(self-released?!)

leon was kind enough to send me this cd of various tracks from the new mithras material, so of course i will automatically give it a good review! haha, not really (not "automically" anyway!), but luckily for mithras i am impressed with their new stuff, it's sounding a hell of a lot more brutal than their previous cd as imperator! the drums are greatly improved as the bands musical mastermind, leon, is now blasting on the drums as well as writing all the songs and playing lead guitar! he does a damn good job with those drums too, could be tighter in places, but he's bloody fast, especially on the bass drums! the music is in a similar vein to the old stuff but more brutal, yet keeping their long songs and low-tuned guitars. riffs range from fast shredders reminiscent of nile to slower chugging parts sounding a bit like morbid angel. despite these comparisons, i think it should be stressed that they have their own style, they're not a m.a. rip-off as stated in the pages of the "mighty" terrorizer! rayner's vocals are still that cool brutal bellow, somehow his voice reminds me of a much more brutal version of the guy from vader. and leon is still dishing out his guitar wizardry with some crazy solos, and, as tim from b.i. pointed out, he sounds a bit like erik rutan with a similar guitar tone too, though i think maybe he extends some of his solos beyond their worth, they may be better if made more compact. the production is decent, with a good mix and heavy guitar sound, though the drums sound a little thin and sometimes the guitars can be muddy. mithras are shaping up to be a force to be reckoned with in the uk scene, they've certainly got the ideas, i reckon with a better production and tighter playing they'll easily be up there with the rest of the big uk bands! so look out for 2 songs which they have recorded for compilations and also the songs which will be making up their half of their split with u.s. band the path.