YETI

YETI were a quartet from Texas who really took me by surprise. I was given a nondescript-looking two song demo CD to review back in 1999, and I was floored the moment I put it on. Soon thereafter, their debut album, Things to Come, was released, and it did not disappoint. The two songs from the demo were included in slightly (but not much) cleaner versions, and they were joined by two more equally impressive tracks. In the past few months, I have been revisiting this CD, and it sounds as good now as it did then, long after the novelty has worn off. And the more I listen to it, the more convinced I am that it brilliantly succeeds at everything it attempts; and since I love the kind of thing they attempted, I'm gonna give it five stars.

YETI are an all-instrumental group of guitar, organ, bass, and drums, and if I had to sum them up in one sentence, I'd say that this is a group that takes the spirit of Magma's classic song "De Futura" as a starting point, and expands out in all directions from there. Long, trudging, bass-heavy epics with a strong rhythmic undercurrent, over which guitar and organ wring out the coolest possible sounds you can imagine. Heavily phased wah-wah guitar, haunted Mellotron, screeching Lowery organ (like the Soft Machine), distorted bass riffs, stop-on-a-dime ensemble twists, it's all here and more. Each of the four tracks offer a different angle on this approach, and all are equally compelling, creative, and create a lasting impression (13 years and counting for yours truly).

"Two Fingers", the nine-minute opener, starts things off on a relatively brisk and funky note, never staying in one place too long as it develops several themes and switches fluidly between them. "Interstellar Biplane" (10 min) follows with some rather frantic and fast-paced ensemble playing before settling into a strange slow section interrupted every few measures by a burst of rhythm, followed by yet another groovy Zeuhl-ish bass line. "Go Like This" (10 min) starts in a quick tempo'd fashion but soon moves into a real spooky ominous section colored by a thick layer of dark wah-wah chords on the guitar. This section builds slowly over most of the piece's duration. One might figure that this is the "doom" number on the album, until the final track "Est Mort", hits the speakers. Approaching 17 minutes in length, this is a horribly great river of dark sludge. Beginning with a theme introduced on guitar, similar to the main guitar theme of Magma's aforementioned "De Futura", the songs soon collapses into a slowly moving tornado of organ and guitar noise, threatening to dissolve into chaos, but always moving forward ever so slowly. The band eventually rescues itself from this pit, only to throw itself into another one. This is the track most likely to melt your brain if the other three haven't already.

Perfectly executed album featuring elements of several progressive music styles that have always been favorites of mine - adjectives like "dark", "intense", "groovy", "daring", and "noisy" come to mind. If you love Magma's heavier works like "De Futura", the anarchic noise of the early Soft Machine, and music that doesn't mind going over the edge of sanity now and then, then this album is for you. Highly recommended.

YETI are down to a trio here, i'm not sure what happened to keyboard player Doug Ferguson, but they dedicate this recording to him. They also thank SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM. The music itself is very dark and brooding with outbreaks of violence.There are vocals scattered throughout including some yelling and screaming in the background. I can't believe these guys are from Texas, I thought there was an unwritten rule somewhere that said this type of music could only be played by bands from Belgium or France. Haha.

"Cusp Of Something You Don't Understand" opens with lots of atmosphere as different sounds come and go slowly. A melody rises up after 1 1/2 minutes. It's getting heavy 2 1/2 minutes in as vocals yell in the background. It becomes doom-like 4 1/2 minutes in before it kicks back into that heavy sound from earlier. An eerie calm comes in at 6 minutes as vocals whisper. A heavy doom-like soundscape returns at 8 1/2 minutes as vocals yell in the background a minute later. It ends in chaos. "Strangled By Light" opens with lots of atmosphere like the opening track. The synths sound like a girl screaming, very haunting as this sound comes and goes. The tempo starts to pick up with some nice deep bass lines. Drums come in as the sound builds. Here we go 4 1/2 minutes in as drums pound and the vocalist spits out the lyrics with contempt. It lightens somewhat 6 minutes in then kicks back in a minute later. Death growls after 8 1/2 minutes. The guitar takes over a minute later in a dissonant manner. It ends experimentally.

