

      the only MA that holds up after years are those first 2 (or 3 since elitist pedantry) and formulas is fine occasionally but at least 2 full grades below abominations, altars, and blessed

      that aside, this mithras album is not good but at least probably worth a listen or two, especially for songwriters. it takes steps in an interesting direction (overtly uplifting) that a few other bands have tried to follow but all have stumbled and collapsed on wobbly little baby legs. this not because the message/spirit is incompatible with the death metal approach, more because it takes a profound grokking of the subtleties of both elements to make this alchemical fusing hold up to the armor-splitting toughness requirements that metal must achieve. lykathea aflame perhaps did a slightly better job but still did not achieve total success. iirc another poster some time ago described it as a major key none so vile and that isn’t entirely accurate but not entirely otherwise either

      I do hope that someday a band achieves what us being attempted here because it is potentially very engaging

      a band like PHANTOM does an excellent job fusing yearning melody with borderline excessive brutality, even though their goal is not to be uplifting (au contraire!) but perhaps mithras should have been listening to them for inspiration!

      1. bloodypulp says:

        dude phantom is ok

        its not the same old shit at least

        1. retard jesus says:

          they’re better than any band covered on dmu since sammath

          they’re actually better than sammath

      2. Spinal says:

        Who are these Phantoms? The band from Chile?

        1. retard jesus says:

          their music is distributed by a label in Pennsylvania I believe

          good luck finding any info on the members beyond that

          just take a listen to DIVINE NECROMANCY and you’ll know what PHANTOM is all about! though WITHDRAWAL and EIDOLON are excellent efforts as well. they are black metal’s Lucifer in this age of oversaturation and media astroturfing

    2. svennenenenerick says:

      Hey Eli,

      writer here: Thanks for reading, glad you liked it! I listened to it probably a few months ago. Biggest issue are the vocals and production, I even wrote an article disccusing the vocals. First album I tried was Formulas so I also hold it in a very special way.

      Hails from Germany!

  2. Master of Chaos says:

    Domination is unjustly demonised in my view. 3.45 on rate your music from 2155 ratings. That’s not so bad is it.

    1. retard jesus says:

      lol… so it gets a passable rating in the opinion of the unwashed masses of retards? it’s literally pantera groove riffs with “occvlt” “vibes” and roid rage lyrics that make immolation’s sound keats-tier

    2. svennerick says:

      Hey Master Of Chaos,

      I see where you coming from but I wouldn’t judge the quality of a record by reviews on rym. Domination is just weak compared to the A,B and C records.

      Greetings.

      1. Misty Mountains says:

        Could you provide some further information regarding the band band you mentioned above (Phantom)?

      2. Misty Mountains says:

        Sorry, retard jesus mentioned them … My bad

  3. yeah I fap so what? says:

    The 6 minute “ambient” “”””song”””” in the beginning sets the tone for everything wrong with this band: it’s just random ideas thrown together plus Morbid angel rift theft. It sounds like an Eric rutan band if I didn’t know any better.

    1. svennerick says:

      Only that this is more engaging and musically interesting than 230bpm octave power chord riffs.

      I see where you coming from and in my review you can see small hints that this band has it’s heart at the right place and that the lead playing is the main attraction here, while the riffage and writing comes a bit short.
      At least you gave the band some attention, which was my intention behind the review.

      Hails!

  4. DonkeyBalls says:

    Really cool record in the 2nd era Morbid Angel style, feels more free with it’s ideas than anything MA could do, thanks for the heads up on this one.

  5. Lunar Voyage into the Ether says:

    This band is rath’r h’rrible. Much liketh did state above, the ambient introduction is no more brain than stone, hath lost in the texture in which t w’rships. T is simple music f’r simple minds. T is safe to assume yond this band is v’ry dumb, and their craniums, much liketh their souls, is exsufflicate

  6. This band is fucking gay compared to us.

    1. papa bare says:

      you’re out of your element donny!

