Label: Independent
Band: Hounds of Bayanay
Origin: Russia
Russia is an immensen country, so it is not surprise to find separate identities in the far corners of the wide realm. A band like Hounds of Bayanay from far of places is therefor even more interesting. Yakutsk is one of those far of places. The city functions as the capital of the remote and frozen Sakha Republic, an autonomous region of Russia. The regions inhabitants are the Yakuts, a Turkic people who find this their most northern living region.
The muddled original history of the region is much coloured by the deportation of dissidents to the Sakha region. From the tsarists times to the soviet days, many Russians ended up on the remote, eastern land. The band Hounds of Bayanay therefor mixes cultural influences, which you can hear on their first EP titled ‘Myyc’.
The beauty of people creating a blend of music with metal and indiginous music, is that it always sounds new. There’s a piece of music there, which hasn’t been made before and often free of a lot of the conventional elements. The same goes for the Yakuth themed metal of this young group, with Russian progrock influences, hardrock an chanting on ‘Mountains of the North’. A catchy track with singalong potentian and a very open, accessible structure. The folk features are definitely prevalent.
Interesting follow up ‘Lost happiness’ kicks of with a postrock passage, before morphing into fierce metalcore. The vocals on this song remind me a bit of the sound certain Japanese metal bands have, with a contrasting tension btween the vocals and the riff heavy metal parts. But what an ungodly scream does vocalist Aina Keres have! Arkona anyone? Good stuff, though the band really captivates me on the final track. With some ethnic vocal delivery and folky lines woven into the guitar play, this song stands out as the most peculiar and interesting track of the album. Delivered with a certain passion, the vocals appear tribal, so does the drum.
The band has released two demo’s in the past, but does the right thing with an EP. It’s uncertain certain how much attention their music will gather, but I’m definitely intrigued by their far off land now. Hopefully they get the attention they deserve with this magnificent EP.