Imperator>>MITHRAS - UK

Forever Advancing…… Legions - 2002 - Golden Lake
Worlds Beyond The Veil - 2003 - Golden Lake
Behind The Shadows Lie Madness - 2007 - Candlelight
On Strange Loops - 2016 - Willowtip

Mithras image
  
 
Members
Vocals
Serenade>>Rayner Coss>>Serenade

Guitar
LEON MACY - Orbeth>>Ben White>>Orbeth


Bass
Rayner Coss

Drum
Sarpanitum, The Senseless, Contrarian>>LEON MACY>>Sarpanitum, The Senseless, Contrarian





History & Biography
This Rugby-based death metal band was formed in 1998 as Imperator. The name was changed two years later. Mithras is named after the Persian god of truth.

With Steve Crompton on guitar the band issued a demo called Dreaming In Splendour in the year 2000. Compton left and the band soon had a newer demo called Tomb Of Kings. The band’s road to a recording contract was completed with the release of the 2002 demo Bequeath Thy Visions. The group signed a contract with Scotland’s Golden Lake Productions. Ben White was now on guitar upgrading the band to a trio alongside Coss and Macy. White would not last the year however. He would return for another stint in 2008. Sam Bean (of The Senseless and ex-The Berzerker) was also a short-tenured bassist replacing Coss as of 2009. By 2007 the band was on Candlelight, but the group still operated as a duo. The deal would last one album. In 2010, the band would independently issue a compilation CD called Sands Of Time - Early Demos & Rarities. Earlier the band had announced it would release music through its own Galactic Records. Sean Broster joined on drums. A 2011 demo was called Time Never Lasts. Coss returns. In June of 2012 the band announced that the title of a new record would be On Strange Loops with recording set to start on the 21st of December 2012. In late 2013 the band signed with Willowtip. On Strange Loops only appeared in late 2016. The group played in Wales and was booked for the Beyond The Grave Festival in 2023. Benediction, Blood Red Throne, Hour Of Penance and Mithras, among others, were playing at Beyond The Grave IV in London, England on the weekend of November 24th/25th 2023.

The band claims its albums form back-to-back chronologies.


Reviews

MITHRAS - FOREVER ADVANCING......LEGIONS - GOLDEN LAKE
Mithras is no more and no less than a Morbid Angel clone. Everything from the vocals of Raynor Coss and the musical output to the lyrics and the band image reeks of the English trio's Covenant-era influence. Some people might choose to read that as a negative and steer clear of Mithras. Morbid Angel fans, on the other hand, might figure they would like to fill the void between albums by their favourite band by looking into this CD. Whatever the conclusion, there is no denying the immediate and uncanny comparisons between the two M's. Mithras, with the track Wrath Of God, even has a God Of Emptiness copy complete with the slow and offbeat riff, processed vocals and the flashy guitar twiddling. Even assuming that the band is named after the Persian deity Mithra demonstrates that the trio has its head wrapped around the concept of ancient gods. Mithras makes other Morbid Angel clones, like Angelcorpse, sound like original innovators. Fans can find their path from that statement.

MITHRAS - WORLDS BEYOND THE VEIL - CANDLELIGHT
In its rush to rip off everything Morbid Angel, Mithras - which is apparently a duo now if the promotional photograph is to be believed - forgets to write songs and obtain a good sound quality. The music whirls by at 666kph as the vocalist eats his mike, the drummer blasts his kit to high heaven and the guitarist rapes his instrument. Past the mundane and unnecessarily long intro, Mithras invokes Morbid Angel down to the shoddy production value which makes the proceedings seem like the result of a wall separating the band and the microphone. The songs are speedy and technical, but alas those seeking originality or even a hint of actual songs will be disappointed. - Ali "The Metallian"

MITHRAS - BEHIND THE SHADOWS LIE MADNESS - CANDLELIGHT  
Mithras’ new album for Candlelight Records is possibly the group’s best effort yet. The English duo has always been seen in these quarters as recounting the speedy ambient and offbeat end of the Morbid Angel sound - whereas a band like Angelcorpse concentrated on the heaviness angle of the American originators - and the new album is not changing the approach. What the new outing does however is take a little speed out of the equation, place the odd clean vocal outtake on the recording and intersperse the work with instrumental interludes.
The album’s title might be grammatically dubious, but the titles, lyrics and spaced-out themes take the listener/reader to interesting places. Remarkable that this much obscurity comes from a mere two people but Mithras is obviously comprised of individuals who have taken their influences, made themselves comfortable and familiar with them and are set in their ways.
Behind The Shadows Lie Madness is still largely unoriginal, but the strong compositions and Morbid Angel’s lack of interesting material in recent years gives the group some elbow room. It is good to see a new fantasy cover courtesy of Dan Seagrave, yet the artwork is not the man’s best lacking the intricacy of some of his previous efforts. How odd given the twisted nature of Mithras’ music. - Ali “The Metallian”


Interviews







Mithras