Nowadays, metal music isn't "thinking outside the box". Most of the releases are copies and renderitions of works of other bands. In all honestly, some people manage to hit the spot with their releases, but others give you the feeling of deja-vu, where you go like "man, I've heard this before somewhere." TENGGER CAVALRY and their newest album, ANCIENT CALL, is something absolutely fresh, innovative and epic, to the least! They've only been around since 2010, but they still manage to bomb us with the masterful, epic music that falls in the folk metal genre. When I say folk metal, you probably think about all those Finnish bands like KORPIKLAANI, ENSIFERUM, TURISAS, etc...but no. As the band's name suggests, TENNGER CAVALRY stomps on the world's stage straight out of China!

Chinese nomadic folk metal. A year and a half ago, I was watching the documentary METAL: A HEADBANGERS JOURNEY, and in that documentary, some Chinese metal bands were shown (TENGGER CAVALRY wasn't formed at that point, so they weren't mentioned). I found myself interested in the idea of Chinese metal, and, while browsing Youtube with "Chinese metal" typed in the search box, I come across TENGGER CAVALRY. A truly awesome discovery that has made me love them ever since. Their unique style of combining traditional Chinese instruments and heavy riffs is something that caught me within its grasp, and until this day, didn't let me go. On to the music!

The new album, ANCIENT CALL, is a massive improvement from their previous works (but, their previous works are not lesser important or less awesome). TENGGER CAVALRY rewards your ears with some quality Chinese folk, along with great vocal performance and masterful musical composing. The most interesting element in all of their works, however, is the throat singing. A deep, guttural, resonating melody that comes straight out of Mongolia and their nomads, is just perfect. Weird, but sits just right in any of TENGGER CAVALRY's songs.  ANCIENT CALL is an album that gives tribute to Warriors and Grasslands and composes metal hymns that make you feel awesome after hearing them. From the very first song, DANCE WITH THE WOLVES, until the end of the album, you experience a beautiful journey that puts you on horseback and takes you on an adventure through the natural beauty of China (I found myself looking at pictures of China's nature and landscapes, which enhanced the effect of this album on me greatly). Epic solos played on folk instruments, this album gives everything it's got with great professionalism and skill.

If you are looking for something new, something to freshen your perception of metal, you can always find it in folk metal music (in general), and, in Asia (and yes, I'm speaking about the really weird apparition known as BABYMETAL that appeared in Japan. But that is a topic for another day). Well, look no more! TENGGER CAVALRY has got just the right thing for you, with the uniqueness of their music that truly isn't seen anywhere else. A promising album, that delivers well, doesn't fail to disappoint with the awesome instrumentals, mind-blowing Chinese folk music and just, blasts and blasts of awesomeness and epicness. If you're skeptical of giving a go at this metal masterpiece, don't be! Just go ahead and listen to them.

They're awesome, and that's all you need.

You'll feel amazing afterwards.

​​​​