Worship Metal Album Of The Week – Tengger Cavalry – Can Bi

Now this is something completely different! We guarantee that you will not, in a million years, predict the sounds that emanate from these Mongolian metallers, such is the eccentric and utterly unique manner in which Tengger Cavalry deliver their message. And, the fact that this is their 4th(!) album shouldn’t matter a jot, as the joy of discovering a band such as this is the thrill of devouring their back catalogue while you wait for the next instalment.

While the majority of Can Bi can be considered folk metal in essence, when the ‘heavy’ hits, it’s in a Slipknot kinda way.  Although, these more recognisably metallic moments are always overshadowed by the sheer array of cultural instrumentation and unrecognisable ‘noises’ which differentiate Can Bi from pretty much everything else out there!

Utilising Mongolian throat singing (almost Attila Csihar-esque in its droning off-kilter brutality) proves to be Tengger Cavalry’s masterstroke, a heavy and captivating style which seems purpose built to accompany frenetic riffing and blasts of double-bass.

You can point to the Brazilian grooves of Sepultura‘s Roots, the authentic Middle-Eastern folk sounds of Orphaned Land and the use of Armenian influences in System Of A Down as inspiration, but Tengger Calvalry are their own unique beast; utilising a distinct cultural sound to carve their own path through metal music’s seemingly boundless possibilities.

When the juxtaposition of crunchy, almost nu-metal riffs meets the Mongolian horsehead fiddle(!) – particularly on the storming “Ride Into Grave And Glory (War Horse II)” – you’ll be forgiven for thinking these disparate styles have provided metal with the freshest sound in years! And, as is often the way, world music has gifted us yet another unique moment to cherish.

To come full circle, it’s very rare that the term ‘completely different’ is used in metal nowadays….and those who believe that our beloved genre has said all that needs to be said, need to listen to Tengger Cavalry’s Can Bi. This is the sound of world’s colliding! 8/10