2025 was a banner year for new heavy metal albums by Latvian groups. Notable releases included pagan metal group Skyforger’s first album in ten years – Teikas, as well as Latgalian Viking metal ensemble Varang Nord’s album Mygla. A further memorable album released at the end of the year is In the Shade of a Camphor Tree by Japanese folk metal band Yomi.

Yomi, though being from Latvia, find inspiration in Japanese legends and musical instruments, and they have been performing for more than a decade (this album being their fourth overall). The band’s name ‘Yomi’ is the name of the mythological Japanese underworld, and they describe themselves as a combination of “death/black riffs with traditional Japanese tunes”. From the limited biographical information available, the members of the band are Khurr on vocals/folk instruments, Andrey playing drums, Tom on guitar, bassist Misha and also Anton playing guitar.

According to their Bandcamp site, In the Shade of a Camphor Tree tells the 14^th century story of the battle between the rebellious Emperor Go-Daigo and Bakufu – the military government.

The music is often harsh and brutal, and Khurr’s vocals vary between a low growl and what sounds like painful howling. Though almost all the lyrics are in English, the band do also sing in Japanese, for example on Oedo Nihonbashi, with its traditional beginning, is one of the calmer moments on the album, and depicts a journey in ancient Japan.

Themes of battle and war are woven into many of the songs on the album, such as in the song ‘The Sun and the Moon’ with its occasionally violent imagery and lyrics like “banners torn, castles crushed, armies razed” while a traditional Japanese stringed instrument provides a steady, almost sinister melody. Similarly, in ‘The Eighth Gate of Kamakura’, the group’s dissonant and jarring music provides an appropriate backdrop to this song of battle.

Powered by aggressive guitars, menacing vocals and ancient Japanese history and mythology, Yomi’s latest album In the Shade of a Camphor Tree is a worthy entry in the world of Latvian heavy metal. The Japanese themes, instruments, and even language, along with vivid and expressive lyrics, add distinct elements to the band’s music, and this story of a war between opposing forces in ancient Japan is brought vividly to life in the music of Yomi.

For further information, please visit the Yomi Bandcamp page and the Yomi Facebook page.

In the Shade of a Camphor Tree

Yomi

2025

Track listing:

1. Golden Dawn

2. Condemnation of the Eastern Rebels

3. The Last Arrow

4. Kasagi

5. Fire, Flood, Storm

6. Ashikaga

7. The Eighth Gate of Kamakura

8. The Sun and the Moon

9. Seven Lives for the Country

10. Of Great Peace

11. Oedo Nihonbashi

12. Silver Dusk

Latvian saxophonist Oskars Petrauskis, throughout his long career, has established himself as a distinguished and versatile musician, who has shown his skills in many music genres, including classical and jazz, and has worked with many different ensembles and composers.

Among his many notable collaborations is his work with renowned Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds. This partnership has resulted in many memorable musical moments, and the fruits of their efforts have been collected on the album Gratitude, released by the Prima Classic label in 2025.

Beyond Petrauskis’ saxophone, the album also features many other illustrious Latvian musicians, including soprano Marina Rebeka, organist Liene Kalnciema, and the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, which, on this album, is conducted by British conductor Douglas Bostock.

Ešenvalds has achieved success and international recognition for his choir music, and one of his most popular choir songs is ‘O Salutaris Hostia’. This album features two versions of the work, one arranged for solo saxophone and organ, while the second also includes vocals by Rebeka. Ešenvalds has exhibited an unparalleled skill in creating memorable choral works, and the original choir work stood out with its beautiful melodies and harmonies performed by two sopranos. In the version for organ and saxophone, Petrauskis’ saxophone ebbs and flows elegantly, and in the version with soprano, Rebeka’s soaring voice intertwines in harmony with the saxophone, resulting in an elevated, exalted performance.

Ešenvalds compositions are often of a sacred and spiritual nature, and one such work is ‘Adoremus in Aeternum’ for saxophone and organ, a meditative work which begins with Gregorian elements, as it gradually builds to a climax and a kind of spiritual awakening. Petrauskis’ gentle and flowing saxophone performance gives the work its spiritual core, and the saxophone interplay with the organ, performed by Kalnciema, gives the performance a rarefied atmosphere.

Themes of nature, and elements inspired by arctic climates and the northern lights also frequently appear in Ešenvalds’ music, and the composer has created many long form works with these themes, including the clarinet concerto Arctic Night Visions (2012) and the multimedia symphony Northern Lights (2015). To complete this trilogy, Ešenvalds composed the Saxophone Concerto: Visions of the Arctic. Sea. The work was developed in close collaboration with Petrauskis, and is performed here with the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Douglas Bostock. The expansive three movement concerto, features Ešenvalds’ inspired landscapes and imagery, is vividly performed by Petrauskis and the orchestra.

In an interview with both Petrauskis and Ešenvalds on Latvian Radio 3 Klasika, Petrauskis details the close interaction the two had when developing the album. For example, the idea of composing a saxophone concerto occurred when both were in a store. Also, Ešenvalds also mentioned his hope that this album will further raise awareness of Latvian music throughout the world, particularly the combination of the saxophone and the organ.

