Band:	Mithras
Album:	Behind The Shadows Lie Madness
Style:	Atmospheric death metal, Brutal death metal
Release date:	April 16, 2007
A review by:	Baz Anderson

01. The Journey And The Forsaken
02. To Fall From The Heavens
03. Under The Three Spheres
04. Into Black Holes Of Oblivion
05. When The Light Fades Away
06. Behind The Shadows
07. Awaken Man And Stone
08. The Twisted Tower
09. To Where The Sun Never Leaves
10. The Beacon Beckons
11. Thrown Upon The Waves
12. Into The Unknown

After controversies and the release of two albums that have split the audience into two sides and expectations varying from person to person, Mithras unleash upon the world their third dose of death metal "Behind The Shadows Lie Madness".

My expectations were high following the formidable standard of the last two albums and this album does not disappoint - following much the same formula but with a few minor tweaks. This therefore means you pretty much know what you are going to get when you pick this album up - fast paced, crushing death metal, but of course only after you have sat through the ambient, obligatory introduction track. Still present is the impressively fast drumming and low sounding guitars that will inevitably once more promote cries of "Morbid Angel" but also this time more prominently we have the quite psychedelic and rather sci-fi sounding experimentation. The best example of this being the strange but also alluring guitar in "To Where The Sun Never Leaves", also the surprisingly colourful cover art reflects superbly this enhancement to the sound of Mithras.

Mithras bring with this album a good solid slab of modern death metal very suitable for the new generation of death metallers, yes they are quite clearly heavily influenced by Morbid Angel but for the people that cannot accept this as being anything more then a Morbid Angel rip-off band, maybe it is time to look at things in perspective. It has been fifteen or twenty years since bands such as Morbid Angel and early English death metal bands for example Bolt Thrower and Benediction got going now, and times have changed dramatically since then. Musicians of today and of course Mithras have benefited and learned from the past decades of music and have used these sources to create their own music that is musically and technically superior, but also of course will never give anyone the same chills "Altars Of Madness" will have done in 1989.

This album may be more accessible for newcomers to the ways of Mithras, as the music is straighter to the point. Thankfully there are not five-minute tracks of ambient noises around every corner this time and each track is as enjoyable as the last. As well as just an enjoyable casual listen, there is also the opportunity to pay careful attention to the highly developed and constantly interesting drumming above the other instruments that is capable of being enjoyed on a level much higher then just casual. Certainly the album picks up towards the end with the aforementioned "To Where The Sun Never Leaves" and also the calm sounds utilised cleverly leading into the crushing explosion of "Thrown Upon The Waves" that leave the album and listener with a very satisfied feeling of just experiencing a very tight, expertly executed, fresh and modern death metal album.