"Blood Lotus" is a cool track that sounds like a Zeuhl song on speed. The vocal melodies with heavy bass and drums are "Zeuhl 101". He then starts to yell out the lyrics theatrically. The Zeuhl passage is back ! The guitar that follows grinds away slowly then starts to churn the soundscape over and over. The sound changes after 3 1/2 minutes as the guitar still leads but in a different syle. Bass helps out as well as do the vocals in the background. The tempo is picking up slowly until an all out assault 6 1/2 minutes in to the end as the vocalist yells out. "Black Pills" is the longest track at 19 minutes.This one builds slowly until drums and mellotron arrive before 5 minutes. They continue to come and go. The sound explodes 9 minutes in as guitar, vocals, drums and bass erupt. He's yelling again before 11 1/2 minutes.The guitar comes in on fire after the vocals stop. It's experimental and noisy after 14 1/2 minutes. A change follows as a good heavy rhythm takes over with guitar playing over top. It ends in chaotic violence.

This is a difficult album to digest. Recommended to fans of Technical / Extreme Metal, as well as the adventerous. I know who you are.

If you love Zeuhl, Rock In Opposition, Heavy and Symphonic Prog, then you've come to the right place. This 2000 release from Stateside instrumentalists Yeti, is a sensational, and very successful melding of these styles, and then some..... These guys are right on the money !! First side, Track 1 - 'Two Fingers' (9.01) is as subtle as a sledgehammer ! I would say they've been inspired by MAGMA's 'Udu Wudu', HENRY COW's 'Western Culture' with some nightmarish tones of UNIVERS ZERO and the heaviness of 'Red' era KING CRIMSON. It may sound like you've heard it all before, but it's never been done in such a stunning manner. Absolutely gruesome low-end Bass, heavier-than-heavy Drums, spacey Synths and textural Guitar-work all create a phenomenally in-yer-face wall of sound. Angular melodies and tempo changes abound, only occasionally locking into an odd groove, but always inserting some sudden, violent twists and turns. You can also hear some searing Mellotron Choirs and Gothic Harmonium throughout the journey. A frantic beat kicks off 'Interstellar Biplane' (10.31) which doesn't let up until a swirling String- Synth appears with a lagging dirge-like attack full of de-tuned Bass. Not too long and the music picks up again with a fuzzy groove, full of intense Drumming and highly impressive Guitaring. By now, we are subjected to bursts of pure adrenalin. The song then returns to the ponderous dirge from earlier for a minute or two, and finishes off with a section comprised of a lighter sound of clean-toned Bass and a Synth solo, backed with a solid beat. A burst of Mellotron Choirs wraps up the piece just nicely. Side 2 features 'Go Like This' (9.10). This piece starts with a fast paced Bass riff, with some jazzy Drumming and light synth touches. Some atmospheric Guitar and nebulous noises in the background. This builds with a mysterious tri-tone groove and erupts with twisted synths and crazy rhythms and returns to the opening riff. Mind-blowing, pure and simple. 'Est Mort' (15.09) opens with eerie chords of unaccompanied Harmonium, then the band is back again, fully disecting and intensifying every moment heard on the record up until now, and churns out a whirlwind of sound which takes you, shakes you, and catapults you straight into Hades (and beyond) and never lets up. And I mean 'never'. I always return, but never the same. This is one SUPERB album, and I just don't understand the hum-drum ratings it has been awarded. 5 HUGE stars from me, maybe I've gone mad !!

This wild Texan quartet is one of the pleasant surprises of the new millennium and so far from two albums only, they managed to raise a few eyebrows in the prog world. While the artwork of Things To Come is a bit misleading (we are far away from the usual spacey prog, there is a cosmic feel to it), somehow it does it no disservice either. Notice the rotten human skull on the lower left corner.

The classic prog quartet plays an instrumental Zeuhl, that can remind what a few newer Cuneiform label groups are doing: I am thinking of Nebelnest or later Djam Karet or even the later Guapo (but without the post rock), but there is a rough, raw and unrefined feel that makes it veer to some RIO intonations: Present comes to mind here. Four tracks only, but all over the 9-minute-mark, the group develops a wild mix of semi-Zeuhl music (from Magma to Univers Zero are obvious historical influences here) to more conventional groups like Crimson. Yeti never lets up throughout the 46 minutes of this album, even if there is a much quieter passage in Go Like This.

This album gives me a small dilemma: while not essential (far from it), I like it enough to give its fourth star, but cannot bring myself to recommend this album, but to confirmed fans of the genre. Hence I will stick to the 3,5 stars.

Quite interesting album of this American instrumental guitar-bass-keys-drums quartet. Stilistically we can find the hints to zeuhl, Rock In Opposition, also to experimental post rock. In my oppinion really the best work of them. And every composition on this record includes some very strong moments. Fortunately the arsenal of keyboards includes analog synthesizer and harmonium - this fact is very important because of the "juiciness" of sounds. This record is fine bunch of longish dark-edged travels!