Gathering together many luminaries from the world of Latvian music, including organist Liene Kalnciema, soprano Marina Rebeka, and the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra conducted by Douglas Bostock, saxophonist Oskars Petrauskis presents an expansive and memorable collection of compositions by Ēriks Ešenvalds on the album Gratitude. Highlighting both Ešenvalds’ internationally well known talents with melody and musical imagery, and Petrauskis singular and expressive saxophone, along with organ, orchestra and vocals, the album will certainly raise the visibility of Latvian compositions throughout the world.

For further information, please visit Oskars Petrauskis’ Facebook page and the Prima Classic website and Ēriks Ešenvalds’ website.

Gratitude

Oskars Petrauskis

Prima Classic, PRIMA108, 2025

Track listing:

1. O Salutaris Hostia (Arr. for soprano saxophone and organ)

2. Adoremus in Aeternum (for soprano saxophone and organ)

3. Laudate Dominum (for alto saxophone and organ)

Saxophone Concerto: Visions of the Arctic. Sea:

4. 1st Movement

5. 2nd Movement

6. 3rd Movement

7. O Salutaris Hostia – Featuring Marina Rebeka (Arr. for soprano, soprano saxophone, and organ)

Latvian composer Jānis Mediņš, who would have celebrated his 135th birthday in 2025, left a lasting legacy in Latvian classical music. Besides being the composer of the first Latvian opera and the first Latvian ballet, his contributions to the field of piano music created an enduring foundation for all Latvian music.

Recognizing and celebrating Mediņš’ contributions, Latvian pianist Reinis Zariņš recorded an album of the composer’s piano works. Entitled simply Jānis Mediņš. Klaviermūzika, the album, which contains both solo piano works and a recording of Mediņš’s Piano Concerto (also the first of its kind in Latvian music), was released in 2025.

The cornerstone of the album is Mediņš’ Piano Concerto, recorded here with the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra and conductor Kaspars Ādamsons. Completed in 1934 and premiered in 1935, the dramatic and majestic work is also highly complex, and evokes comparisons to the piano concertos of Rachmaninoff. The first movement, with its almost non-stop motion and driving character, is a musical whirlwind, and the orchestra and conductor Ādamsons match the intensity of the piano performance throughout this almost frenetic performance. The deliberate, at times ominous second movement offers a respite to the tempestuous first, and begins with a mournful melody in the horns, then gradually builds in intensity until it reaches a beautiful and resplendent crescendo, then slowly dissipates at its conclusion. The anxious third movement returns to the breathless pace of the first, with quiet, mystical interludes in the woodwinds, as it reaches its exhilarating conclusion.

Mediņš left a large body of work for solo piano, and Zariņš has selected highlights from the composer’s oeuvre. Perhaps Mediņš’ best known works are his 24 Dainas, composed over the course of forty years. Even though they are called dainas (folk songs), they are not actually based on any Latvian folk melodies, but perhaps the composer meant to convey that these brief miniatures had a similar, simple beauty to them as Latvian folk songs do. Zariņš’ reserved and gentle approach to them – the tender and wistful Daina no. 6, the romantic no. 14 and expansive no. 17 – reveals the many emotions and nuances contained within.

After World War II, Mediņš was a refugee and settled in Sweden and continued to compose. As a composer in exile, his style changed and became more modern and influenced by Western European trends, and this collection also includes works composed during this time, including the Caprice which is playful at times, dissonant at others, and the three movement Sonatina, which melds Latvian elements with  French impressionism. Zariņš’ performance is both delicate and precise, particularly in the third movement of the Sonatina, with its rhythmic pulsation and percussive qualities.

The CD booklet, which includes notes on the composer and his works written by musicologist Orests Silabriedis, includes many fascinating anecdotes from Mediņš’ life, such as how he carried the 30 kilogram score of his opera Uguns un nakts on his back during his time in Siberia prior to World War I, as well as his return to Soviet occupied Latvia in the 1960s, shortly prior to his death in 1966.

Reinis Zariņš’ precise performances and nuanced interpretations bring out the many layers of Jānis Mediņš’ piano works on Jānis Mediņš. Klaviermūzika. The collection highlights the broad spectrum of Mediņš contributions to the field of Latvian piano music throughout his long compositional career, and reconfirms his stature as one of the most notable and essential Latvian composers. Zariņš, with his technical skill and artistic abilities, especially when joined by such a talented ensemble as the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra and dynamic conductor Kaspars Ādamsons, reveal the depth and beauty of Mediņš’ works for piano.

For further information, please visit Reinis Zariņš’ website and the Skani website.

Reinis Zariņš

Jānis Mediņš. Klaviermūzika

LMIC/SKANI 175, 2025

Track listing:

Klavierkoncerts / Piano Concerto

1. I. Allegro moderato

2. II. Lento

3. III. Allegro

4. Daina No. 6

5. Spēle / Play

6. Daina No. 17

7. Kaprise / Caprice

8. Daina No. 14

Sonatīne / Sonatina

9. I. Allegro moderato

10. II. Moderato assai

11. III. Allegro moderato

12. Balāde / Ballade

13. Ārija no Pirmās orķestra svītas / Aria from Suite No. 1 for Orchestra arr. Reinis Zariņš

Digital listeners also have a bonus track – Skice (Sketch)