Cryptozoological influenced lo-fi black metal… wow; take that, Wire Magazine, I found it first and its mine I tells ya, all mine!
…Truth be told, Yoga (duo Vatten Hast and Eld Anka) are far from an undiscovered gem, already wooing listeners with their unique take on a now formidable scene which incorporates black metal and all manner of offshoots of avant garde noise terrorism. This relative fame will come as no surprise once you get hold of Megafauna as right from the start with ‘seventh Wind’ Yoga produce a strange, surreal audio environment; combining drone and noise with slow & melodious black metal with sprinkles of death rock at times for a refreshing added measure.
‘Flying Witch’ meanwhile serves as solid evidence of Yoga’s psychedelic influence, with lo-fi swirls resonating a palpable ambience that Baba Yaga could surf with ease: not to mention the pleasing reminiscence of legendary band Goblin that lies inherent within this track and ‘Encante’ that follows straight after.
Don’t be surprised if ‘Waigon’ seems familiar somehow to the ear as on listening to its hypnotic fuzzy tribal drums and warped sound I was transported back to my youth and the VHS haze of taboo exploitation flicks watched with trepidation, the over played wear on the audio creating a surreal environment all of its own and a sound that Yoga have encapsulated, deliberately or not, with perfection.
Tracks such as ‘Treeman’ and ‘Haunted Brain’ deserve mention for name alone, the former opening with a numinous and brooding bass heavy hum before evolving into a fuzzy black metal march, while the latter echoes and hums like some Welles-ian spacecraft descending toward earth. And while on the subject of track titles, to not mention Yoga’s powerfully effective swan song would be criminal considering its moniker of ‘Chupacabra’s Rotting Flesh’!
Already being regarded as black metal’s answer to Throbbing Gristle, Yoga really deserve praise outside of the black metal circuit, their creativity, smorgasbord of musical styles and thematic lateral thinking making for one of the more unique experiments in music that 2009 produced.