  7. Thrash is better than black or death says:

    I’ll say it to the end of time-Thrash is better than black or death

    1. papa bare says:

      hey I found the dictionary you dropped! here’s the page you were on…

      “better – edgy; too similar to hardcore punk; cartoonishly imnature; dripping with overblown machismo yet still gayer than power metal”

      whoa bro, you need to get an updated dictionary! nobody has used this version since, let’s see… NEVER

    2. Correction: Black is better than Heavy is better than Death is better than Thrash is better than Doom.*

      *(As I’ve expanded upon elsewhere, no other genres of Metal exist)

      Really the only Thrash works approaching True Greatness come from no more than half a dozen bands at most. (Namely the Big Three American and German Bands – Slayer/Metallica/Megadeth, Sodom/Kreator/Destruction).

      Sepultura could perhaps be added to this category as well, but mainly for Morbid Visions/Bestial Devastation which is more of a Death Metal affair anyways. (In fact 4/6 of the bands I listed above – especially at their peak, are essentially just proto-Death/Black).

      Razor, Dark Angel, Rigor Mortis, Nuclear Assault, Overkill, Slaughter, etc. are all groups I enjoy and good fun to listen to now and then, but are ultimately not as High Level™, cohesive or enduring to rank among the Army of the Immortals.

      Almost all other Thrash bands I find to be rather bland, generic and/or dated to some extent or another.

      When you compare all this to the respective literal DOZENS of masterful Black Metal and Death Metal BANDS in existence you realize – with the outstanding and incomparable exception of SLAYER – that at the end of the day, Thrash as a Genre™ just doesn’t stand a chance against its successors.

      1. BY THE GODS, it just occurred to me how could I have forgotten to include

        EXORCIST – NIGHTMARE THEATRE

        in my Thrash Immortals list!

        Still, that just goes to show how telling it is that one of the Top 5 best Thrash bands in existence is a semi-joke side-project from the greatest Power Metal/Cock Rock/Very-High-Level™-Barbaric-Romantic-Classical-Music-Of-The-Twenty-First-Century band of all time!

      2. retard jesus says:

        hell yeah y’all listen to this nigga right heuh

        but I’d debate you about death and heavy metal. in my estimation demilich and incantation achieved heights that no heavy metal band ever matched

        1. “debates” are for christians and retards

          True Heavy Metal resonates more strongly with my unique personal essence and sense of aesthetics, but there is certainly no doubt about the outstandingly High Level™ achievements of the Death Metal Masters, including, but not limited to those you have named.

          There may even be an article in the works on this subject as we speak…

          1. retard jesus says:

            aha but retreating into subjectivism and “that’s just like my opinion man” is better than xtian or retard behavior?

            heh I need I keed… am definitely looking forward to your article though. if I’m to guess any heavy metal band that comes close to the heights of Onward to Golgotha, Blessed are the Sick, Nespithe, Psychostasia, and Blod-Draum, it would be Adramalech, Universe, Broca’s Helm, Satan, Cirith Gorgor, possibly some others you left out of your epic heavy metal article… cuz if Cloven Hoof or gay shit like that shows up again I will figuratively flay you with twizzlers to teach you the true meaning of both epic domination and brutality

            1. I’ve never heard of Cirith Gorgor before. Did you mean to say “Cirith Ungol” (good band), or were you actually referring to these gents?

              https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Cirith_Gorgor/2104

              And do you mean this Swedish Universe? I actually just discovered it recently (within the past month or two) and it is definitely good, but surely it’s not actually full-on all-time top-tier HM?

              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyI2KKHBHbk

  8. Cynical says:

    So when are you guys going to cover Relapse’s cuckoldry re: Tau Cross and Amebix?

  9. yahweh in the electric chair says:

    What is this? Domination cutting room floor riffs run through a deathcore blender with Steve Vai solos? If this is the “death metal underground” it’s only underground because that’s where you bury dead things.

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